Press Release Criterion Press Release: The Big Heat (1953) (4k UHD Combo) (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

Noir doesn’t get any more hard-boiled than this scorching tale of vice and retribution, a film that finds director Fritz Lang working at the peak of his Hollywood style—stripped to the bone, simmering with outrage, and fatalistic to the core. A tightly wound Glenn Ford stars as a homicide detective whose investigation into a sprawling crime syndicate becomes a shockingly personal, hate-fueled quest for revenge. Costarring an iconic Gloria Grahame as the mink-coated gangster’s moll with her own axe to grind, and featuring a supporting cast led by a sensationally sleazy Lee Marvin, The Big Heat hits with raw, unstoppable force.
​

FILM INFO​

• United States
• 1953
• 89 minutes
• Black & White
• 1.37:1
• English
• Spine #1269

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES​

• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
• New audio commentary by film-noir experts Alain Silver and James Ursini
• New video essay by critic Farran Smith Nehme on the women in the film
• Audio interviews with director Fritz Lang, conducted by film historian Gideon Bachmann and filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich
• Interviews with filmmakers Michael Mann and Martin Scorsese
• Trailer
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by author Jonathan Lethem
  
  New cover by Drusilla Adeline/Sister Hyde
  
  July 1, 2025

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Thank you for supporting HTF when you preorder using the link below. As an Amazon Associate HTF earns from qualifying purchases. If you are using an adblocker you will not see link.

https://www.amazon.com/Big-Heat-Cri...efix=the+big+heat+4k+criterion,aps,127&sr=8-2

 

[Kevin Antonio (Kev)]

I guess I will be owning this great film again for the 3rd time

 

[ahollis]

I guess I will be owning this great film again for the 3rd time

I think I’ll hang on to my Blu-ray.

 

[Vegas 1]

I have both of the Twilight Time releases. Not sure about spending more for the Criterion.

 

[Sam Favate]

Very much looking forward to this.

 

[darkrock17]

I might get this as all I know about this movie is this gif that I've seen over the years on various social medias.

 

[Charles Smith]

I have both of the Twilight Time releases. Not sure about spending more for the Criterion.

Does anyone recall the reason for the second TT release? I’ve forgotten. Was it one they decided to offer again after a sellout of the first release, or was there some change or upgrade? Thanks.

 

[darkrock17]

Does anyone recall the reason for the second TT release? I’ve forgotten. Was it one they decided to offer again after a sellout of the first release, or was there some change or upgrade? Thanks.

The Encore Edition was because it was a very popular title and it included more special features than the first edition had.

 

[mskaye]

I might get this as all I know about this movie is this gif that I've seen over the years on various social medias.

Get it ! You won't be disappointed. Worth it just for Gloria Grahame's performance but there is so much more. Lang was a master. At times it makes a tough Raoul Walsh crime drama seem like The Sound of Music by comparison.

 

[darkrock17]

Get it ! You won't be disappointed. Worth it just for Gloria Grahame's performance but there is so much more. Lang was a master. At times it makes a tough Raoul Walsh crime drama seem like The Sound of Music in comparison.

Film Noir isn't a genre I practically watch, just not interested in it. I've seen some of the classics with Bogey and Bacall, but even with those two icons I haven't gone back and re-watched them.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Film Noir isn't a genre I practically watch, just not interested in it. I've seen some of the classics with Bogey and Bacall, but even with those two icons I haven't gone back and re-watched them.

Perhaps you should skip this film noir classic if it’s not your cup of tea.

 

[mskaye]

Film Noir isn't a genre I practically watch, just not interested in it. I've seen some of the classics with Bogey and Bacall, but even with those two icons I haven't gone back and re-watched them.

This is a later noir with quite a few nuances and shadings quite distinct from those films. Nothing like a Bogey Bacall film at all. I think it's much more modern and psychologically darker.

 

[darkrock17]

This is a later noir with quite a few nuances and shadings quite distinct from those films. Nothing like a Bogey Bacall film at all. I think it's much more modern and psychologically darker.

I may give it a watch, I've seen Touch of Evil and that's late 50's; though even with that I just didn't get into it.

 

[Traveling Matt]

I'm happy with my Indicator edition but am glad to see this great film become more widely available again!

 

[mskaye]

I may give it a watch, I've seen Touch of Evil and that's late 50's; though even with that I just didn't get into it.

Hmm. Not sure what to tell you after that revelation (TOE is one my favorite films. ).

 

[Robert Crawford]

Hmm. Not sure what to tell you after that revelation (TOE is one my favorite films. ).

I think you know what that tells you.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I may give it a watch, I've seen Touch of Evil and that's late 50's; though even with that I just didn't get into it.

Do you like the later neo noirs at all? Things like Chinatown or Night Moves, there are many of them. I mean Blade Runner is a noir, the style of the film is taken directly from noir in the look, the dialogue, the story. I think if you love film, noir as a genre, would be kind of a must but there probably has to be a gateway drug into it. Maybe you just have not stumbled upon the right film yet. I adore Touch of Evil, but it could seem somewhat over the top in many aspects to someone that is not really immersed in it. I get that.

I think perhaps in some cases the films can seem overly melodramatic, but I think when they get it right, they are gritty pictures that tend not to have happy endings. They have been a huge influence on so many filmmakers and making them seems to sort of go in and out of fashion.

 

[darkrock17]

Do you like the later neo noirs at all? Things like Chinatown or Night Moves, there are many of them. I mean Blade Runner is a noir, the style of the film is taken directly from noir in the look, the dialogue, the story. I think if you love film, noir as a genre, would be kind of a must but there probably has to be a gateway drug into it. Maybe you just have not stumbled upon the right film yet. I adore Touch of Evil, but it could seem somewhat over the top in many aspects to someone that is not really immersed in it. I get that.

I think perhaps in some cases the films can seem overly melodramatic, but I think when they get it right, they are gritty pictures that tend not to have happy endings. They have been a huge influence on so many filmmakers and making them seems to sort of go in and out of fashion.

I've seen Chinatown and Blade Runner. Chinatown is good, but I just didn't care much for it though, Blade Runner on the other hand I've seen multiple times.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Well, Blade Runner is basically 100% every noir trope wrapped in a science fiction paper. I would guess you like the Alex Proyas picture Dark City as well. I mean, that is essentially the same idea of taking noir and just adding sci-fi visuals.

What about Ridley's other noirs, Someone to Watch Ove Me and Black Rain, just curious if those worked for you?