| FILM
I am sure many of you have seen the discount DVD's that are out
there that are priced in the $5-12 range. I am always skeptical
of something that is priced that low. I have had varying degrees
of success with these bargain discs. The Strange Love of Martha
Ivers was quite good, but the D.O.A. from the same company (DVD
Matters) was absolute garbage, Metropolis was ok for the age of
the film, but Red House didn't quite do it. This leads me to Young
and Innocent, the first DVD I have purchased from the Laserlight-DVD
label. I love Alfred Hitchcock films, so I was praying that these
bargain editions were going to do justice to his films. I am happy
to say that Young and Innocent passed with flying colors. I will
get into some of the technical details after I talk a little about
the film.
Young
and Innocent is one of the many films Hitchcock made with the
theme of a man on the run from the authorities, trying to prove
himself innocent of a crime he did not commit. Quality wise this
would be in the middle of Hitchcock 50+ films. The story is pretty
good and all of the performances work pretty well, but it just
doesn't click in the same way that the 39 Steps or North by Northwest
did. It's still worth your time. One classic shot to keep your
eyes out for is towards the end of the film when we finally catch
up to the killer. We know that the killer has a physical tick
that causes him to twitch his eyes all of the time. The shot starts
way back looking over a dance floor and slowly dollies into the
drummers eyes which are twitching uncontrollably. It does not
sounds like much when when written down, but it is absolutely
amazing to watch.
VIDEO
This was where I was most worried, but it looks like Laserlight
has access to prints of these films that are in pretty good shape.
Most of the problems with the video can be traced back to the
1930's prints. Practically no digital artifacts, which for a bargain
disc is unbelievable. I hope the rest of the discs in this series
are just as good.
AUDIO
Soundtrack is what you would expect from a 1930's film. It has
it's problems but for the most part dialogue is clear.
EXTRAS
The Tony Curtis introductions are very odd. It is almost embarrassing
to watch him stumble through the things. The quality on the Chevny
Vase was not very good so I did not bother sitting through it
all. I like that a bargain disc even has some extras.
SUMMARY
I was so impressed with the quality of this disc that I just purchased
the rest of the series from Buy.com at $4.49 each. The only one
that I would suggest staying away from is Jamaica Inn, which is
an absolutely horrible film.
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