Review: Columbia Noir #5
Blu-ray: Columbia Noir #5: Humphrey Bogart
Following on from the previous 4 Columbia Noir box sets from Powerhouse Films (make sure to search “Columbia” on our website to read the reviews for them), #5 focuses on Humphrey Bogart, who in 1999, the American Film Institute selected as the greatest male star of classic American cinema.
The films in this set are:
DEAD RECKONING (John Cromwell, 1947)
KNOCK ON ANY DOOR (Nicholas Ray, 1949)
TOKYO JOE (Stuart Heisler, 1949)
SIROCCO (Curtis Bernhardt, 1951)
THE FAMILY SECRET (Henry Levin, 1951)
THE HARDER THEY FALL (Mark Robson, 1956)
All but one star Bogie, whereas The Family Secret has him behind the camera as a producer.
Featuring a stunning 4K restoration of The Harder They Fall (my favourite of the collection), and with Sirocco and The Family Secret appearing on Blu-ray for the first time anywhere in the world, this is yet another Indicator release box set to add to your collection before the strictly limited 6,000 numbered run inevitably sells out.
Love, abandonment, gangsters, boxing, double crosses, shootouts, crime…all of that and much more are to be found in this fascinating collection where Bogie owns the screen whenever he appears.
To even give a short synopsis of the films would spoil them. I went into each one knowing nothing about them (yes, to my shame I hadn’t previously seen any of them), and the thrill of letting everything unravel before my eyes with no prior knowledge was an absolute joy.
As mentioned earlier, my favourite of the collection is The Harder They Fall, an epic tale of trust and mistrust, which was unfortunately Bogie’s final film before he passed away the following year. I’d have loved to have seen him make more films as he got older (he passed away aged just 57).
With Powerhouse Films having already announced a Universal Noir #1 box set, this could well be the final Columbia Noir release, and whether it is or it isn’t, I can wholeheartedly recommend adding them to your collection, as each and every one of them has given me incredible films to watch that otherwise would probably have passed me by.
To finish on a side note: you can pick any film in this collection for a drinking game. Just have a drink anytime someone has a cigarette and have 2 when Bogie has one. I doubt you’ll manage to see the end credits in any film if you do that.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES
DEAD RECKONING:
- High Definition remaster
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with film scholar and preservationist Alan K Rode (2022)
- A Pretty Good Shot (2022, 17 mins): appreciation by writer and film programmer Tony Rayns
- Watchtower Over Tomorrow (1945, 16 mins): short film, directed by John Cromwell, documenting the formation of the United Nations following World War II
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- UK premiere on Blu-ray
KNOCK ON ANY DOOR:
- High Definition remaster
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with writer and film historian Pamela Hutchinson (2022)
- Nobody Knows How Anybody Feels (2022, 20 mins): appreciation by critic and film programmer Geoff Andrew
- Tuesday in November (1945, 17 mins): documentary short about the democratic process in America, made as part of the Office of War’s The American Sceneseries and boasting Nicholas Ray as assistant director
- Theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- UK premiere on Blu-ray
TOKYO JOE:
- High Definition remaster
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with writer and film historian Nora Fiore (2022)
- Bertrand Tavernier on ‘Tokyo Joe’ (2017, 34 mins): archival appreciation by the celebrated filmmaker and critic
- A Superstar Returns (2022, 15 mins): archivist Tom Vincent assesses the career of actor Sessue Hayakawa, the silent-era star who made his return to Hollywood filmmaking with Tokyo Joe
- Second unit photography (1948, 11 mins): rare footage shot by second unit director Art Black and cameramen Joseph Biroc and Emil Oster Jr in Tokyo for use in the main feature
- The Negro Soldier (1944, 41 mins): WWII documentary film intended as a recruitment drive for African American enlistees, directed by Stuart Heisler and now preserved by the National Film Registry for its cultural and historical significance
- Jim Pines on ‘The Negro Soldier’ (2010, 41 mins): audio presentation by the author and lecturer, recorded following a screening of the film at London’s BFI Southbank
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- UK premiere on Blu-ray
SIROCCO:
- High Definition remaster
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with film historians Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson (2022)
- The South Bank Show: ‘Bogart: Here’s Looking at You, Kid’ (1997, 52 mins): episode of the long-running British arts television series, featuring Humphrey Bogart’s son, Stephen Bogart, looking back at his father’s life and career
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- World premiere on Blu-ray
THE FAMILY SECRET:
- High Definition remaster
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with professor and film scholar Jason A Ney (2022)
- The Negro Sailor (1945, 27 mins): WWII documentary short film, directed by Henry Levin and conceived as a recruitment tool for the United States Navy
- The Big Moment (1954, 26 mins): short film produced by the United Jewish Appeal, starring John Derek
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- World premiere on Blu-ray
THE HARDER THEY FALL:
- 4K restoration
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with critics and writers Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme (2022)
- The Final Bout (2022, 11 mins): critic and writer Christina Newland examines the making of the film, and its relationship to the original novel
- Bertrand Tavernier on ‘The Harder They Fall’ (2017, 30 mins): archival appreciation by the celebrated filmmaker and critic
- Max Baer Super 8s (6 mins): footage of two famous bouts from the 1930s, featuring the boxer and, later, actor fighting against Max Schmeling, then Primo Carnera
- That Justice Be Done (1945, 11 mins): George Stevens’ short on the Nuremberg trials, made by the Office of War Information and written by Budd Schulberg
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- UK premiere on Blu-ray
- Limited edition exclusive 120-page book with a new essay by Imogen Sara Smith, extensive archival articles and interviews, new writing on the various short films, and film credits
- Limited edition box set of 6,000 numbered units
Released 27th June 2022.
Review by Dave from discs kindly supplied by Powerhouse Films.