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By
NICK ZEGARAC
Fritz Lang's "Fury" (1936)
is a late entry into the gritty human dramas that
were generally a main staple over at Warner Bros.
during the early part of the decade. But this one
comes from a studio not usually associated with
anything even remotely reeking or political
tension, MGM. Louis B. Mayer, then the undisputed
monarch of that film kingdom, was not a fan of
Lang, Tracy or the subject matter, though he
relented to the pressure of director and star to
make this film. In the final analysis, Mayer's
logic was sounder than most. The film was not a
critical or financial success, perhaps because it
too closely mirrored what many feared and
recognized as elements of daily living going on
throughout the country at that time.
The film stars Spencer Tracy as Joe Wilson, a man
falsely accused of a crime he did not commit. In
the beginning Joe was in love with the virtuous
Katharine Grant (Sylvia Sidney). Only Joe didn't
have what it took -- financially -- to set up
house keeping. So Kate moved across country to be
with Joe and make ends meet. But after false
accusations lead to Joe's incarceration, an angry
mob take to lynching the man they believe is
responsible for bringing evil to their town. Based
on Norman Krasna's "Mob Rule" the film has all the
elements and structure of classic Fritz Lang. The
evocative lighting during the climactic death of
Joe is about as brilliant, poignant and terrifying
as film gets.
The DVD from Warner is, in a word, superb. The B&W
full frame picture element exhibits a very crisp
image quality with an excellent grayscale. Though
flickering occurs throughout the presentation
(and, minus a full blown restoration is entirely
unavoidable) the image quality on this disc will
surely NOT disappoint. Age-related artifacts are
kept to a bare minimum. The audio is mono but has
been very nicely balanced -- exhibiting only minor
hiss and pop. Peter Bogdanovich -- whose previous
film audio commentaries speak to his exemplary
record as a Hollywood historian -- delivers
another fine track for this film, peppered in
personal commentary and facts derived from Fritz
Lang's own design. This disc is an absolute must
for DVD collectors. |
