![Four Film Noir Classics Limited Edition [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/712DOPorY9L.jpg)
Film noir has had many influences. Long before the term was even coined, we had atmospheric studio-shot detective thrillers, whose characters gradually became more ambiguous, and whose locations started to take in the world outside (notably New York City). This collection showcases some classic examples. In The Dark Mirror (1946), directed by Robert Siodmak (The Killers), a man is murdered and there s an obvious suspect, but she has an identical twin sister (both played by Olivia de Havilland, Gone with the Wind), and one of them has a cast-iron alibi. The perfect crime? A psychologist with a specialist interest in twin psychology delves into the heart of the mystery, at considerable risk to himself. In Secret Beyond the Door (1947), Fritz Lang (The Big Heat) adapts the Bluebeard legend with a dash of Daphne du Maurier s Rebecca. Shortly after their marriage, Celia (Joan Bennett, Suspiria) begins to suspect her architect husband Mark (Michael Redgrave, Dead of Night) of having a secret past, and wonders about the reason behind multiple rooms in his self-designed home, one of which is kept permanently locked. In Abraham Polonsky s Force of Evil (1948), an unscrupulous lawyer (John Garfield, The Postman Always Rings Twice) scents a personal fortune when he concocts a plan to merge New York City s numbers rackets into a single powerful and unbreakable operation, but reckons without his brother, who d rather stay independent. And in Joseph H. Lewis ultra-stylish The Big Combo (1955), Lieutenant Diamond (Cornel Wilde, The Naked Prey) is determined to bring down mob boss Mr Brown (Richard Conte, Thieves Highway). But Brown feels the same way, and is far less constrained by the law, leading to some wince-inducing set pieces (some involving a pre-stardom Lee Van Cleef). LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:Limited Edition Dual Format Collection [2000 copies]High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of four film noir classics: The Dark Mirror (Robert Siodmak, 1946), Secret Beyond the Door (Fritz Lang, 1947), Force of Evil (Abraham Polonsky, 1948), and The Big Combo (Joseph H. Lewis, 1955)Commentaries on all films by leading scholars and critics Adrian Martin (on The Dark Mirror), Alan K. Rode (on Secret Beyond the Door), Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme (on Force of Evil), and Eddie Muller (on The Big Combo)Noah Isenberg on The Dark Mirror, the author and scholar provides a detailed analysis of the filmNoah Isenberg on The Dark Mirror, the author and scholar provides a detailed analysis of the filmBarry Keith Grant on Secret Beyond the Door, the author and scholar introduces the filmThe House of Lang: A visual essay on Fritz Lang s style by filmmaker David Cairns with a focus on his noir workIntroduction to Force of Evil by Martin ScorseseAn Autopsy on Capitalism: A visual essay on the production and reception of Force of Evil by Frank Krutnik, author of In a Lonely Street: Film noir, genre, masculinityCommentary on selected Force of Evil themes by KrutnikGeoff Andrew on The Big Combo, the critic and programmer offers an introduction to and analysis of the filmWagon Wheel Joe: A visual essay on director Joseph H. Lewis by filmmaker David CairnsThe Big Combo original screenplay (BD/DVD-ROM content)Four radio playsTrailersReversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Scott Saslow for all filmsHardback book featuring new writing on all the films by noir experts and critics including Michael Brooke, Andrew Spicer, David Cairns and Tony Rayns and more [Limited Edition Exclusive]
T**H
Splendid noir collection
Splendid package of four movies from a Hollywood now long gone, each a classic and presenting a different aspect of noir.Headed up (in my opinion, as this was the film I most wanted) is “The Big Combo”, a gritty, violent crime drama, falling foul of the censor at the time of its release, in which police lieutenant Cornel Wilde is determined to bring mob boss Richard Conte to justice; “Secret Behind The Door” is director Fritz Lang in Hitchcock territory as newly wed Joan Bennett has doubts about husband Michael Redgrave’s past and that room he keeps locked; another dark theme comes with “The Dark Mirror” in which both psychologist Lew Ayres and police detective Thomas Mitchell try to fathom which identical twin sister (Olivia de Havilland in a dual role) committed the murder; and back in underworld territory “Force Of Evil” finds John Garfield in a taut situation as, while planning to make a fortune in the numbers (betting) racket, he also wants to protect his brother Thomas Gomez who refuses to get involved in the scheme.All films are beautifully restored and come in separate cases, packaged together in a sturdy outer box together with a 58 page, hardcover book and a poster. Each film has a soundtrack commentary and a stack of Special Features, several specially produced for this collection and, if working out prices for each movie, they’d cost less than many individual BluRay/DVD releases. In fact I purchased the set from one of Amazon’s sellers (Speedyhen) which was a few quid cheaper than the Amazon price – and delivered just as promptly!
J**T
Great Box set
All four movies, including extras were just great!! Excellent Noir collection!
S**
Film noir has never looked so great.
I've just finished watching this classic collection off film noirs. These film noirs look amazing on blu ray and the boxset is packed with great extras. Plus the boxset contains a hard back informative book, which features a wealth of information about the film's contained on this boxset. Highly recommended boxset for all film fans.
J**S
Excellent picture quality
Excellent picture quality, along with substantial commentaries, makes for a compelling package.One detail in Amazon's description that could be clearer is that all the discs, both DVD and Blu-ray, are region-free.
M**D
Five Stars
in good condition
M**4
Contained 2 copies of The Dark Mirror and no copy ...
Contained 2 copies of The Dark Mirror and no copy of Force of Evil, only realised when the person I bought it for unwrapped it.
S**S
4 Film Noir Movies - Good But Not Great
This Arrow Academy boxset contains four film noir movies (Secret Beyond The Door, The Dark Mirror, Force Of Evil and The Big Combo) made between 1946-1955.Directors Robert Siodmak, Abraham Polonsky, Joseph H Lewis and Fritz Lang are names that will be familiar to cineastes. These master craftsmen of film noir imbue their films with ironic flourishes and a sharp intelligence, leaving us with a grim and ambiguous image of existential crisis.These tough atmospheric tales of crime and murder still pack a punch over 80 years later.The impressive cinematography captures the moody downbeat cynicism of post war America.Yet these films, despite their good qualities, never quite rise above the B movie framework.Even standard film noir movies have some good moments, some even have brilliantly executed set pieces. But, sadly none of the movies contained within this boxset, are exceptional or even close to the level of quality of the best film noirs such as Double Indemnity, Sunset Blvd or The Third Man.Maybe I was expecting too much but I found this boxset distinctly underwhelming and average.All discs are accompanied by film noir scholar analysis, but most are academic and fairly standard.
H**M
Four strong noir movies
These four films all fall into the loose description of noir – grim crime stories whose creative treatment exaggerates good and evil for narrative effect. Each of these four noir films has individual strengths in particular areas. ‘The Dark Mirror’ has a cracking story involving romance, psychiatry, the double identity ruse and murder. ‘Secret Beyond the Door’ is an extremely creative treatment of a fairly standard story where relatively ordinary things are transformed by lensing, lighting and editing into stuff that is both arty and scary. ‘Force of Evil’ is a total classic which, yet again, is a relatively straightforward (as straightforward that is as any noir script ever is) story elevated to fresh heights by beautiful cinematography. And ‘The Big Combo’ is to my mind the best of the four which yet again overcomes a run-of-the-mill script with splendid photography, music and editing. That’s my take. It’s a tad expensive as a boxed set of four movies, but you do get a bucketload of extras for aficionados of the genre. 4 stars.
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