haineshisway
Senior HTF Member
Yes, I've been catching up on movie watching, and surprisingly, I've seen not much written about a few of the things below.
Cat O Nine Tails - finally got the Arrow Blu-ray after the second Amazon cock-up (first was The Apartment) - I had to cancel, since the date kept getting pushed, so I ordered from the UK and got that pretty quickly - Amazon eventually, magically got their stock but were magically charging list price for it - what a joke. Anyway, I rather like this film more than Plumage - this seems to be the whipping boy of Argento films of this era, mostly because he apparently denigrated it at some point and everyone of course immediately parrots that. I liked it when it came out and I like it even more now. First off, the Morricone score is great, Malden and the little girl are great, and the whole atmosphere is just right. But the transfer, what about the transfer, you say? Well, I didn't have much of a problem with the Blue Underground release - until seeing this one. And yes, this transfer really is all that - in fact, it may be the best representation of what a dye transfer print of this Techniscope film actually looked like. Color is absolutely perfect. I wouldn't call it a "restoration" because I don't bandy that word about as if it had no meaning. But it's a terrific transfer and I can't imagine anyone who likes this film being disappointed or preferring another transfer. And yes, it's darker than the Blue Underground, which was too bright. Mono sound is also excellent. I prefer the English dub on this because we get Malden and Franciscus' actual voices.
Take the Money and Run - I have seen nothing here about this transfer, really - did I miss it? In any case, I love this film, I love Janet Margolin, and the transfer is decidedly mediocre, frequently edging on out of focus territory on the wider shots. Clearly an older transfer - don't blame this transfer on the film's low budget, which, for the time, really wasn't that low for this kind of thing. But if you're a fan, you will want this. I just wish it were better, but with these kinds of licensing deals, you get what you get.
The two Inspector Maigret movies with Jean Gabin - the first, Maigret Sets a Trap, is a good deal of fun, a bit too long for its own good, sporting a lovely black-and-white image that is unfortunately and blatantly transferred in the wrong ratio, which minimally should be 1.66 and here is open matte. Every shot is visually compromised, with too much head and foot room - what a shame. The film was made in 1958. The followup film, Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case was made but a year later and is presented in 1.66 - I just don't get how labels don't understand this stuff. The second film isn't as much fun as the first, but I like them both pretty well.
The Hammer Volume Two Crime set - this was a treat for me. The first film, The Snorkel, is somewhat silly at times, but I enjoyed it and especially enjoyed Mandy Miller's performance. It goes on a bit long, but it's entertaining. The transfer is, for me, excessively grainy in an unpleasant way, but it's not horrendous. The second film, Never Take Sweets from a Stranger, was fantastic - as relevant and hard-hitting today as it must have been back then. The 2.35 black-and-white scope transfer is terrific - Freddie Francis is the cameraman. It's just a terrific film with great performances. The third film, The Full Treatment is basically a complete dud - the transfer is okay (although the edges of the left side of the frame are out of focus occasionally - don't know why), the story is rather inane, it's 110-minutes long and would play better at 80-minutes, and the hero's behavior is so irritating that you want to push him off the nearest cliff. That's the real problem - the actors are all asked to play what is basically the same scene over and over and over again. Finally, we have Cash on Demand and that one is right up there with Never Take Sweets from a Stranger in terms of quality. I'd never seen it - it's a great little programmer with superb performances by Cushing and Morrell and everyone else. It's taut, suspenseful, and is basically told in real time. I loved every second of it, and the transfer is top shelf. The US extended version is the one to watch. It came out here first and then finally came out in the UK shorn of thirteen minutes, most of them coming from the first part of the film - those missing minutes are all character related and without them things don't make much sense later in terms of character dynamics and relationships. A word about the extras: They're basically the same for every film - two thoroughly obnoxious pontificators pontificating, each with an irritating voice (there's also a woman pontificator, but she's not quite as annoying). I wanted to hurl my shoe through the TV. A couple have nice interviews with actors, and that's fun. But as a set, I'm thrilled to have it, even with the one dud.
Cat O Nine Tails - finally got the Arrow Blu-ray after the second Amazon cock-up (first was The Apartment) - I had to cancel, since the date kept getting pushed, so I ordered from the UK and got that pretty quickly - Amazon eventually, magically got their stock but were magically charging list price for it - what a joke. Anyway, I rather like this film more than Plumage - this seems to be the whipping boy of Argento films of this era, mostly because he apparently denigrated it at some point and everyone of course immediately parrots that. I liked it when it came out and I like it even more now. First off, the Morricone score is great, Malden and the little girl are great, and the whole atmosphere is just right. But the transfer, what about the transfer, you say? Well, I didn't have much of a problem with the Blue Underground release - until seeing this one. And yes, this transfer really is all that - in fact, it may be the best representation of what a dye transfer print of this Techniscope film actually looked like. Color is absolutely perfect. I wouldn't call it a "restoration" because I don't bandy that word about as if it had no meaning. But it's a terrific transfer and I can't imagine anyone who likes this film being disappointed or preferring another transfer. And yes, it's darker than the Blue Underground, which was too bright. Mono sound is also excellent. I prefer the English dub on this because we get Malden and Franciscus' actual voices.
Take the Money and Run - I have seen nothing here about this transfer, really - did I miss it? In any case, I love this film, I love Janet Margolin, and the transfer is decidedly mediocre, frequently edging on out of focus territory on the wider shots. Clearly an older transfer - don't blame this transfer on the film's low budget, which, for the time, really wasn't that low for this kind of thing. But if you're a fan, you will want this. I just wish it were better, but with these kinds of licensing deals, you get what you get.
The two Inspector Maigret movies with Jean Gabin - the first, Maigret Sets a Trap, is a good deal of fun, a bit too long for its own good, sporting a lovely black-and-white image that is unfortunately and blatantly transferred in the wrong ratio, which minimally should be 1.66 and here is open matte. Every shot is visually compromised, with too much head and foot room - what a shame. The film was made in 1958. The followup film, Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case was made but a year later and is presented in 1.66 - I just don't get how labels don't understand this stuff. The second film isn't as much fun as the first, but I like them both pretty well.
The Hammer Volume Two Crime set - this was a treat for me. The first film, The Snorkel, is somewhat silly at times, but I enjoyed it and especially enjoyed Mandy Miller's performance. It goes on a bit long, but it's entertaining. The transfer is, for me, excessively grainy in an unpleasant way, but it's not horrendous. The second film, Never Take Sweets from a Stranger, was fantastic - as relevant and hard-hitting today as it must have been back then. The 2.35 black-and-white scope transfer is terrific - Freddie Francis is the cameraman. It's just a terrific film with great performances. The third film, The Full Treatment is basically a complete dud - the transfer is okay (although the edges of the left side of the frame are out of focus occasionally - don't know why), the story is rather inane, it's 110-minutes long and would play better at 80-minutes, and the hero's behavior is so irritating that you want to push him off the nearest cliff. That's the real problem - the actors are all asked to play what is basically the same scene over and over and over again. Finally, we have Cash on Demand and that one is right up there with Never Take Sweets from a Stranger in terms of quality. I'd never seen it - it's a great little programmer with superb performances by Cushing and Morrell and everyone else. It's taut, suspenseful, and is basically told in real time. I loved every second of it, and the transfer is top shelf. The US extended version is the one to watch. It came out here first and then finally came out in the UK shorn of thirteen minutes, most of them coming from the first part of the film - those missing minutes are all character related and without them things don't make much sense later in terms of character dynamics and relationships. A word about the extras: They're basically the same for every film - two thoroughly obnoxious pontificators pontificating, each with an irritating voice (there's also a woman pontificator, but she's not quite as annoying). I wanted to hurl my shoe through the TV. A couple have nice interviews with actors, and that's fun. But as a set, I'm thrilled to have it, even with the one dud.
