A Few Words About A few words about...™ Cry of the City -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

Anyone with a bent toward film noir, is aware of the wonderfully conceived titles for these productions, and Robert Siodmak's 1948, Cry of the City, starring Victor Mature, is no exception.

It's another in the documentary style noirs fostered by Fox, and this release by Kino Lorber, via Fox, is a good, but not great-looking Blu-ray.

Cleaner than many, with a stable image, it's just a bit soft for some reason -- and I've no specific information as to why, other than the fact that it's from a dupe.

As noirs go, and you'll know that they run the gamut from just okay to high quality, Cry of the City is a very good one, and well worth your time.

A quality Blu-ray, with no problems to be seen from a normal seating distance.

Image - 3.75

Audio - 4.5

4k Up-rez - 3.75

Pass / Fail - Pass

Recommended

RAH

 

[Cranston37+]

For those interested in these Kino noirs Mr. Harris has reviewed - "Cry of the City", "Boomerang" and "House on 92nd Street" are on sale right now from Kino Lorbor for $11.98ea.

I ordered those along with "Ox-Bow Incident" to qualify for free shipping and the total was still $9.52 cheaper than ordering the 3 noirs alone from Amazon...

 

[Robin9]

Cry Of The City is possibly my favorite crime melodrama. (I don't waste my time on the phrase "film noir") I'm very pleased that in the past few years, its reputation has increased in leaps and bounds, as more and more people become aware of what, about 35 years ago, was a little-known film.

One of the many reasons I love this film is that it gives the ever under-rated Victor Mature the kind of role he did best: a man under pressure. I never liked him when he was playing bumptious, cocky, arrogant characters.

In the 1960s I, along with millions of other people, watched each week The Fugitive on TV, and I noticed that the regular cinematographer was Lloyd Ahern. I assumed he was some TV journeyman. When a few years later I caught up with Cry of the City in some re-run house, I noticed Lloyd Ahern was the cinematographer! We live and learn!

 

[Robert Crawford]

For those interested in these Kino noirs Mr. Harris has reviewed - "Cry of the City", "Boomerang" and "House on 92nd Street" are on sale right now from Kino Lorbor for $11.98ea.

I ordered those along with "Ox-Bow Incident" to qualify for free shipping and the total was still $9.52 cheaper than ordering the 3 noirs alone from Amazon...

Yup, I ordered five Kino titles from them this morning.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Cry Of The City is possibly my favorite crime melodrama. (I don't waste my time on the phrase "film noir") I'm very pleased that in the past few years, its reputation has increased in leaps and bounds, as more and more people become aware of what, about 35 years ago, was a little-known film.

One of the many reasons I love this film is that it gives the ever under-rated Victor Mature the kind of role he did best: a man under pressure. I never liked him when he was playing bumptious, cocky, arrogant characters.

In the 1960s I, along with millions of other people, watched each week The Fugitive on TV, and I noticed that the regular cinematographer was Lloyd Ahern. I assumed he was some TV journeyman. When a few years later I caught up with Cry of the City in some re-run house, I noticed Lloyd Ahern was the cinematographer! We live and learn!

Yeah, it's one of my favorite film noirs too. Hope Emerson's role in this film has always been very memorable for me.

 

[Robin9]

Yeah, it's one of my favorite film noirs too. Hope Emerson's role in this film has always been very memorable for me.

Absolutely unforgettable. The character she played is pretty well unique in films.

I do, however, sometime wonder if David Zelag Goodman was thinking of what Hope Emerson had done with that character when he did his brilliant re-working of Raymond Chandler's Farewell My Lovely and turned what, in the novel, is a sinister man into a butch woman who slaps Robert Mitchum's face so hard, his head nearly comes off his shoulders.

 

[Eastmancolor]

The new Blu-ray of CRY OF THE CITY has a very soft image. Projected onto a large screen it looks like it's a bit out of focus and is somewhat difficult to watch. So definitely the smaller screen the better with this title.

I've bought a lot of these catalog releases and have been pleased with the vast majority of them. This one I would recommend passing on, especially if you watch your discs on a projector. Maybe on a 50" TV it won't be as noticeable.

 

[Paul Penna]

Another excellent Eddie Muller commentary - made specifically for this Kino release - more than made up for the moderate shortcomings of the element and for my having shelled out for the Fox MOD DVD-r that I never got around to watching. If Fox has a HD master for The Brasher Doubloon it would be nice if Kino could get that and ressurect the Muller commentary I understood he made before Fox pulled the plug on their Noir DVD series.

 

[Cranston37+]

The new Blu-ray of CRY OF THE CITY has a very soft image. Projected onto a large screen it looks like it's a bit out of focus and is somewhat difficult to watch... This one I would recommend passing on...

I would hate for someone to miss seeing any good film just because of a soft picture. While I certainly prefer the best presentation possible, seeing the film should be the most important thing...