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By
NICK ZEGARAC
Robert Wise's "The Set-Up"
is a taut and exciting 71-minute masterpiece that
pulls no punches when it comes to exposing the
seedy underworld racket of professional boxing.
All the essentials are present for one of the
undisputed champions of film noir. A travesty that
in recent years this film has not gotten the press
or accolades that it so rightfully deserves. The
sadly forgotten Robert Ryan stars as Stoker, a
once optimistic, once handsome pugilist who falls
prey to two unscrupulous fight promoters who make
a deal with an underworld kingpin to throw the
fight. The wrinkle: nobody tells Ryan that he's
got to lose, hence he's driven to win. Ryan, still
lean and muscled, was himself a boxer before he
became an actor and the intensity in his
performance is certainly delving on prior
experience in the ring.
The film unfolds in real time, meaning that the
action takes place in approximately the same
amount of time it would take for the real event to
take place. This tough, gritty little masterpiece
offers a superb performance by Robert Ryan as the
double-crossed fighter. The stellar supporting
cast includes Audrey Totter, George Tobias and
Alan Baxter; names that unfortunately mean little
to anyone outside of the die-hard film buff. All
give compelling performances, genuinely fraught
with a sense of immediacy, excitement but ultimate
disillusionment. Rarely do boxing movies derive
such riveting, gut-punching exhilaration from any
action taking place beyond ringside.
Unfortunately, "The Set-Up" is the poorest looking
transfer of the bunch in Warner's box set. It's
not awful but it is below average. The gray scale
is balanced with but blacks are neither as deep
nor as solid as they should be. Neither are whites
very clean. There's a considerable amount of film
grain and a lot of age related artifacts for a
visual presentation that is below par for DVD and
in desperate need of some digital wizardry. The
audio is mono but nicely balanced. The more intent
listener will notice slight pops and some hiss but
nothing that will distract. Robert Wise and Martin
Scorsese tag team on the audio commentary, which
is very compelling. This disc is recommended for
film only, not quality of transfer. |
