UHD Review The Big Heat (1953) UHD/Blu-ray Combo Review (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

Fritz Lang’s The Big Heat is a quintessential film noir, but it’s a particularly brutal and ugly one.



The Big Heat (1953)



Released: 14 Oct 1953
Rated: NOT RATED
Runtime: 90 min




Director: Fritz Lang
Genre: Crime, Film-Noir, Thriller



Cast: Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Alexander Scourby
Writer(s): Sydney Boehm (screenplay), William P. McGivern (Saturday Evening Post serial)



Plot: Tough cop Dave Bannion takes on a politically powerful crime syndicate.



IMDB rating: 8.0
MetaScore: N/A





Disc Information



Studio: Criterion
Distributed By: Criterion Collection
Video Resolution: 2160p HEVC w/HDR



Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English PCM 1.0 (Mono)...

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[Robert Crawford]

Thank you for your review. My 4K/UHD is out for delivery which I’m looking forward to watching sometime today.

 

[mskaye]

Excellent review as always! I bought mine early Tuesday. There's a distinct pleasure in this hobby of ours when one of your favorite films gets a definitive release like this. I know the film very well and this is the best it has looked. The new commentary track is excellent. And the packaging and accompanying essay are treats to have as well. What else ? Gloria Grahame in an unforgettable iconic performance. The direction by Lang is just masterful. By this point of his career it is not visually flamboyant but images are always imbued with fascinating details. He layers in such menace and profound malevolence not just with the characters but with a society controlled by corrupt police and wealthy mobsters with influence. Highly recommended.

 

[Keith Cobby]

Great review Matt, wonderful film and essential upgrade. Of all the good performances here, my favourite is Jeanette Nolan.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Yes, a beautiful 4K/Dolby Vision video presentation. I really enjoyed listening to the new audio commentary for this iconic film noir.

 

[dpippel]

Yes, a beautiful 4K/Dolby Vision video presentation. I really enjoyed listening to the new audio commentary for this iconic film noir.

I watched it this afternoon as well. A solid 4K presentation of a great film noir. Despite Glenn Ford's awesome performance, Gloria Grahame has always stolen this movie for me. I'll have to give it another go for the commentary.

 

[haineshisway]

While one site about Polish composers says that Columbia used stock music for certain cues in the film, music by Arthur Morton, Duning, and a few others, including Amfitheatrof, I can find no other source that says that. I do know that most of the main themes including the main title were written by composer Henry Vars - a wonderful composer. He is the ONLY composer credited on the imdb and Wikipedia pages. I tried very hard to do a CD release when Twilight Time issued it, but Sony Pictures were impossible to deal with, at least for us. I highly recommend the handful of classical CDs and the jazz CD of his songs by Vars, whose real name was Henryk Wars. He's a favorite of mine.