Tuesday, May 31, 2022

The Guilty / High Tide BLU RAY REVIEW + Unboxing / Menu | Film Noir | Flicker Alley

 


Reviewing and unboxing The Guilty and High Tide on Blu-ray. 


Buy it from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3t5vXLR


#TheGuilty #HighTide #Review


The Guilty and High Tide are not available on 4K Ultra HD (UHD). This Blu-ray edition also includes the DVD.


John Reinhardt: The Guilty (1947) and High Tide (1947) the double-feature release.


The Guilty (1947) released by Monogram Pictures, is a triumph of resourcefulness for its nomadic Viennese director, John Reinhardt. Based on a short story by legendary suspense writer Cornell Woolrich, this little-seen B movie centers on war veterans Mike Carr (Don Castle) and Johnny Dixon (Wally Cassell), roommates in a low-rent tenement. They are romantically entangled with twin sisters Estelle and Linda Mitchell (Bonita Granville, in a dual role). When one sister turns up dead, the boys are hounded by a suspicious police inspector (Regis Toomey)—although there's no shortage of suspects. Working on only three sets, with a shoestring budget, Reinhardt and director of photography Henry Sharp evoke the dreadful, dead-of-night ambiance that was the domain of the era's most prolific noir scribe, Cornell Woolrich.


Thanks to the dedication of the Film Noir Foundation, The Guilty has been restored from a 35mm nitrate composite fine-grain master by UCLA Film & Television Archive.


High Tide (1947) forgotten noir, set in a spectacularly corrupt Los Angeles, is a crackling crime thriller rescued thanks to the combined efforts of the Film Noir Foundation, UCLA Film & Television Archive, and the British Film Institute.


In flashback, we learn that Slade was brought in by muckraking editor Fresney as protection against a mobster (Anthony Warde) his paper is investigating. Things quickly get complicated as Fresney's boss has a wife (Julia Bishop) eager to resume a smoldering romance with Slade. When a main character gets iced early, everybody becomes a suspect, and the double-crosses start multiplying at a breakneck pace.


High Tide was the second of two crime thrillers independently produced in 1947 by Texas oil tycoon Jack Wrather. It carries over from The Guilty the same screenwriter and cameraman, the same protagonist in actor Don Castle, and the same director, John Reinhardt, whose playful inventiveness enlivened several post-WW II films noir.


Restoration funding was provided by the Film Noir Foundation in conjunction with the Packard Humanities Institute. The action gets rolling with one of the greatest framing gimmicks in noir: a speeding car crashes onto a rocky shoreline and its occupants, newspaper editor Hugh Fresney (Lee Tracy) and private eye Tim Slade (Don Castle) recount the plot as the rising tide threatens to drown them. 


Special Features and Technical Specs:


NEW RESTORATIONS OF BOTH FILMS BY THE FILM NOIR FOUNDATION

A Special Kind of Partnership: Jack Wrather, Bonita Granville, and Don Castle

"Welcome to My Nightmare" – a short documentary exploring the life and work of Cornell Woolrich

John Reinhardt: The Viennese Auteur of Poverty Row – A documentary featuring interviews

Audio Commentary - The Guilty – by prize-winning noir author & film studies instructor Jake Hinkson

Audio Commentary - High Tide – by film historian and biographer Alan K. Rode

Souvenir Booklet – containing an essay by Eddie Muller and a wealth of fabulous ephemera


Optional English subtitles


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Raiders of the Lost Ark 4K STEELBOOK Review + Unboxing | Limited Edition

 


Reviewing and unboxing Raiders of the Lost Ark 4K Ultra HD (UHD) Steelbook. 


Buy it from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3N2MhVr


#RaidersOfTheLostArk #4K #Steelbook


The cinematic classic that started it all—Raiders of the Lost Ark—celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, having first introduced audiences to the man with the hat on June 12, 1981. Forty years later, the legendary hero continues to captivate new generations of fans.


Now, for the first time ever on 4K steelbook, with DOLBY VISION and HDR10 for ultra-vivid picture quality and state-of-the-art DOLBY ATMOS AUDIO. Meticulously remastered from a 4K scan of the original negative with extensive visual effects work done to ensure the most pristine and highest quality image. All picture work was approved by director Steven Spielberg.


In addition, all four films were remixed at Skywalker Sound under the supervision of legendary sound designer Ben Burtt to create the DOLBY ATMOS soundtracks. All original sound elements were used to achieve the fully immersive DOLBY ATMOS mixes while staying true to each film's original creative intent.


Bonus content as detailed below:


On Set with Raiders of the Lost Ark

From Jungle to Desert

From Adventure to Legend

Making the Films

The Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981 documentary)


Director: Steven Spielberg 

Writers: Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas, Philip Kaufman 

Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies 

Producer: Frank Marshall