Reviewed by Jason LockardFilm Noirs are dark mysterious moody films that take us on a dark roller coaster ride through the abyss of the human existence. I have been a fan of film noirs since I first watched one so many years ago.
Now Kit Parker Films in association with Mill Creek Entertainment have released Volume 1 of 9 film noirs remastered and presented in High definition on Blu-ray. Let's take a look at what is included in this set.
Our Rating System:
**** = Don’t Miss it!
*** = Worth a look.
** = An Ok way to spend an evening.
* = You haven’t missed anything.
Disc One:
Address Unknown (1944) US art dealer returns to his native Germany for a visit and is attracted by Nazi propaganda.***
Escape in the Fog (1945) A military nurse recovering at an inn after a nervous breakdown. She keeps having dreams where she sees two men trying to murder a third. When she meets a man who is a federal agent, she realizes that his is one of the men. ***
The Guilt of Janet Ames (1947) A bitter war widow meets one of the men her husband saved during WW2. As he tries to convince her the sacrifice was necessary, she tries to help him with his wartime emotional scars he hides with alcohol? ***
Disc Two:
The Black Book (1949) Robespierrre, a powerful figure in the French revolution, is desperately looking for his black book, a death list of those marked for the guillotine. ***
Johnny Allegro (1949) Treasury Department officials recruit a florist to lead them to a wanted criminal; but once he gets too close, he finds he's the hunted. ***
711 Ocean Drive (1950) An electronics expert creates a bookie broadcast system for his crime boss. When the boss is murdered, he takes over. Greed soon leads him down a destructive path. ***
Disc Three:
The Killer That Stalked New York (1950) Police seek a smuggler, while doctors desperately search for a smallpox carrier. Neither realizing that this is the same person. ***
Assignment Paris (1952) Two journalists investigate a story about an accused American spy. But there snooping soon endangers the life of a Hungarian agent and their own lives as well.***
The Miami Story (1954) Citizens hire an ex-gangster to drive out a vice lord by posing as a Cuban racketeer. ***
These films have amazing collection of actors including but not limited to George Raft, Edmond O'Brien, Dana Andrews, Sid Caesar, Nina Foch, Otto Kruger, Robert Cummings, Melvyn Douglas, Rosalind Russell, Richard Basehart, George Sanders and many more.
All these films are presented in 1080p High Definition. The aspect ratio of 8 of the films are in 1.37:1 except for The Miami Story which is in 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The audio DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. There are also English subtitles for each film for the hearing impaired. They look and sound better than I have seen them before.
As for the packaging the 3 Blu-ray discs are in a sturdy stack-able Blu-ray case. I love the art work having a great scene from the film "The killer that stalked New York" in the forefront and the posters of each movie underneath, really nicely done.
As for the Blu-ray menus are easy to access just highlight the poster of the film and click and watch the film. Very simple and very nice!
So if your a fan of Film Noirs as much as I am, this is a really great set to add to your collection! Head over to www.MVDShop.com or Amazon.com today.
Audiences: Teens and Adults,
Moral Rating: Mild violence
Length: 734 Minutes
Genre: Mystery, Drama, film noir
Blu-ray Rating: A
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