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A PEEK AT MAN HUNT (1 Viewer)

haineshisway

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I've seen shockingly little about this release and that's a shame. Many cineastes will tell you that Man Hunt is second-tier Fritz Lang, to which I say hogwash. Man Hunt is a terrific film and classic Lang. Wonderful cast (especially George Sanders), terrific screenplay by Dudley Nichols and a great score by Alfred Newman.

The transfer is fantastic. I have seen it damned with faint praise elsewhere by those who clearly do not understand what film is, nor what opticals are (yes, including FOG) so we get the usual "it's soft-looking some of the time" as if that were some problem with the transfer. It ain't. Fox did a great job on this and I cannot recommend it highly enough, especially if you're a Lang fan like I am.
 

Keith Cobby

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While waiting for my copy to arrive I have to completely agree with Bruce (how often can you say that!). Fritz Lang is one of the greatest directors and his The Big Heat is one of my favourite films with a superb blu-ray from TT. I hope that While the City Sleeps will also be released soon.
 

atfree

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I will add another vote of high praise for this one. I saw it in the early 70s when I was about 10 years old on my local station. I was captivated by it then and remain so today. The BD is superb.
 

Dick

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Keith Cobby said:
While waiting for my copy to arrive I have to completely agree with Bruce (how often can you say that!). Fritz Lang is one of the greatest directors and his The Big Heat is one of my favourite films with a superb blu-ray from TT. I hope that While the City Sleeps will also be released soon.
WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS (as well as BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT, also Lang) is available from the Warner Bros. Archive. However, both transfers are very soft. I understand there are editions from Europe that are sharper, albeit PAL and Region-locked.
 

Keith Cobby

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The Exposure UK release of While the City Sleeps is superior to the Warner Archive edition and is 1.33 rather than the 1.78 WAC. For me the full format works better. This has previously been discussed in the International threads section. I doubt that Warners will release this on blu-ray but I am hopeful of a UK/European release.
 

smithbrad

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Just watched "Man Hunt" last week for the first time. I was impressed with the quality of the video. However, while I enjoyed the film very much there was just something a bit uneven about it for me. The next night I watched "Foreign Correspondent" by Hitchcock. It was interesting comparing approaches by the two. In this case, I would have to give the nod to Hitchcock for overall enjoyment.
 

bujaki

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Great thriller with a heart-piercing performance from the lovely Joan Bennett. It is such a good Lang film that it made me search for the novel, Rogue Male, and read it. Diffferent (no Joan Bennett), but quite good as well.
Lang is one of the greatest directors and this is one of his better American efforts.
 

bgart13

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I love MAN HUNT. Excellent movie, exciting story, wonderulf photography, and superb acting. Sanders' villain is top notch. The disc is wonderful.
 

Charles Smith

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Never seen it, but it was an effortless blind buy for me. (Fritz Lang? Twilight Time? Hello?)

It'll be a while, probably several days, before I have a good chance to watch it, but I know it's going to be good.
 

ROclockCK

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Charles Smith said:
Never seen it, but it was an effortless blind buy for me. (Fritz Lang? Twilight Time? Hello?)

It'll be a while, probably several days, before I have a good chance to watch it, but I know it's going to be good.
New one for me too Charles, and I loved it.

Funny thing is, I knew that Man Hunt was from the early 40s, but hadn't paid any attention to its specific year of release. And unlike my usual practice, for some reason, I just popped in the disc without first reading Julie Kirgo's essay...so I went into it doubly blind.

What's interesting, is that as the plot of this film unfolds it soon becomes obvious not only the year it was made, but also which part of that year. Unlike so many other golden era Hollywood pictures typically written, directed and performed in the more timeless studio style which became SOP over a range of years - even decades - this one is so specific in story & theme, and time & place you can narrow it down to early/mid 1941 in record time. Actually, I liked that WWII pre-Pearl 'time-capsule' as much as the movie itself...very unusual for the period...even today with multi-year development/production windows now the norm.

BTW, on your second pass, you should find the commentary by Lang biographer Patrick McGilligan interesting too - I sure did. Lots to appreciate about this work, not only within the context of Lang's filmography, but also Hollywood during the war years, and McGilligan enriched my understanding of both enormously.

Time has been rather kind to this particular WWII era film, and I think TT's superb Blu-ray showcase will go a long way toward rediscovery and reappreciation.
 

alistairKerr

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Can I just concur with all of the above - Man Hunt is a terrific blu-ray.
Watched it a few nights ago, and it is so much of its time, which makes it even more fascinating. Never been a huge Walter Pidgeon fan, but his performance here converted me. Joan Bennett is superb, and George Sanders makes the film his own - and what a good German speaker. Who knew!
The icing on the cake for me is the isolated score - Alfred Newman brings menace and romance to the forefront here. Worthy of a CD release IMHO.
Alistair
 

Eastmancolor

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With the bulk of their nitrate disposed of decades ago, I'm always amazed at how Fox is able to coax such great looking images out of the remaining, less than stellar, film elements. Digital restoration tools are definitely one of the miracles of the age! Bravo to Mr. Belston and the rest of the team!
 

Jacksmyname

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I think I was in my early teens when I first saw this one. Years later, for some reason, the only scene I could remember was of Mr. Pidgeon taking a bead on the insane corporal.
Every once in a while, something would remind me of that scene, and it would make me crazy that I couldn't remember what film it was from.
Well, a few months ago I came across a film called " Man Hunt" on YouTube. I decided to watch it, and lo and behold, it was the one!
Needless to say, this is a title that I'll be adding to my collection. Thanks for the review, Bruce; much appreciated!
 

alistairKerr

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alistairKerr said:
Can I just concur with all of the above - Man Hunt is a terrific blu-ray.
The icing on the cake for me is the isolated score - Alfred Newman brings menace and romance to the forefront here. Worthy of a CD release IMHO.
Alistair

And I see that Lalaland records have done just that - their soundtrack CD of Alfred Newman's "Man Hunt" is released this month in a limited edition!
 

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