Blu-ray Review T-Men: Special Edition Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

Matt Hough

T-Men: Special Edition Blu-ray Review

A noir docudrama that’s long on suspense and a brilliant exercise in taut direction and evocative cinematography, Anthony Mann’s T-Men is a film that deserves to be far better known.

[review]

 

[Robert Crawford]

I have this on order and patiently awaiting mine to ship to me. Without a doubt, it probably looks much, much better than the Noir Alley showing we were expose to months ago.

 

[bigshot]

Get it down near $15 and I'll consider it.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Get it down near $15 and I'll consider it.

You do that!

 

[Steve...O]

Thanks, Matt. I am not familiar with this movie, but am intrigued based on your review. This will go on my wish list for potential future order after my bank account builds back up (I just placed an order for three TT titles plus several Warner Archive titles and Old Dark House from Amazon).

 

[commander richardson]

Get it down near $15 and I'll consider it.

It is expensive but please remember that the people releasing it have invested much money into making certain it is available to us in the very best quality possible and many hours have been spent in doing just that ..........the previous releases of this film were awful and were a total waste of money.......this new release is outstanding in every way possible and if you are a fan of Film Noir then you will be thrilled upon its release.......

 

[ClassicFlix]

It is expensive but please remember that the people releasing it have invested much money into making certain it is available to us in the very best quality possible and many hours have been spent in doing just that ..........the previous releases of this film were awful and were a total waste of money.......this new release is outstanding in every way possible and if you are a fan of Film Noir then you will be thrilled upon its release.......

You couldn't be more right Commander. This is not just a re-issue of an old transfer, A LOT of money has gone into this release to make it Criterion-esque.

Something else I hope classic film fans will consider, we are a small company (much smaller than Criterion, Kino, Cohen & even Olive), and we don't have a pile of money to invest in licensing other films. Support of our releases prior to or just around the street date means we can go out and license other films to be restored and presented on Blu-ray. Lack of support means less money toward licensing and fewer titles coming out.

Additionally, with the exception of ANOTHER MAN'S POISON (a restoration we licensed from Cohen), all of our releases are fresh scans and we make sure the restorations meet a VERY HIGH STANDARD by removing instability, warping, dirt and anything else that will distract from the presentation (and it shows in all the positive reviews we've received). I am also intimately involved in the entire process of the releases from start to finish to make sure packaging, sound and bonus features also meet the same high standard.

For over 10 years in the retail business I've heard it lamented as to why "This doesn't come out on DVD" or "That doesn't come out on DVD"? Well, we're trying to do something about it and not just in a slap-dash way. And while we are considering a separate "Archive" type line that will present re-issues or lesser-known films that we budget very little money for (and thus charge less for), the release of T-MEN and the entire ClassicFlix label as it stands now is for HIGH QUALITY, HIGH BUDGETED releases and we have to charge accordingly.

Thanks for listening.

- David

 

[Robert Crawford]

You couldn't be more right Commander. This is not just a re-issue of an old transfer, A LOT of money has gone into this release to make it Criterion-esque.

Something else I hope classic film fans will consider, we are a small company (much smaller than Criterion, Kino, Cohen & even Olive), and we don't have a pile of money to invest in licensing other films. Support of our releases prior to or just around the street date means we can go out and license other films to be restored and presented on Blu-ray. Lack of support means less money toward licensing and fewer titles coming out.

Additionally, with the exception of ANOTHER MAN'S POISON (a restoration we licensed from Cohen), all of our releases are fresh scans and we make sure the restorations meet a VERY HIGH STANDARD by removing instability, warping, dirt and anything else that will distract from the presentation (and it shows in all the positive reviews we've received). I am also intimately involved in the entire process of the releases from start to finish to make sure packaging, sound and bonus features also meet the same high standard.

For over 10 years in the retail business I've heard it lamented as to why "This doesn't come out on DVD" or "That doesn't come out on DVD"? Well, we're trying to do something about it and not just in a slap-dash way. And while we are considering a separate "Archive" type line that will present re-issues or lesser-known films that we budget very little money for (and thus charge less for), the release of T-MEN and the entire ClassicFlix label as it stands now is for HIGH QUALITY, HIGH BUDGETED releases and we have to charge accordingly.

Thanks for listening.

- David

Thank you for your comments. I can't wait until my disc gets to me. I liked this film a lot and consider it an essential Anthony Mann directed film. I watched TCM's Noir Alley presentation of it with Eddie Muller a few months ago and it looked mediocre at best so I'm looking forward to seeing what improvements you made with the video and audio of this fine film.

 

[ClassicFlix]

Thank you for your comments. I can't wait until my disc gets to me. I liked this film a lot and consider it an essential Anthony Mann directed film. I watched TCM's Noir Alley presentation of it with Eddie Muller a few months ago and it looked mediocre at best so I'm looking forward to seeing what improvements you made with the video and audio of this fine film.

Thanks for your support Robert. We're hoping to really blow people away with this one and if Matt's review is any indication we're off to a good start.

- David

 

[skylark68]

Thanks for the in-depth review Matt. They are always appreciated, especially for films that I haven't seen before. I'm definitely going to pick this one up.

Thanks also to Mr. Kawas for participating on these boards. Insider information is most welcome!

 

[haineshisway]

The funny thing about the folks who always say "if this comes down to fifteen dollars" I'll grab it - they never grab it - that's the joke. I see that all that time and the usual response is, "Well, it came down to fifteen, I'll wait till it's ten" and on it goes. This is a great film with amazing John Alton photography and is worth every penny.

 

[bigshot]

I grab a lot of classic movies when they hit the $15 range. I have hundreds and hundreds of them on blu-ray that fit in that price point. I tend to get better deals at Amazon UK, even factoring in the cost of shipping. I don't care about supplements or packaging. All I want is the film in a decent transfer. Sometimes I'll go up to $20, but it has to be very special for that. There are too many great films in the $15 range to choose from... https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_...53011&ie=UTF8&qid=1507583393&rnid=10346811011

 

[ClassicFlix]

I grab a lot of classic movies when they hit the $15 range. I have hundreds and hundreds of them on blu-ray that fit in that price point. I tend to get better deals at Amazon UK, even factoring in the cost of shipping. I don't care about supplements or packaging. All I want is the film in a decent transfer. Sometimes I'll go up to $20, but it has to be very special for that. There are too many great films in the $15 range to choose from... https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_n_price_fma_1?fst=asff&rh=n:2625373011,n:!2644981011,n:!2644982011,n:2901953011,p_n_feature_three_browse-bin:2651261011,p_n_price_fma:10346817011&bbn=2901953011&ie=UTF8&qid=1507583393&rnid=10346811011

Our target customer for this release and all our special editions is not the $15 range and nor should it be with a title like T-Men as all we could do at that price is re-issue the same lousy transfer that's been out there for 20 years.

Also, the Amazon link to those films ins't comparable to what we're doing as:

1. Most of the titles in the first couple of pages on Amazon are studio releases and they don't have to pay licenses fees, etc. to themselves which makes costs significantly lower
2. Most of the non-studio releases are bare bones titles or don't boast major restorations
3. Virtually all titles are "catalog" and not new releases.

My guess is this and other special editions will end up in the mid-$20's like most Criterion titles do, but they will never be $15.

- David

 

[Robert Crawford]

I grab a lot of classic movies when they hit the $15 range. I have hundreds and hundreds of them on blu-ray that fit in that price point. I tend to get better deals at Amazon UK, even factoring in the cost of shipping. I don't care about supplements or packaging. All I want is the film in a decent transfer. Sometimes I'll go up to $20, but it has to be very special for that. There are too many great films in the $15 range to choose from... https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_n_price_fma_1?fst=asff&rh=n:2625373011,n:!2644981011,n:!2644982011,n:2901953011,p_n_feature_three_browse-bin:2651261011,p_n_price_fma:10346817011&bbn=2901953011&ie=UTF8&qid=1507583393&rnid=10346811011

Okay, we got that established so can we get back to discussing this Blu-ray release instead of your buying habits/strategies.

My disc will arrive tomorrow so I'm hoping to have this title along with The Sea Wolf for a double feature viewing. It's going to be a great day!

 

[Robert Crawford]

Matt,

How would you compare this audio commentary by Alan Rode to commentaries done for other films by Eddie Muller?

 

[haineshisway]

Wherever this ends up, price-wise, it is important to support this company, IMO - they're trying to do these things in the right way.

 

[smithbrad]

I look forward to supporting this release in the next few weeks. The way I figure it, all the money I save picking up studio releases, catalog re-releases, and bare bones titles leaves me with the extra funds needed to support titles like this from small enterprises where extra care is taken to provide what most of us are looking for in this hobby.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Wherever this ends up, price-wise, it is important to support this company, IMO - they're trying to do these things in the right way.

I'm doing my part!

In less than a month, we have another Anthony Mann classic coming from ClassicFlix, He Walked By Night. I have that one on pre-order. These early Mann films are essential viewing for me as I like them as much as his westerns with Jimmy Stewart. I'm also looking forward to that audio commentary with Alan Rode and Julie Kirgo.

 

[Rodney]

Wherever this ends up, price-wise, it is important to support this company, IMO - they're trying to do these things in the right way.

Agreed, which is why I purchased this and He Walked by Night directly from them, so they can see as much revenue as possible on these releases. While I understand Stephen's viewpoint and his personal price point for films, mine is higher and I really want to see ClassicFlix succeed and bring out more great products.

 

[bigshot]

Well it's on my Amazon wish list and it's already dropped ten bucks. Let it drop another ten or fifteen bucks and I'll push the button.