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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9781594640681
Format: Box set, Black & White, DVD-Video, NTSC
ISBN: 1594640688
Label: Questar
Manufacturer: Questar
Number Of Items: 6
Publisher: Questar
Region Code: 1
Release Date: April 06, 2004
Running Time: 540 minutes
Sales Rank: 61226
Studio: Questar
Theatrical Release Date: August 13, 1949
Editorial Review:
Description:
Lights out! Questar presents five killer examples of film noir, the shadow-drenched genre of middle-class crime, anxiety, and desperation that blackened American movie screens in the 40’s and 50’s. Each of these thrillers comes in a crisp archival print on a separate DVD, which includes riveting bonus features on some of the people and ideas behind this darkest—and most enduringly popular—of all movie genres. Disc One: D.O.A. - On vacation from his clinging girlfriend, a complacent accountant (Edmund O’Brien) unknowingly swallows a drink spiked with radioactive poison and then spends the last desperate hours of his life trying to find out who 'killed' him—and why. Directed by Rudolph Mate. Disc Two: Detour - Hitchhiking across the country to reunite with his girlfriend, the film’s 'hero' encounters two sinister characters—one of them a venomous, blackmailing woman whom he 'accidentally' murders. Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. Disc Three: The Stranger - Orson Welles directs and stars in this thriller about a monstrous Nazi official who’s hiding out as a small-town American college professor. A war crimes detective turns up determined to expose him—even if it means endangering the Nazi’s innocent wife. Disc Four: Scarlet Street - Homely, henpecked Chris Cross (Edward G. Robinson) leads an honorable, if tedious, middle-class life until he falls madly in love with the dangerously seductive young Kitty (Joan Bennett). Directed by Fritz Lang. Disc Five: Killer Bait - A bickering couple find a bag of money in the back seat of their car. The husband wants to turn the illicit cash in, but his money-hungry wife has a different idea—and she’ll do anything to realize it. Directed by Byron Haskin. Disc 6: SPECIAL FEATURES - Black and Blue: The History of Noir; Hot-Blooded and Cold-Hearted: The Dames of Film Noir; Classic Lines Quiz; Over 35 Film Noir Trailers including Double Indemnity, 1944, Reservoir Dogs, 1992, Sunset Blvd, 1950...
Amazon.com:
Like many public-domain DVD sets, this six-disc set compiles a handful of well-liked features from one genre--in this case, a quintet of venerable '40s noir. Where Questar's box exceeds expectations is on its sixth disc, which is chock full of extras that make the set a must-have for viewers looking for a crash course in Hollywood thrillers. The lineup of flicks is solid--Rudolph Mate's D.O.A., in which Edmond O'Brien must find out who has poisoned him; Edgar G. Ulmer's minimalist Detour, which pits desperate Tom Neal against feral Ann Savage; Orson Welles's The Stranger (which is technically more suspense than noir), in which his Nazi-turned professor locks horns with Edward G. Robinson--who's also featured in Fritz Lang's moody Scarlet Street. The set is rounded out by the lesser-known Killer Bait, and if the picture quality isn't as crystal-clear as on major studio releases, the supplemental features more than make up for it. Disc 6 features two swell featurettes, one on the genre itself and the other on its predatory ladies, as well as a color gallery of poster art and a terrific compilation of trailers for such films as Bullets or Ballots and The Postman Always Rings Twice. For noir first-timers, this set is a killer place to start. --Paul Gaita
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - 5 film noir collections compared
This is mainly a contents listing of 5 box sets of film-noir collections. Quality is excellent for the Warner box--the films are not public domain and were remastered. The four other collections are of public-domain films, some of which were fixed up somewhat. Film quality is variable (dropouts, scratches, cropped images, fuzziness, low contrast). Most films are quite watchable, and there are some very good versions, especially if low price is considered (e.g., Hitch-hiker--only on CLA9). However, ... Read More
Rating: - "Detour " to England?
Be warned: "Detour" is fine film noir, but this version, at least the one I bought, has an apparent film reversal in the early hitchhiking scenes, which show the cars' drivers on the right side! Don't know how this got through. In other sections of the film, there are brief but noticeable lapses in lighting and sound quality. A good movie, but these inconsistencies in film quality are annoying at the least. This is an inexpensive set for what you get, but what you get may be less than you expect. Have ... Read More
Rating:  - A bit of gold in black and white.
A very worthwhile package for the money. All the movies are well-known and good examples of the genre, the copies are reasonable except, as another reviewer has mentioned, 'Scarlet Street' which has a rather soft focus. The packaging graphics have had some thought put into them, too. Disc six with the Extra Features is interesting and it includes the following:
1. A thirteen minute documentary (narrated by silver throated Ed Ragozzino) 'What is Film Noir', not a bad summing up of the style. ... Read More
Rating: - OK Transfers, but the extras are nice
The bonus disc has over 40 trailers for B&W Noirs and suspense films. In addition, some great film noir movie posters.
Also, the box set is set up nice. Looks great. Not to shabby for a public domain movie release.
All the transfers (except Scarlet Street) look fine. They're tinted blueish and yellow sometimes. Apparently, the films were pieced together from different sources. It's fairly seemless, though.
Scarlet Street still looks horrible. What a shame. That's ... Read More
Rating:  - Not Exactly Crisp......
The liner notes say that these are "...crisp, archival prints". Well, not exactly. This set is pretty good, but not fantastic. The authoring leaves some pixellation and blotchiness in the darker scenes. Also, they have tinted some of the scenes grey. I guess that was to try and cover up some fading. "D.O.A." is pretty good, but a clearer version is the one put out by Image Entertainment. This set does contain the best and most complete version of "DETOUR" that i have seen, although it still needs more restoration ... Read More
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