124 / BD 57 The Murderer Lives at 21

Discuss releases by Eureka and Masters of Cinema and the films on them.
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vsski
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2011 3:47 pm

Re: 124 / BD 57 The Murderer Lives at 21

#26 Post by vsski » Thu May 02, 2013 10:47 am

I was reacting less to the screen grabs, which I feel from personal experience with other discs should be taken with a lot of caution - motion is what counts -, but to the description in Gary's article. Gary has of lately been far more forgiving than in the old days and if even he now states that it doesn't look good, it's clearly a reason for concern.
I'm pleased to hear Michael B's assessment and will not change my pre-order.

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MichaelB
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Re: 124 / BD 57 The Murderer Lives at 21

#27 Post by MichaelB » Fri May 03, 2013 2:27 am

It certainly doesn't look like a first-generation 35mm source.

My provisional guess (based on a quick spin) is that it's a perfectly decent HD transfer from less than optimum materials - but because the picture has undergone a thorough clean-up, this produces cognitive dissonance based on the assumption that an image that pristine should surely be sharper.

Adamg11
Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2012 2:27 pm

Re: 124 / BD 57 The Murderer Lives at 21

#28 Post by Adamg11 » Fri May 03, 2013 4:29 pm

Just writing up my review and checked out the aforementioned screen-caps, and I have to say they really do not do justice to what is actually a very impressive transfer, particularly considering the points that MichaelB has previously raised with regards to production limitations, etc. The image appears much finer and less DNR heavy in motion, and yes it may be slightly soft, but there is some impressive fine detail to be seen and a good amount of depth!!

David M.
Joined: Sat May 10, 2008 1:10 pm

Re: 124 / BD 57 The Murderer Lives at 21

#29 Post by David M. » Fri May 03, 2013 5:59 pm

Can we all stop obssessing about Gary's (or anybody else's) screens and their relative worth? We all know they are only one part of a review, and the whole thing is turning into a fucking broken record. It is always down to the experience of the disc , god knows how often I've made the mistake of taking screens or indeed lower rez DLs at face value.
The question is, what system are the observations being made on? If it's the same playback software which is producing resolution-compromised screen grabs, well... (And to what extent is the write-up influenced by these screen grabs?)

Regardless, the opinions, as with nearly all reviewers, are just those.

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Gregor Samsa
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 4:41 am

Re: 124 / BD 57 The Murderer Lives at 21

#30 Post by Gregor Samsa » Fri May 03, 2013 10:31 pm



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Gregor Samsa
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Re: 124 / BD 57 The Murderer Lives at 21

#32 Post by Gregor Samsa » Mon May 13, 2013 10:26 pm


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Finch
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Re: 124 / BD 57 The Murderer Lives at 21

#33 Post by Finch » Tue May 21, 2013 1:38 pm

I was pleased with how the film looked and grain is definitely discernable. The film itself was a nice choice by MoC, thank you to Craig & co.

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tenia
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Re: 124 / BD 57 The Murderer Lives at 21

#34 Post by tenia » Sat May 25, 2013 5:04 pm

I just watched the movie and while I still think there has been some tinkering with degraining/denoising tools, it is, in fact, very variable, with some shots looking smooth and/or soft, and others looking much more natural and grainy. Maybe different sources have been used for the restoration, à la Quai des brumes ?

However, on the contrary of BlurayDefinition, the French track is in a wonderful shape. Through the Gaumont, the Canal, and more recently the 2 De Broca + Belmondo @ TF1 releases, I've now watched quite a few French catalog movies on BD, and most of them have audio tracks with dialogs quite harsh, mumbled and difficult to understand (sometimes almost to the point where I think of turning on the subs). It is absolutely not the case here, with a track being really pleasing and nice sounding. It's especially probant during the sequences where Suzy Delair sings. No hiss, no distorsion, no saturation. I have to admit : it impressed me more than the picture quality.

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Nadsat
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Re: 124 / BD 57 The Murderer Lives at 21

#35 Post by Nadsat » Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:26 am


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kidc85
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:15 pm

Re: 124 / BD 57 The Murderer Lives at 21

#36 Post by kidc85 » Sun Nov 03, 2013 9:32 am

It's a pity more people aren't discussing this film as it's a really delightful piece of filmmaking. Name checked already in this thread, MURDERER AT 21 shares a lot in common both with THE THIN MAN, in its detective couple whose acid-tongued competitiveness barely masks their sincere and obvious love for each other, and with Ealing's black comedies featuring criminals whose genteel civility barely masks their black, amoral hearts. Although MURDERER AT 21 is not as funny or iconic as either THE THIN MAN or THE LADYKILLERS (but this is splitting hairs really: MURDERER is laugh out loud funny all the way through) where Clouzot really makes his film remarkable is in sustaining throughout both a superficial tone that makes MURDERER as light and digestible as any classic Hollywood comedy, and also a subtext that is subtle but very, very angry.

If you spell it out, the film sounds completely obvious: it's a French film made during the Nazi occupation of France about a murderer hiding in plain sight as his fellow citizens all profit off of the murders. I wonder if you can guess what the film is really about! But in his feather light touch Clouzot's themes, like the murderer, hide in plain sight. It's so much fun watching this French Nick and Nora clumsily infiltrate the boarding house where the murderer lives, as the body count increases along with the alibis of all of the suspects, that Clouzot's gradual introduction of Nazi baiting can go almost unnoticed. It wasn't until after the film finished that the long speech about the breakdown of society actually clicked (I'm charitably taking this as a sign of Clouzot's genius, rather than a sign of my dull-mindedness). The film's final image is one of the biggest "fuck you"s of cinema and that it was aimed at the Nazi regime, all things considered, raises a light detective comedy into one of the ballsiest films I've ever seen.

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Ashirg
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:10 am
Location: Atlanta

Re: 124 / BD 57 The Murderer Lives at 21

#37 Post by Ashirg » Wed Apr 05, 2017 6:47 pm

It's getting a combo release on June 12.

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