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

ADDITION: MGM Blu-ray (March 2025): Under our radar MGM also released Lewis Gilbert's The Good Die Young to Blu-ray in May of 2024 (thanks Gregory.) But it is a disaster of proportions we haven't seen in years. This comparison should mark as a warning against buying this disc. What is wrong?

• It has the wrong aspect ratio (1.40:1?) showing superfluous information in the top of the frame

• It has video transfer anomalies; frequent chroma bug, damage and some weird form of edge enhancement (see below) and is smeary

• Bare bones - no extras at all and only offers the, longer, export version of the film.

• Single-layered - 3/4 of the bitrate of the BFI

On the positive the audio is 24-bit, it has optional subtitles and the cheap price reflects the bare-bones status of the package. Not enough reasons to buy.

One of Lewis Gilbert's The Good Die Young’s greatest strengths is its cast - an ensemble of noir titans who breathe life into every shadowed corner of the narrative. Laurence Harvey’s (Room at the Top, The Manchurian Candidate) Miles "Rave" Ravenscourt is a revelation: a sociopathic playboy whose charisma is as seductive as it is sinister. Harvey slithers through the film with a reptilian charm, his every smirk and icy glance a promise of betrayal - proof that evil can wear a handsome face. Stanley Baker (Hell Drivers, Robbery, The Criminal,) as the broken boxer Mike Morgan, is the beating heart of the story, his weathered stoicism and quiet dignity making you ache for a man crushed by fate. Richard Basehart’s (He Walked By Night, Outside the Wall) Joe Halsey brings an American everyman’s anguish to the mix, his wide-eyed hope clashing beautifully with London’s bleakness, while John Ireland’s Eddie Blaine simmers with the brooding intensity of a man betrayed by love and country. Add Gloria Grahame’s (Naked Alibi, Human Desire, The Big Heat) sultry cynicism and Margaret Leighton’s (The Teckman Mystery, Home at Seven, The Holly and the Ivy) tragic poise, and you’ve got a lineup that doesn’t just perform - it electrifies. Even Joan Collins’ (The Devil Within Her, The Slasher aka Cosh Boy, Revenge and, of course, as Edith Keeler in TOS) brief turn hints at the star she’d become. The Good Die Young is a textbook noir elevated to art. Jack Asher’s (strong Hammer pedigree as DoP on The Curse of Frankenstein, 1958's Dracula aka Horror of Dracula, 1958's The Revenge of Frankenstein, 1959's The Hound of the Baskervilles) black-and-white cinematography paints London as a city of ghosts - its fog-drenched streets and looming warehouses a perfect stage for the characters’ descent. The film’s flashback structure is a stroke of genius, peeling back layers of each man’s life like a detective uncovering clues, building dread with every revelation. It’s a slow burn that explodes into chaos, culminating in a train station shootout that’s as thrilling as it is heartbreaking. The moral murkiness - good men driven to crime, only to be undone by the truly wicked - echoes the genre’s giants like Double Indemnity or The Killing, but with a distinctly British grit. Get the BFI Blu-ray - end of story.

***

ADDITION: BFI Blu-ray (July 2020): BFI have transferred Lewis Gilbert's The Good Die Young to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "Newly remastered by the BFI and presented in High Definition". This Blu-ray also contains (seamlessly-branched) the option of seeing the Export version of The Good Die Young made available for the first time. It is an extended overseas-only version of the film containing anti-establishment sentiments considered too strong for British audiences of the day. Both version look the same and have max'ed out bitrates. Generally, the 1080P image is strong with a few scenes having marginally faded contrast. There is plenty of consistent grain and the visuals are generally clean showing good detail in the original 1.66:1 aspect ratio. I was very pleased with the HD presentation.

NOTE: We have added 98 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, BFI use a linear PCM dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. There are some aggressive effects that carry weight and score by the great Georges Auric (The Mind Benders, The Lavender Hill Mob, Heaven Knows Mr. Allison, It Always Rains on Sunday, Dead of Night, The Innocents, Lola Montes, Rififi, Wages of Fear), adding building tension to the atmosphere. Some may note Lambert Williamson's Piano Blues played in the Pub. It all sounds tight and supportive via the uncompressed. BFI offer optional English subtitles (see sample below) on their Region 'B' Blu-ray.

Aside from the inclusion of the Export version, BFI add some other, less related, supplements. When Giants Fought is a 1/2 hour 1926 short about a contentious but historic bare-knuckle conflict of 1810. It is vividly revisited in this power-packed silent boxing drama, with a newly commissioned musical score by Mordecai Smyth. Midnight Taxi is a 17-minute short from 1946 about a London cabby uncovers the city's secret nightlife in this surprising plug for post-war National Savings. Under Night Streets is 20-minute from 1958. After the last tube has gone, an army of underground workers get busy down below. I really enjoyed the 1/2 hour Not Like Any Other Director: Lewis Gilbert from 1995 with a highly complimentary introduction to the director by Michael Caine in this excerpt from an on-stage interview at London's National Film Theatre. There is a lengthy image gallery and for purchasers of the first pressing there is a fully illustrated booklet with new writing on the film and full film credits. The package has a second disc PAL DVD.

I loved every minute of The Good Die Young. Lewis Gilbert made a brilliant Noir with a stacked cast including Laurence Harvey, Gloria Grahame, Richard Basehart, Joan Collins, John Ireland, Stanley Baker, Margaret Leighton, and Robert Morley. It's a film I am extremely pleased to own this looking and sounding so strong - thanks BFI for another wonderful Blu-ray. Dark Cinema fans shouldn't hesitate for a minute. This is a keeper!

Gary Tooze