Gaslight Blu-ray - Anton Walbrook

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Thorold Dickinson
UK 1940

Based on Patrick Hamilton's celebrated stage play Gaslight is a harrowing and claustrophobic film about domestic fear. Anton Walbrook (The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The Red Shoes) stars as the terrifying husband who puts the sanity of his fragile and tortured wife (Diana Wynyard) under siege.

The success of Gaslight on stage and film encouraged Hollywood studio MGM to buy the remake rights in the early 1940s, with a clause insisting that all existing prints of Dickinson's British version be destroyed. Unseen for many decades, this definitive version has been digitally restored by the BFI.

***

Twenty years removed from Alice Barlow's murder by a thief looking for her jewels, newlyweds Paul (Anton Walbrook) and Bella Mallen (Diana Wynyard) move into the very house where the crime was committed. Retired detective B.G. Rough (Frank Pettingell), who worked on the Barlow case, is still in the area and grows suspicious of Paul, who he feels bears a striking resemblance to one of Barlow's relatives. Rough must find the truth before the killer can strike again and reclaim his bounty.

Posters

Theatrical Release: June 25th, 1940

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Review: BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:24:09.250
Video	1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 41,267,869,035 bytes Feature: 24,669,253,632 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: BFI 1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 41,267,869,035 bytes Feature: 24,669,253,632 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Spanish ABC (19:35) • Behind the Spanish Lines (20:02) • Westward Ho! (8:55) • Miss Grant Goes to the Door (7:05) • Yesterday is Over Your Shoulder (8:26) • Fully illustrated booklet with original essays • DVD Blu-ray Release Date: April 17th, 2019 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 12

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: BFI Blu-ray (January 2020): BFI have transferred Thorold Dickinson's Gaslight to Blu-ray. It has been restored by BFI and thankfully looks very strong in this 1080P transfer. The original negative of 1940's Gaslight has been destroyed and BFI restored a fine grain positive to produce this Blu-ray. The contrast seems a bit dampened but detail, in close-ups, is impressive. We are quite lucky to see the film at all - there was a Warner DVD with this on the flipside with the 44' version - but now we have this highly pleasing HD rendering.

NOTE: We have added 36 more large resolution Blu-ray captures for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, BFI use a linear PCM 2.0 channel mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. With some infrequent scattering the audio is fine with a score by Richard Addinsell, who is notable for Blithe Spirit, the 1951 A Christmas Carol and who also composed the score for Love on the Dole and the Vivien Leigh films Dark Journey + Fire Over England. BFI offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'B' Blu-ray.

The BFI Blu-ray includes four, 1938-1940, documentary 'Ministry of Information' shorts directed (or co-directed) by Thorold Dickinson. These include the 20-minute Spanish ABC and similar length Behind the Spanish Lines (both educating the viewer about the Spanish Civil War), Westward Ho! and Yesterday is Over Your Shoulder and a 5th, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, entitled Miss Grant Goes to the Door (story by Dickinson) about two sisters who encounter a German parachutist spy and hold him at gunpoint. It's a public service film showing how to 'thwart the enemy'. The package also has a fully 36-page liner illustrated booklet with original essays and a second disc PAL-encoded DVD.

The 1940 Gaslight is highly re-watchable - just as is the 1944 Hollywood version (reviewed on Blu-ray HERE). This earlier version is reportedly closer to the original stage play by Patrick Hamilton (Hangover Square) with Paul Mallen's bigamy being more pronounced as is his overt cruelty and the psychological stresses on Bella (Diana Wynyard). Gaslight has so much to offer and I marvel at Thorold Dickinson's subtle build of tension - just as in Queen of Spades (also starring Anton Walbrook). This is a must-own Blu-ray, imo. Huge thanks to BFI for bringing it back to the conversation with an impressive 1080P restoration of the only existing source.