- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
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- Real Name
- Robert Harris
"What can you say about a twenty-five-year-old girl who died..." Fox has released one of the consummate noir dramas of any era on Blu-ray, and as far as surviving elements go, it looks generally superb. Otto Preminger's 1944 Laura, was nominated for five Academy Awards, and won for Best Cinematography (Joseph LaShelle). If only the vault staff at Fox had taken that into consideration before they did the deed. The new Blu-ray, which an image that appears to have been harvested from a fine grain, still has a quality image, but I'd pay several times the price to have that image harvested from either the original negative, or a higher quality fine grain. But we have what we have, and the archival staff as Fox have taken the element, and made it extremely presentable. Good black levels, decent grain and resolution, and in many cases decent shadow detail. Some sequences appear just a tad open, but without reference, any certainty is difficult. Old video incarnations are of no value. Gene Tierney is magnificent, and Clifton Webb, Vincent Price and Judith Anderson are sublime. Dana Andrews is terrific as the straight man, trying to solve the mystery. One of the great films, and a quality Blu-ray. Image - 4 Audio - 4.5 For those few who may never have seen this film, you're in for a treat of the highest degree. Read nothing before viewing. Very Highly Recommended. RAH