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

ADDITION: BFI Blu-ray (February 2021): "Marlene Dietrich at Universal 1940-1942" is a 4-disc BFI Blu-ray box set bringing us high definition transfers of all four films. "Seven Sinners" is a notable upgrade over the previous An American Icon: John Wayne 5 DVD edition (reviewed HERE) of the film, opening up the image on all sides of the frame to reveal a much more detailed picture, with a much stronger contrast benefiting the black & white image. "The Flame of New Orleans" seems to be the same transfer as the previous Region 'A' Kino Blu-ray release (reviewed HERE), which is a good thing. While the bitrate is a tad lower than the Kino, it is still quite high and the image looks quite strong in motion. "The Spoilers" also features a near identical image to the 2019 Region 'A' Kino Blu-ray (reviewed HERE.) "Pittsburgh" sports a higher bitrate (and the film takes up a larger file size) than its Region 'A' counterpart from 2019 (reviewed HERE.) That being said, due to similar scratches (though rare), this seems to be from the same source, yet with a slightly different grain structure and ever-so-slightly different level of contrast. You would honestly have to really squint to notice a difference.

"Seven Sinners" features a 24-bit linear PCM track, which easily bests the SD DVD 2.0 Dolby track. "The Flame of New Orleans", "The Spoilers", and "Pittsburgh" all get the 24-bit linear PCM track treatment, which is a slight boost over their Region 'A' Blu-ray counterpart which was transferred at 16-bit DTS-HD Master audio tracks. On "The Flame of New Orleans" the score is by score by Frank Skinner (Naked Alibi, The Appaloosa, Madame X, Magnificent Obsession, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, All That Heaven Allows, Thunder Bay, and The Naked City) and on "The Spoilers" by Hans J. Salter (Pittsburgh, Man Without a Star, The Killer that Stalked New York, The Strange Door, Cover Up, Man Without a Star, Scarlet Street, The Land Unknown, The War Lord, The Mole People, The Strange Case of Doctor Rx) with both credited for the scores on "Seven Sinners" and "Pittsburgh". Once again, this difference is really only spotted when comparing them back and forth, and won't concern the average viewer, that said... the BFI box set is superior in terms of audio. Each title features English subtitles as an option, and each Blu-ray disc is Region 'B' locked.

"Seven Sinners" features a commentary from film historian David Del Valle and screenwriter C Courtney Joyner. The only other extra is an image gallery. "The Flame of New Orleans" features the same commentary (by film historian Lee Gambin and actor and film historian Rutanya Alda) as the 2020 Kino Region 'A' Blu-ray release. Lee discusses the delightful Frank Skinner score, cinematographer Rudolph Maté, writer Norman Krasna, director René Clair and the iconic Marlene Dietrich. About 1/4 hour in Rutanya has some comments about 1800's Nawlins', René Hubert's costume design lavish gowns, Dietrich's appearance, her Max Factor make-up, gold flecks sprinkled in her hair, how she was notorious for going to be with her leading men (and three Kennedys!), and her magnetizing personality. Rutanya talks about the comedic timing and many of the bit players. Lee returns at the 1/2 hour mark... and Rutanya takes over later. All very interesting and revealing. The disc lacks the Kino release's inclusion of the trailer (though BFI does include an image gallery). "The Spoilers" also features the same commentary as the Kino (with Toby Roan - author of A Million Feet Of Film: The Making Of One-Eyed Jacks) . As Gary describes: "He talks about the earlier versions of the film, the supportive cast and other 'Gold Rush' films among many other topics. He is well-prepared documenting some of the strange deaths of the supporting cast including suicides." This Blu-ray disc also loses the trailer (and animated gallery) replacing it with a single image gallery. "Pittsburgh" now features a commentary track by critic and film historian Pamela Hutchinson (author of the delightful 30-Second Cinema: The 50 most important ideas, genres, and people in the history of movie-making, each explained in half a minute.) The only other extra on here is also an image gallery. This Blu-ray Box set also features a 60-page book featuring newly commissioned essays by Sarah Wood, Pamela Hutchinson, So Mayer, Ellen Cheshire, Katy McGahan and Phillip Kemp.

"Marlene Dietrich at Universal 1940-1942" is a fantastic release for Dietrich fans outside of her famous association with Josef von Sternberg. The Region 'B' Blu-ray crowd now have the opportunity to grab some Dietrich films that were previously only available stateside. This boxset from BFI boasts some highly pleasing transfers of Marlene Dietrich's early 40's work at Universal Studios, with "Seven Sinners", "The Flame of New Orleans", "The Spoilers", and "Pittsburgh" complete on 4-Blu-ray discs, with some invaluable new and old commentaries. Absolutely recommended.

Colin Zavitz