Reviewed By Jason LockardLon Chaney gave early movie goers nightmares with his haunting make-up work in such films as The phantom of the Opera and Hunchback of Notre Dame. He was a prolific master of the make-up art. Transforming himself into every kind of character you could think of. That is why he was given the moniker The man of a thousand faces.
Though behind the make-up his life was filled with drama, heartache, troubles and tribulations. In 1957 The great James Cagney took the role of the iconic Lon Chaney to bring his story to the big screen in the biopic The man of a thousand faces. Now Arrow Video is releasing this amazing classic on special edition Blu-ray.
The film follows the life of Lon Chaney from starting in vaudeville as a juggler and mime. When Lon takes his pregnant wife Cleva to meet his two deaf-mute parents over Christmas. She is horrified and leaves shortly after their son is born.
After a absolutely horrific event on the vaudeville stage Lon tried a change of scenery by moving to Hollywood. There he finds success and love remarrying. Life seems happy until Cleva returns in an attempt to get back into her son's life.
The film is a beautifully written, directed and preformed piece of cinema. While it is a Hollywood film it is not 100% accurate. James Cagney is at his best in this role! He uses every once of acting ability to do all the different character of Chaney. And the supporting cast include such great actors as Jim Backus, Jack Albertson, Dorthy Malone, Nolan Leary, Roger Smith and more.
Arrow Video has taken the original film negative and restored it to pristine condition. The film is presented in it's original widescreen format and is in 1080p High Definition. The audio is in uncompressed Mono 1.0 PCM audio soundtrack. The film looks and sounds stellar. I am thoroughly blown away at the clarity of the picture and sound. Arrow Video has done a remarkable job with this James Cagney classic.
As always Arrow Video always goes a step further with their releases and The Man of a thousand faces is no different. They have put a good amount of bonus features on this Blu-ray. Let's take a look.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
- Option for English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
- New audio commentary by film scholar Tim Lucas
- The Man Behind a Thousand Faces, a newly filmed look at Lon Chaney and his legacy by the critic Kim Newman
- Image gallery
- Original trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
- FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Fully Illustrated booklet with a newly commissioned essay by Vic Pratt of the BFI
I have to say Arrow Video has done it yet again and given classic film fans another release we are going to relish in. Whether you love James Cagney in The Public Enemy, Angels with dirty faces, Yankee Doodle Dandy or many of his other films. You have to see him in this biopic. He really shines and so does this Blu-ray.
So if you are a fan of James Cagney, Classic films or biopics this one is for you. This Arrow Video Blu-ray release of The man of a thousand faces is a must-own. Head over to MVDShop.com and order your copy today.
Audiences: Families
Offensive Material: Nothing
Length: 2 Hours 2 Minutes
Genre: Drama, Biographical
Blu-ray Rating: A
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