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By
NICK ZEGARAC
In the late 1940s the
burgeoning style of "film noir" cinema blossomed.
It borrowed heavily on the fundamental stylistic
elements of German Expressionism to create an
unsettling world of spurious sexual repression and
deeply disturbing violence. Often considered "B"
pictures, the film noir movement eventually
trickled up to "A" list status, thanks to a series
of high profile projects with weighty stars in the
lead. "Mildred Pierce" and "Dark Passage" -- both
already available on DVD -- are perhaps the two
most celebrated "A" list film noir productions,
though in recent years film historians and current
film makers have been heavily influenced by the
mysteries of shadow and darkness that all film
noir share. The current crop of film noir classics
released this week from Warner Brothers and
Universal (either separately or in two unique box
sets) is a testament to the enduring breadth,
scope and reach of these unsettling motion
pictures. So let's begin.
Jacque Tourneur's "Out of the Past" is one of the
quintessential film noirs. Everything, from Robert
Mitchum's musings -- "Build my gallows high, baby"
to the darkly mysterious environment is fraught
with subtle entendre and troubling meaning. Yet it
is so fascinating that you can't turn away. Robert
Mitchum is at his sleepy-eyed, dry and brooding
best as Jeff Bailey, the ultra-cool, ultra savvy
former P.I. hiding out from his former life as a
gas station owner in a little alcove of existence
that itself is absent from the mainstream world.
But the past catches up with Bailey in the
embodiment of callous, calculating career
criminal, Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas). Whit and
Jeff had some spurious goings on once upon a time,
an old score that Whit isn't willing to overlook
or concede once he finds Jeff. If that was not bad
enough, Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer) enters the
picture as the atypical femme fatale, whose bite
is more venomous than the poisonous web of
destruction and deceit that she manages to ensnare
everyone in. This is a palpable taut thriller with
few equals, an intellectual crime drama that puts
its remake "Against All Odds" to shame. As is to
be expected, the plot is anything but straight
forward, leading to twists of convention that the
first time viewer will be hard pressed to figure
out or see coming.
In keeping with Warner's current trend to not
really do all that is required to completely
remaster classic movies for DVD, the transfer of
"Out of the Past" is just a bit above average. The
gray scale is nicely balanced with deep solid
blacks and whites that are relatively clean.
There's a considerable amount of film grain and
age related artifacts for a visual presentation
that, while a considerable improvement over
previously issued VHS tapes, is still below par.
The audio is mono but nicely balanced. The more
intent listener will notice some hiss. There's a
very thorough audio commentary by James Ursini to
round out your appreciation of the film. A good
disc to add to your library. |
