The Kiss Before the Mirror Blu-ray

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

Directed by James Whale
USA 1933

From James Whale, the legendary director of Frankenstein, The Old Dark House, The Invisible Man, The Bride of Frankenstein, Show Boat and The Man in the Iron Mask, comes this daring drama with a touch of the macabre starring Nancy Carroll (The Woman Accused), Frank Morgan (Fast and Loose), Paul Lukas (The Lady Vanishes) and Gloria Stuart (Secret of the Blue Room.) When Walter Bernsdorf (Lukas) kills his wife for having an affair, lawyer Paul Held (Morgan) takes on the case. Suggesting that Walter could be acquitted by means of temporary insanity, Paul not only realizes that this defense may work but that also some of the behavioral patterns Walter’s wife showed in regard to her infidelity are appearing in his own wife, Maria (Carroll). Paul realizes that if this defense could work once, it might work a second time. The Kiss Before the Mirror is a riveting pre-Code thriller beautifully shot in glorious black-and-white by the great Karl Freund (The Last Laugh, Metropolis, Key Largo).

***

When a famous doctor kills his adulterous wife, he is defended by his best friend, an attorney who suspects that his own wife is having an affair.

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 4th, 1933

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Comparison:

Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray vs. Indicator - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover
	Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray	Indicator - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:08:34.151	1:08:19.512
Video	1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 21,984,212,324 bytes Feature: 20,940,711,936 bytes Video Bitrate: 36.89 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video	1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 24,566,602,970 bytes Feature: 20,093,248,896 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.86 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Kin0 Blu-ray:
Bitrate Indicator Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1553 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1553 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps	LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -30dB
Subtitles	English, None	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 21,984,212,324 bytes Feature: 20,940,711,936 bytes Video Bitrate: 36.89 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Alexandra Heller-Nicholas • Trailers Blu-ray Release Date: February 2nd, 2021 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 9	Release Information: Studio: Indicator 1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 24,566,602,970 bytes Feature: 20,093,248,896 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.86 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio commentary with film historian Nora Fiore (2023) • A Shattered Reflection (2023): video essay comparing The Kiss • Before the Mirror to James Whale’s 1938 remake, Wives Under Suspicion, which was produced in the era of the Motion Picture Production Code (11:11) • Classification of Enlisted Men (1943): War Department documentary short, directed by James Whale and focusing on four inductees into the US Army (11:57) • Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay on the film, archival interviews and articles, and full film credits Blu-ray Release Date: March 27th, 2023 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 10

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Indicator Blu-ray (March 2023): Indicator have also transferred James Whale's The Kiss Before the Mirror to Blu-ray. The 1080P image is very comparable to the 2021 Kino with not enough differences to quibble over ("2020 restoration from a 2K scan"). For the audio, Indicator advance with a 24-bit mono linear PCM track not sounding quite as hollow as the Kino. Indicator offer English (SDH) subtitles on their region 'B'-locked Blu-ray.

The significant differences are in the supplements - where Indicator offer a huge advantage. Indicator add a new, informative, audio commentary with film historian Nora Fiore - a new video essay comparing The Kiss Before the Mirror to James Whale’s 1938 remake, Wives Under Suspicion, which was produced in the era of the Motion Picture Production Code entitled A Shattered Reflection and the 1943 War Department documentary short, Classification of Enlisted Men, directed by James Whale and focusing on four inductees into the US Army. It runs a dozen minutes. There is their usual image gallery of promotional and publicity materials and their package has a limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay on the film, archival interviews and articles, and full film credits

James Whale's The Kiss Before the Mirror is excellent - pre-code adultery, murder with a suspenseful court room drama sequence - all fabulously realized by the director's deft storytelling abilities. I enjoyed the new Indicator extras including commentary and this Blu-ray is notably the best digital package for Whale and Pre-Code fans. Don't miss this one!

***

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (December 2020): Kino have transferred James Whale's The Kiss Before the Mirror to Blu-ray. It looks exceptionally strong - in the upper-tier or Pre-code films-to-1080P. Rich grain and deep black levels permeate the HD presentation. There is no damage and the texture and contrast are the highlights of the film visually on Blu-ray. The hour+ long film is on a single-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. High marks for the video transfer.

NOTE: We have added 28 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (16-bit) in the original English language. It suffers from the original production limitations and can sound hollow but is consistent and clear with a score by W. Franke Harling (Blonde Venus, Trouble In Paradise), sounding tinny. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas (author of 1000 Women In Horror, 1895-2018). She discusses the "objectification of women", "moral indulgence" in the film, the expert cinematography of Karl Freund, examples of Pre-code dialogue (see below), Gloria Stuart - notable for her role, and Oscar nomination, in James Cameron's Titanic plus a lot of Jean Dixon's character of 'Hilda Frey' as a queer or androgynous representation. She talks about Whale's homosexuality quoting from Harry Benshoff's book Monsters in the closet: Homosexuality and the Horror Film. It's very interesting and she has an appealing, even, voice (and Aussie accent) for commentaries. Worth the indulgence. There are also trailers although none for the film.