Film Noir 10-Movie Spotlight Collection (Double Indemnity / Touch of Evil / This Gun for Hire / The Glass Key / Phantom Lady / The Blue Dahlia / Black Angel / The Killers / The Big Clock / Criss Cross)

A superb collection of "film noirs", five from Universal and an equal number from Paramount and apart from the 1958 "Touch of Evil", all made in the classic and appropriately black and white era of the forties.Probably only a few outright classics ("Double Indemnity", "The Killers" and "Touch of Evil") but all wonderfully well made and intriguing from beginning to end. Billy Wilder's "Double Indemnity", one of the all time greats and the Orson Welles more recently reconstructed and rediscovered gem "Touch of Evil" both get a single disc while the other eight films are scattered across the other four, two to a disc. These two are the only ones with significant extras and they are substantial with "Indemnity" containing three audio commentaries and a first rate 40 minute documentary. Two separate commentaries accompany "Evil" with one featuring the stars Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh and there a couple of short "making of" featurettes.All the films in this collection are stacked with interest, fascination and excitement and they all range from better than good to excellent. They all contain the fine Hollywood craftsmanship of the time, move with style and pace and have storylines which will have you engrossed throughout.From the stunning debut and early film career of Alan Ladd (matched with the intriguing Veronica Lake) in "This Gun For Hire", "The Glass Key" and "The Blue Dahlia" to the powerful screen presence of Burt Lancaster in "The Killers" (an astonishing debut performance opposite Ava Gardner) and "Criss Cross", these films won't disappoint. The two Lancaster films were directed by one of the best, if not the best, film noir directors Robert Siodmak, and he is also represented by the 1944 gem "Phantom Lady". This was the real discovery for me: a fantastic thriller with an excellent Ella Raines and with a limited budget, just marvel at the way Siodmak has created it with such marvellous, inventive and stylish filmmaking. And the unforgettable scene where Elisha Cook Jr. reaches an orgasmic fury during a drum solo is priceless!To round out this collection, Ray Milland does battle with a couple of newspaper tycoons (the sticky, slimy Charles Laughton and George Macready) in the complicated but fascinating "The Big Clock" with Elsa Lanchester as an eccentric painter stealing every scene she's in. And Roy William Neill getting a break from all those Universal Sherlock Holmes programmers, with "Black Angel", beautifully made with a fine performance from Dan Duryea in one of his more sympathetic roles.An appreciation of fine filmmaking during the studio factory years with not only fine directors and actors but terrific writers (eg Raymond Chandler, W.R. Burnett, Albert Maltz, Jonathan Latimer, Anthony Veiller), outstanding cinematographers (eg John F. Seitz, Russell Metty, Franz Planer) and great music composers (eg Miklos Rozsa, Victor Young, Henry Mancini) all in collaboration to create top of the list movies for art and entertainment.

Universal digs into the vaults and bring us ten films that immerse us into a world of alienation, despair, cynicism, disillusionment, melancholy, desperation, pessimism, paranoia, moral corruption and ambiguity.The Film Noir 10 Movie Spotlight Collection gives us a nice mix of major classics of the genre (Double Indemnity, Touch of Evil, Criss Cross, and The Killers), minor classics (This Gun For Hire, The Blue Dahlia, and Phantom Lady), and lesser but very good noir films (The Glass Key, Black Angel, and The Big Clock). The ten movies are spread across six single-sided dvds and packaged in a standard size dvd keepcase. The keepcase has two double-sided hinged trays inside the case for the dvds (no spindles). My copy also had a cardboard slipcover over the case.The outer case is not clear so here is a a breakdown of the disc contents:Disc One:01 This Gun For Hire (1942) is based on the Graham Greene novel ‘A Gun For Sale’ and stars the classic screen duo of Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in their first of seven pairings.Video: The movie is presented in a solid 1:33 full frame transfer. The film is in black & white and looks relatively clean. There are specks of dust here and there but nothing that distracts me from the film.Audio: The only audio track is English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. It is clear sounding and I have no complaintsSubtitles: English SDHExtras: A trailer for the film.02 The Glass Key (1942) is not the 1935 original with George Raft. This remake is based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett and again stars Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in their second pairing.Video: The movie is presented in a solid 1:33 full frame transfer. The film is in black & white and looks relatively clean. There are specks of dust here and there but nothing that distracts me from the film.Audio: The only audio track is English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. It is clear sounding and I have no complaintsSubtitles: English SDHExtras: NoneDisc Two:03 Double Indemnity (1944) is one of the very best films of the film noir genre. I personally rank it second to only The Maltese Falcon. The film is based on James M. Cain’s novella of the same name and stars Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray. Be on the look out for Edward G. Robinson in one of his best roles as a supporting actor. It is amazing to think all three actors were originally not interested in appearing in the film. They all needed to be persuaded to appear in film that turned out to be one of their greatest performances.Video: The movie is presented in a solid 1:33 full frame transfer. The film is in black & white and looks great.Audio: There are English and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 mono tracks. They are clear sounding and I have no complaints.Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, and FrenchExtras: This film has a bunch of goodies…* Audio Commentary by Film Historian Richard Schickel.* Audio Commentary by Film Historians Lems Dobbs and Nick Redman.* A 2 ½ minute introduction by film historian and host of Turner Classic Movies, Robert Osborne.* Shadows and Suspense: An excellent 38 minute documentary about the film.* A trailer for the film.Disc Three:04 Phantom Lady (1944) is based on the Cornell Woolrich novel of the same name. He written the novel under the pseudonym William Irish.Video: The movie is presented in a solid 1:33 full frame transfer. The film is in black & white and is the worse looking in this set. All of the other films are relatively clean looking but this one is loaded with dust specks and scratches. Some of the scenes are not that bad and others are very dirty and look horrible. I’m guessing parts of the film may have been damaged beyond the point of restoration or Universal forgot to clean up this one.Audio: The only audio track is English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. It is clear sounding and I have no complaintsSubtitles: English SDHExtras: None05 The Blue Dahlia (1946) stars Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in their fifth pairing (the third and final on this set). Be on the lookout for Hugh Beaumont (Leave It To Beaver) in a supporting role.Video: The movie is presented in a solid 1:33 full frame transfer. The film is in black & white and looks relatively clean.Audio: The only audio track is English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. It is clear sounding and I have no complaintsSubtitles: English SDHExtras: NoneDisc Four:06 Black Angel (1946) is based on the Cornell Woolrich novel of the same name. Be on the lookout for the great Peter Lorre as Marko the nightclub owner.Video: The movie is presented in a solid 1:33 full frame transfer. The film is in black & white and looks relatively clean.Audio: The only audio track is English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. It is clear sounding and I have no complaintsSubtitles: English SDHExtras: A trailer for the film.07 The Killers (1946) is partly based on Ernest Hemingway’s short story of the same name and stars Burt Lancaster (his film debut), Ava Gardner, and Edmond O’Brien.Video: The movie is presented in a solid 1:33 full frame transfer. The film is in black & white and looks relatively clean.Audio: The only audio track is English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. It is clear sounding and I have no complaintsSubtitles: English SDHExtras: A trailer for the film.Disc Five:08 The Big Clock (1948) is an adaptation of the Kenneth Fearing novel of the same name and stars Ray Milland, Maureen O'Sullivan, and the incredible Charles Laughton. Be on the watch for Elsa ' The Bride of Frankenstein' Lanchester.Video: The movie is presented in a solid 1:33 full frame transfer. The film is in black & white and looks relatively clean.Audio: The only audio track is English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. It is clear sounding and I have no complaintsSubtitles: English SDHExtras: None09 Criss Cross (1949) is probably my second favorite film in this set and easily ranks in my film noir top ten. The film is based on the Don Tracy novel of the same name and stars Burt Lancaster and Yvonne DeCarlo (better known as Lily Munster).Video: The movie is presented in a solid 1:33 full frame transfer. The film is in black & white and looks relatively clean.Audio: The only audio track is English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. It is clear sounding and I have no complaintsSubtitles: English SDHExtras: A trailer for the film.Disc Six:10 Touch of Evil (1958) is loosely based on the Whit Masterson novel, Badge of Evil. It stars Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, and Orson Welles. I should note that this is the 1998 “restored” version of the film. The dvd has a featurette that explains more about this.Video: The movie is presented in a solid 1:85 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The film is in black & white and looks great.Audio: The only audio track is English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. It is clear sounding and I have no complaintsSubtitles: English SDH, Spanish, and FrenchExtras: This film has a bunch of goodies…* Audio Commentary with Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, and restoration producer Rick Schmidlin.* Audio Commentary with restoration producer Rick Schmidlin.* Bringing Evil To Life: An excellent 21 minute documentary about the film.* Evil Lost and Found: An interesting 17 minute feature about the making of this “restored” version of the film.* A trailer for the film.I really enjoyed this set and highly recommend The Film Noir 10 Movie Spotlight Collection.

This is a fantastic set and definitely worth $60.00. Ten of the very best of classic noir movies. I only wish they might've been blu rays. This collection has subtitles, but as far as I can see, it doesn't say so on the outside of the case. On the inside, under the dvds, each movie is listed as having subtitles (SDH). Subtitles are of the utmost importance to me and I'm often disappointed that the reviewers seldom mention them. But rest assured, these movies have subtitles.

I didn’t especially care for “Touch of Evil” but that’s just me. The movies are top notch. The image quality is sharp and clear. The audio is right on. A good addition to any collection.