Film Noir Classics Collection Box Sets

[skyvue]

THE SET-UP is absolutely great. See it again, but in a theatre, if you ever get the chance. Makes all the difference.

And OUT OF THE PAST campy? Not for my money. It's a classic, and Mitchum's great in it. I like Lileks, but he's off the beam on this one. Was this the first Mitchum picture he'd seen?

And I agree that Dick Powell's a pretty darned good Marlowe. But Mitchum would have been perfect, if he'd gotten to play Marlowe at the right age. He's still pretty darned great in the role in FAREWELL, MY LOVELY, when he was too old to play Marlowe. But if he'd played him around the same time he made OUT OF THE PAST, he'd have been perfect.

 

[Dr Doran]

And OUT OF THE PAST campy? Not for my money. It's a classic, and Mitchum's great in it. I like Lileks, but he's off the beam on this one. Was this the first Mitchum picture he'd seen?

I'd say Out of the Past has a slight sense of irony (the line "I sell gas and make a small profit; he sells groceries and makes a small profit; it's the American Way," or however it was worded; the deaf boy; the sense of inevitability throughout; Kirk Douglas's ridiculous chin), but not camp. And I think it's one of the best noirs ever.

 

[Feraud]

Powell blows away Bogey's Marlowe. I agree that Mitchum would have been the perfect Marlowe back in the day.

As for Out of the Past I think it is perfect Noir. Mitchum embodies that perfectly fatalistic protagonist that makes Noir so great. His hiding as a gas station owner is a thin veneer of a disguise. When Douglas' man comes to talk to him he does not even attempt to put him off. Mitchum's attitude reminds me of Burt Lancaster in The Killers. These guys did someting wrong and are spending what is left of their lives waiting for the end to come. Call it karma, fate, or bad luck that sets into motion events that have only one ending.

 

[Dr Doran]

PAs for Out of the Past I think it is perfect Noir. Mitchum embodies that perfectly fatalistic protagonist that makes Noir so great. His hiding as a gas station owner is a thin veneer of a disguise. When Douglas' man comes to talk to him he does not even attempt to put him off. Mitchum's attitude reminds me of Burt Lancaster in The Killers. These guys did someting wrong and are spending what is left of their lives waiting for the end to come. Call it karma, fate, or bad luck that sets into motion events that have only one ending.

Well-said. As Aristotle put it, "character is destiny."

There is an inevitability to great noirs that makes them akin to Greek tragedy, especially to Sophocles.

 

[Feraud]

There is an inevitability to great noirs that makes them akin to Greek tragedy, especially to Sophocles.

It is good to read that interesting themes carry on.

 

[scotrace]

As you guys have suggested, the first set is so good it makes the second set seem lacking.

The Narrow Margin is a winner. Marie Windsor plays the hard dame really, really well. Dark City Dames' bio of her recounts her frustration ay never making it to the A list in Hollywood; I think she would have benefitted hugely from some coaching. Her speech has a definite accent she might have been better off to lose. Still, a pretty good film.


Clash By Night is another that stands out for Marilyn's performance. I never saw her better. Robert Ryan was really easy to dislike from the first second, here as in Crossfire, also a good film.

The others I started, lost interest and have yet to finish.

These are films that beg to be watched in a dimly lit room, on an enormous leather couch with cocktails nearby and the object of your affection on your shoulder.

 

[Vintage Betty]

Do I understand that these boxed sets are poor original low-def quality?

We have a high definition tv and my husband and I have picked up these boxed sets wondering about the quality.

Husband refuses to let low-def movies into the house. Wah!

 

[jake_fink]

As you guys have suggested, the first set is so good it makes the second set seem lacking.

The Narrow Margin is a winner. Marie Windsor plays the hard dame really, really well. Dark City Dames' bio of her recounts her frustration ay never making it to the A list in Hollywood; I think she would have benefitted hugely from some coaching. Her speech has a definite accent she might have been better off to lose. Still, a pretty good film.


Clash By Night is another that stands out for Marilyn's performance. I never saw her better. Robert Ryan was really easy to dislike from the first second, here as in Crossfire, also a good film.

The others I started, lost interest and have yet to finish.

These are films that beg to be watched in a dimly lit room, on an enormous leather couch with cocktails nearby and the object of your affection on your shoulder.

Give The Set Up another try some day. Robert Ryan is one of the great though almost forgotten actors of the forties and fifties. Other Robert Ryan appearances in the Film Noir Collections include Act of Violence (with the other great forgotten actor of that period - Van Heflin), and one of my favourite films of any genre, On Dangerous Ground.

 

[Feraud]

Other Robert Ryan appearances in the Film Noir Collections include Act of Violence (with the other great forgotten actor of that period - Van Heflin)

I saw this film not knowing anything about the story and thought it was great.

 

[Beowulf67]

I picked up a "Classic Film Noir" set from deep discount. The one I got has 9 movies with "The Stranger" "Detour" "D.O.A." "Quicksand", etc. They have several other sets, but I haven't go them yet.

They aren't hi-def but have been re-mastered. You can tell some were very poor quality prints but at least someone made an effort to save them. :eusa_clap

 

[John in Covina]

Lo Def - Hi Def

Do I understand that these boxed sets are poor original low-def quality? We have a high definition tv and my husband and I have picked up these boxed sets wondering about the quality. Husband refuses to let low-def movies into the house. Wah!

************
:eusa_clap
These are pretty careful transfers to DVD but are not Blue-Ray or HD.

If you have a good Blue Ray or HD DVD player it will upsample the DVD and make it 720p / 1080i or 1080p as you select to match your TV to bring the best posible picture to your screen.

If not then buy him an Oppo brand DVD player like their 981 or the new 983 model. These will take a good ordinary DVD up sample and make them extra-good or as good as it gets, and they are superior CD players too.

 

[KY Gentleman]

I want to join the watch "The Set-Up" again club. I enjoyed it and think it may be one of those movies you would enjoy the second time around!
"Asphalt Jungle" was my favorite in that set.

 

[Dr Doran]

The "Watch THE SET-UP Again" Club

I want to join the watch "The Set-Up" again club. I enjoyed it and think it may be one of those movies you would enjoy the second time around!
.

If y'all can get to Berkeley, California ... how about mid-June. I'll serve Margaritas.