The Man Who Reclaimed His Head Blu-ray Review

Claude Rains will forever be linked as The Invisible Man. His performance in my humble opinion, is second to none. But he performed in many great films beyond The Invisible Man. In fact, just a year after his performance as The Invisible Man, Claude Rains portrayed the tragic pacifist Paul Verin in The Man Who Reclaimed His Head. 

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has been releasing quite a few black and white classic films lately. And if you had told me this one would receive a Blu-ray release, I would have told you you were crazy. But here we are, and I couldn't be happier.

Synopsis: Paul Verin (Claude Rains) writes anti-war editorials and allows politician Henry Dumont (Lionel Atwill, The Secret of the Blue Room) to take credit for his words in the broadsheet he publishes. When Dumont’s political aspirations bring him closer to the very people condemned in Verin’s writings, he urges the scribe to soften his rhetoric. After Verin refuses, Dumont decides to betray his employee by sending him to the warfront and seducing his wife (a blonde Joan Bennett, Scarlet Street). 

When you see this title, you automatically think horror. Especially because it stars Claude Rains. Well, nothing could be farther from the truth. This is a tremendous drama, with great performances by Claude Rains, Joan Bennett and Lionel Atwell. And the direction of Edward Ludwig (Wake of the Red Witch, Sangaree), is spot on. The Man Who Reclaimed His Head is an often-overlooked drama that deserves to be seen again in this generation. 

The film has been transferred to Blu-ray in 1080p and is presented in 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The audio track is an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. There is also the option for English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.

This Blu-ray transfer is from a 2K Scan of the 35mm Finegrain. The quality of the picture is crisp and clean. I didn't see any damage to this print while screening this film. The audio is clear as a bell. There is no hiss or pops. In addition to a wonderful picture transfer, Kino Lorber added the following bonus features.

* NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian David Del Valle
* NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Troy Howarth
* Trailers: Supernatural, The Mad Doctor, The Spider Woman Strikes Back, The Cat and the Canary, King of Chinatown and Rope of Sand

I love a good audio commentary and Kino Lorber gave us two on this Blu-ray disc. So you can watch the film in its dramatic glory. Then listen to these audio commentaries and get two different insights into this film. Great Stuff.

If you love war dramas or the films of Claude Rains, this new Blu-ray of The Man Who Reclaimed his Head should be on your list to add to your home video library. Head over to Kino Lorber or Amazon and order your copy of this Blu-ray today.

Out of 4 film reels (4 being the best) the Blu-ray of The Man Who Reclaimed his Head receives.....