Blu-ray Review Human Desire – Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[t1g3r5fan]

Lets dig into, Human Desire. Following the release of The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933), director Fritz Lang – master of the German Expressionism Cinema movement in the silent era – had fled Germany and found his way to America following a brief stop in France to direct Liliom (1934). After his Hollywood debut feature Fury (1936), Lang settled in and would find his Expressionistic style would spectacularly lend itself well the burgeoning film noir genre, particularly with Hangmen Also Die! (1943), Ministry of Fear, The Woman in the Window (both 1944), Scarlet Street (1945), Secret Beyond the Door (1948) and House by the River (1950). For the follow up to one of his best American films, The Big Heat (1953), Lang brought over some of the main...

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[Interdimensional]

I don't consider this a step below The Big Heat, I like it better than that film. I was especially struck by the performance of Gloria Grahame.

It should be noted that while this may be the US blu-ray debut, it was previously released as part of Eureka's Masters of Cinema series a few years ago.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I don't consider this a step below The Big Heat, I like it better than that film. I was especially struck by the performance of Gloria Grahame.

It should be noted that while this may be the US blu-ray debut, it was previously released as part of Eureka's Masters of Cinema series a few years ago.

Opinions do vary among us because even though I like Human Desire, I too think it’s a step below The Big Heat. I have both Blu-ray releases and watched the Kino disc recently during our Noirvember Challenge. Below are my comments about it:

09) 11-09-23: "Human Desire" (1954) (Blu-ray) 3.5/5 Stars
Directed by Fritz Lang this 1954 movie is kind of a remake of La Bête humaine (1938) which was directed by Jean Renoir. IMO, the 1938 French film is superior, but I do like Human Desire quite a bit, mainly because of Gloria Grahame's performance. Another thing, I always felt sorry for her character in this movie because she was victimized by men throughout the film. Broderick Crawford plays her abusive husband while Glenn Ford plays a foolish man drawn into that couple's life through pure stupidity of his own accord. The 2023 Kino Blu-ray offers a solid video presentation that appears to be very similar to the 2019 Eureka MOC Blu-ray.

 

[Martin_Teller]

Nah, Human Desire is better.

 

[mskaye]

Nah, Human Desire is better.

I'm with RC and it is no contest. In every way, TBH is a greater piece of cinema. You're allowed to like HD - and I think it has its merits - but TBH is so full iconic and memorable things that I wish I had the energy to outline them all. I mean even Lang didn't really like HD all that much (esp the title.) That said, ANYTHING w Gloria Grahame from that era is worth seeing.

 

[Interdimensional]

I found Human Desire an unconventional, more interesting film. Perhaps The Big Heat has been so influential over the years, such that when I came to it I'd already seen enough echos of it, that I had a pretty good idea where they were going with it.

Human Desire is one of my favourite noirs. I like pretty much everything about it from start to finish. From my perspective, it doesn't put a foot wrong. I think it's terrific.

No doubt it's the unpopular opinion, but I'm sure we've all had that experience: where the much-revered classic, accomplished though it may be, can feel just a bit stale, while a supposedly lesser work can be electrifying. It's not a hill I care to die on, but you gotta go with your gut response otherwise what's the point.

That said, ANYTHING w Gloria Grahame from that era is worth seeing.

I recently saw her in The Man Who Never Was, which as a British production I wasn't expecting. IMO, her scenes were the best part of that film and really elevated it.