- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,311
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
The latest from the Warner Archive Collection is a great WWII drama, photographed in startlingly beautiful black & white by James Wong Howe.
The cast may seem familiar from another WB project, a couple of years previous.
Humphrey Bogart, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet. Victor Francen who left France during the war has a superb role. He was the lead in Abel Gance's great anti-war film, J'Accuse, which can be found used on DVD. Do not purchase the South Korean bootleg.
The credits on Passage read like a who's who of film in 1944. Supporting the cast is director Michael Curtiz, Hall B. Wallis produced, with music composed by Max Steiner.
I'll not go into the story, but it's interesting, as the basis is a flashback within a flashback.
What I find astounding here, is the quality of the black & white imagery, especially uprezzed to 4k. Think you've seen how highly resolved a mid-1940's b/w production can be?
Think again. Perfectly rendered grain structure. Rich blacks, with wonderful shadow detail. A clean, stable image. Perfect!
This one is worth picking up for any number of reasons. Supporting continued film restoration is merely one of them.
One of the most perfect black & white Blu-rays to come down the pike. For under $20, it's yours.
Image - 5
Audio - 5
4k Up-rez - 5
Pass / Fail - Pass
Highly Recommended
RAH