Press Release Edge of Darkness (Warner Archive Collection) (1943) (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

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[Robert Crawford]

The Amazon link has gone live, but the actual release date is in question. Amazon and Bull Moose are showing a January 18th release date while Deep Discount and other retailers are showing a February 22nd release.

Well, my Amazon preorder has shipped so it looks like January 18th release date was correct.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Robert, is this the first RCR for 2022? If so, I will also blind-buy this one.

@Rodney Oops, I missed this post! Yes, I recommend this title for those that like WWII "War" films.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I watched my Blu-ray today and I'll give the video presentation a 4.5 grade. I compared it to the iTunes HD digital and the difference is night and day as it looked like the digital wasn't much better than a DVD. More later, but I'm happy with this disc. The movie is just about two hours long, so I do wonder if some of you would be bored by this movie because there really isn't a lot of action until the last 20 minutes of the movie. They took their time giving you the back story and build up as this movie filmed in 1942, and was released in 1943, was clearly intended to be an Allies propaganda film. Furthermore, I did get emotional again near the end of the film when action does take place. My reaction is similar to whenever I watch the famous "La Marseillaise" sequence in "Casablanca". For me, the realization that the entire world was at war and that great sacrifices of life and liberty were taking place across the globe just gets to me.

​

 

[AnthonyClarke]

This was a film which made some people realise Errol Flynn really could act. He's powerful but understated; no false heroics, a classic performance

E

 

[Ronald Epstein]

An interesting question at the end...

I love it when a Warner Archive title is announced that I never heard of before, and through a huge amount of positive "buzz" I blindly order and watch it, only to be completely blown away.

Of COURSE that was the case with EDGE OF DARKNESS, which I had the opportunity to view this afternoon.

As I watched the opening credits, I saw Ruth Gordon's name. I thought, is it THE Ruth Gordon? Well, turns out it certainly was and I just loved watching her as the Mother, Anna Stensgard.

However, that was just the icing on the cake to a movie that left me completely astounded by the time it was through.

EDGE OF DARKNESS feels completely out of place for a 1943 film. It's incredibly dark and equally violent. It almost felt like I was watching "The Wild Bunch" of the 40s and that a film like this was 20+ years behind its time.

(maybe I just don't watch enough war movies from that period)

In any event, the transfer is immaculate. There's just something about a restored B&W film on Blu-ray and the way it just punches on the big home screen.

So, the hype surrounding this release was spot on. An incredible film!

My question? Oh, it concerns the included Daffy Duck short...

Was the short ever released on any of the Looney Tunes sets? I ask because it doesn't look as good as I thought it would given the level of restoration many of those shorts went through before being released on sets over the years.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

I posted this in Robert Crawford's ongoing thread after watching it last night (first time in probably 40 years):

Just finished it and damn, what a film. I’d forgotten about 95% of it so it was like a new movie. Flynn is outstanding and that final battle & assault is gripping. I was trying to figure out why it seemed different from other war pictures of that era and I then realized most of that sequence was shot outside instead of the usual soundstage greenery. That really helped sell it for me. 5/5 all the way.

Ron - three others from that era that you might enjoy: Battleground, Objective Burma, and They Were Expendable.

 

[Randy Korstick]

An interesting question at the end...

I love it when a Warner Archive title is announced that I never heard of before, and through a huge amount of positive "buzz" I blindly order and watch it, only to be completely blown away.

Of COURSE that was the case with EDGE OF DARKNESS, which I had the opportunity to view this afternoon.

As I watched the opening credits, I saw Ruth Gordon's name. I thought, is it THE Ruth Gordon? Well, turns out it certainly was and I just loved watching her as the Mother, Anna Stensgard.

However, that was just the icing on the cake to a movie that left me completely astounded by the time it was through.

EDGE OF DARKNESS feels completely out of place for a 1943 film. It's incredibly dark and equally violent. It almost felt like I was watching "The Wild Bunch" of the 40s and that a film like this was 20+ years behind its time.

(maybe I just don't watch enough war movies from that period)

In any event, the transfer is immaculate. There's just something about a restored B&W film on Blu-ray and the way it just punches on the big home screen.

So, the hype surrounding this release was spot on. An incredible film!

My question? Oh, it concerns the included Daffy Duck short...

Was the short ever released on any of the Looney Tunes sets? I ask because it doesn't look as good as I thought it would given the level of restoration many of those shorts went through before being released on sets over the years.

If you enjoyed this one you should enjoy Desperate Journey as well. Hopefully it gets a Blu Ray soon. Its also very violent and ahead of its time in some ways. It reminds of a non stop action 90's movie. Its just missing the surround sound.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Besides the films already mentioned in this thread, the following "Warner" WWII movies I'm patiently waiting on for a Blu-ray release:

Bataan
Back to Bataan
Air Force
Destination Tokyo

 

[Joel Arndt]

Besides the films already mentioned in this thread, the following "Warner" WWII movies I'm patiently waiting on for a Blu-ray release:

Bataan
Back to Bataan
Air Force
Destination Tokyo

All good. And another vote here for Destination Tokyo. Cary Grant and John Garfield are terrific!

 

[RobertMG]

I posted this in Robert Crawford's ongoing thread after watching it last night (first time in probably 40 years):

Just finished it and damn, what a film. I’d forgotten about 95% of it so it was like a new movie. Flynn is outstanding and that final battle & assault is gripping. I was trying to figure out why it seemed different from other war pictures of that era and I then realized most of that sequence was shot outside instead of the usual soundstage greenery. That really helped sell it for me. 5/5 all the way.

Ron - three others from that era that you might enjoy: Battleground, Objective Burma, and They Were Expendable.

Northern Pursuit is great too!

 

[Robert Crawford]

EDGE OF DARKNESS feels completely out of place for a 1943 film. It's incredibly dark and equally violent. It almost felt like I was watching "The Wild Bunch" of the 40s and that a film like this was 20+ years behind its time.

(maybe I just don't watch enough war movies from that period)

I was channel surfing this morning and noticed that "The North Star" (1943) was playing on the TCM channel. Olive also released a 2014 Blu-ray. If anybody is interested in seeing another dark and violent WWII film that was also released in 1943, I recommend this movie. This propaganda film was made from the perspective of pro-Soviet Communists which caused the film to be heavily criticized, especially, during the "Red Scare" years with the House Committee on Un-American Activities. The movie was re-released and severely cut in which segments showing Soviet collective life were removed and the film re-named "Armored Attack!". Back in the 1960s, the movie used to play on local NYC TV stations, but I believe it was the cut version of the movie that I watched as a kid. Luckily, the film's theatrical version has been restored to it's original length which is what showed on TCM this morning and released on Blu-ray.

It's not surprising that "Edge of Darkness" and "The North Star" have the same director Lewis Milestone. His forte was staging battle sequences as his "War" films are among the best of that genre. James Wong Howe was the cinematographer with William Cameron Menzies production design. Another tidbit is that Lillian Hellman wrote the story and screenplay. Something tells me others contributed to the final screenplay. Aaron Copland wrote the music with Ira Gershwin's lyrics. Interesting that Walter Huston appears in both "Edge of Darkness" and "The North Star" in similar roles as the town doctor. Again, this movie is brutal, especially for 1943, so there is a lot of killing, atrocities and maiming by the Nazis against the Ukrainian people and the same is returned to the Nazis, when the Ukrainians fight back. Women and children are killed in different battle sequences

Spoiler

while children are drained for their blood to use in blood transfusions and experiments by German doctors.

Jane Withers, just died in 2021 at 95 years old, as she was the last surviving cast member of this fine film. Take a look at the rest of this film's cast:

• Dana Andrews
• Anne Baxter
• Walter Huston
• Walter Brennan
• Ann Harding
• Farley Granger
• Dean Jagger
• Erich von Stroheim
• Carl Benton Reid

 

[Rodney]

My question? Oh, it concerns the included Daffy Duck short...

Was the short ever released on any of the Looney Tunes sets? I ask because it doesn't look as good as I thought it would given the level of restoration many of those shorts went through before being released on sets over the years.

Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6

 

[benbess]

Based on the recommendations here I got the Edge of Darkness blu-ray and watched it yesterday. As has been said this is an effectively grim war movie. Picture quality is very good to excellent. Strong cast. I wondered about where parts of it were filmed, and found the answer in the imdb trivia....

Edge of Darkness (1943) - Trivia - IMDb

Edge of Darkness (1943) - Trivia on IMDb: Cameos, Mistakes, Spoilers and more...

m.imdb.com

"Location shooting took place in Monterey County and on the Monterey Peninsula in California. Sites included Monterey and Monterey Bay, Cannery Row in New Monterey, Del Monte and the Del Monte Forest, and in coves near Cypress Point. Special authorization was granted the production by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army to shoot in a restricted Military zone in Del Monte in the area of the Monterey Presidio. The "New York Times" reported on September 27, 1942 that the production used a fleet of local fishing boats and two piers at Monterey."

"Miles Mander's voice is heard over the short-wave radio as that of Sir Winston Churchill. He had voiced Churchill at Warner Brothers for Captains of the Clouds (1942)."

I think FDR's voice at the end is also an actor's impersonation, perhaps done by the same actor who voiced FDR for Yankee Doodle Dandy.

 

[Mark_TB]

Somehow this one slipped by me until now. Ordered! I've never seen it, but I'm looking forward to it.

Slightly off-topic, can anyone recommend a good Errol Flynn biography, or comments on My Wicked, Wicked Ways?