Anna Lucasta Blu-ray - Eartha Kitt

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

Directed by Arnold Laven
USA 1958

Anna Lucasta is an illuminating and provocative drama directed by Arnold Laven (Rough Night in Jericho) and written by legendary screenwriter Philip Yordan (The Big Combo). Sultry siren Eartha Kitt (St. Louis Blues) is vibrantly sexy as a lascivious lady of the night, and cool cat Sammy Davis Jr. (A Man Called Adam) displays tremendous appeal and power in this torrid tale of love and greed. When wild child Anna Lucasta (Kitt) is thrown out of the house by her self-righteous father, she falls into the life of prostitution... and into the arms of street-wise sailor Danny Johnson (Davis). But after Anna shocks them all by finally finding true love with a well-heeled young suitor, her unforgiving father sets a vengeful plan in motion to remind his daughter of her sordid past... and destroy her future forever.

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Anna Lucasta is a 1959 film directed by Arnold Laven. Based on the 1944 play by Philip Yordan, this drama follows the trials and tribulations of Anna Lucasta (Eartha Kitt), a young black woman who turns to prostitution after her father kicks her out of the house.

Posters

Theatrical Release: November 26th, 1958

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:36:32.119
Video	1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 31,882,884,154 bytes Feature: 30,104,702,976 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.91 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	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1557 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1557 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 31,882,884,154 bytes Feature: 30,104,702,976 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.91 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Theatrical Trailer (1:50) Blu-ray Release Date: February 2nd, 2021 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 9

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (January 2021): Kino have transferred Arnold Laven's 1958 drama Anna Lucasta to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "Brand New 2K Master". The 1080P image quality is excellent with some softness through a middle patch of the film. Presumably the source but overall the image exhibits strong contrast - just a touch of gloss and pleasing detail in close-ups. On a dual-layered Blu-ray disc with a max'ed out bitrate this seems a strong replication of the film.

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On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (16-bit) in the original English language. No aggressive effects but a jazzy score by the great Elmer Bernstein (From the Terrace, The Hallelujah Trail, The Grifters, Birdman of Alcatraz, Love With the Proper Stranger, The Bride at Remagen, The Comancheros, The World of Henry Orient, Kings of the Sun, Hud, To Kill a Mockingbird, Summer and Smoke) which includes the opening theme That's Anna sung by Sammy Davis Jr. and a sweet dance number by him near the end. Dialogue is clean and consistent. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray only offers a trailer as an extras and trailers for a handful of other films. No commentary on this one, but the reasonable price reflects that.

Certainly refreshing to see an all African-American cast, seemingly progressive for the late 50's, where the characters have a variety of occupations. It has the feel of a 'stage play' home-life with surface conflicts (greed, alcohol) but loving parents and a dangerous 'past'. Eartha Kitt really made "Anna" her own either slinking about the screen seeking fun or exporting heartache through empty stares and flowing tears. Despite not present in the film for an extensive time, Sammy Davis Jr. is alive with energy in the role of street-wise Danny. Anna Lucasta was based on a successful Broadway play and the film inhabits the dark waterfront with casual bar infested with seedy characters or an impressive, large, family home imbuing stability. Eartha Kitt is a fascinating performer and in her memoir 'Confessions of a Sex Kitten,' she discusses meeting and working with co-star Sammy Davis Jr. Really, a good film. This Kino Blu-ray get a strong recommendation!