Laura (1944)

"Laura' from 1944 is classic film noir. Featuring standout performances by all concerned and expert direction from Otto Preminger, 'Laura' stands apart from the crowd as an original and superior film, compared to many others in the "Noir" category. The beauty of a young Gene Tierney and the premier film performance by the great Clifton Webb alone are enough to put this film over the top! Coupled with an extremely catchy tune that became a hit in it's own right after the films' release, you have every element needed to proclaim 'Laura' a true classic. It's a great move and not to be missed by film fans!

With that said, this review will focus mainly on the video and audio quality of the presentation, rather than the film itself. ( I will leave arguments regarding the cover art to others although it just doesn't look much like her to me!)

So how is the video? 'Laura' on Blu Ray is an ENOURMOUS improvement over all previous home video releases. It leaves any and all DVD versions swinging in the wind. Print damage is almost completely nonexistent, image stability is rock solid (unlike the DVD that had quite a bit of warping or telecine wobble) and detail is greatly increased.

Now for the less than good news: It is my opinion that 'Laura' has been overly scrubbed with DNR. Compared to other B&W titles I own from similar years on Blu, the facial details seem to have that telltale waxy look that overuse of DNR can cause. You may or may not agree with me, depending on the amount of your collection and the sharpness of your eye, but I was let down by this. Also, the contrast , while pitch perfect in much of the film, is running too hot and blown out about 1/4 of the time. While shadow detail in the darker scenes is spot on and really a revelation, other scenes almost white out faces and seem overly bright. I checked this film against my 4K scan of 'Casablanca' and even the MPI Blu Ray copy of 'Women in Green' just to make sure my HDTV wasn't in need of a slight tweak in the picture control settings, but alas those two were fine and 'Laura' indeed runs a bit too hot in the contrast department, at least SOME of the time.

Is it enough to ruin the presentation? No, not really, but resist the urge to lower your brightness/contrast controls while watching or the darker scenes will lose their shadow detail. (I use an Oppo BDP-95 Blu Ray player w/ LG LM9600 display tweaked using CalMAN 5 Basic software)

Overall, this is the very best I have EVER seen this film look, but it could have been much better if the DNR was used much less and the natural film grain was allowed to remain. Also, the end result of the hot contrast levels give this rendering a slightly digital look and I admit to finding it distracting from time to time. You can be the judge for yourself after a few viewings.

Basically, if you love this film and want the best picture commercially available for it, then this Blu Ray is the only game in town and it is pretty striking overall. A solid 4 out of 5 stars for the video.

Ok, video is very good, how about the sound?

The audio is of course MONO and is presented in uncompressed DTS HD Master Audio. It sounds fine. This film is from 1944 folks so don't be expecting miracles. There are no annoying pops, clicks or glitches that I could detect initially but I am sure if you listen hard enough and with headphones you may find a few. I was perfectly satisfied with the audio.

The included extras do not skimp in the least. All the special features that were included with the 2005 DVD still remain, plus you get a deleted additional scene that can be played alone or used with seamless branching to add it into the film. Also, a new mini documentary , "The Obsession" has been added along with the previous multiple commentaries and the two A&E biographies of Vincent Price and Gene Tierney.

The Blu Ray release of 'Laura'; give you a LOT for your money. The film itself, which is a true classic in every sense of the word, the major bump in picture quality, good solid uncompressed MONO audio and a plethora of special features all combine to give you a real bang for your buck here! I plan to find a suitable replacement piece of cover art to insert in the case, but otherwise am very happy with this Blu Ray and heartily recommend it to all fans of the film and classic Noir cinema as well! Ohhhh, that famous overbite in 1080p is something to see! WOWEEE !!

"Laura" on blu-ray is a huge disappointment for me. While this blu-ray transfer does, indeed, offer better image detail than the previous DVD and VHS releases, it lacks the image depth and brilliance one expects from 35mm film. Low contrast in certain scenes makes them badly "washed out" and uncomfortable to view. The image is so bad in one exterior daylight scene outside of Laura's apartment building that one might think it was photographed by an amateur cameraman. Otto Preminger (the director of "Laura," for those who don't know) would go ballistic if he were alive to see this. Having met him, I'm convinced he would! I note that Fox has substituted its original logo at the beginning of the picture with a more modern version. That fact gives me a clue as to what happened, and also leads me to believe that this blu-ray is the best "Laura" will ever look because Fox could not come up with any better elements. Here's why. Back in the 1950s, Fox sold a package of features to a company called National Telefilm Associates, which distributed the Fox pictures to t-v stations. "Laura" was one of the films in the NTA package. On each feature, NTA replaced the original Fox opening logo with its own version. The replacement was cut it into the negative or fine grain positive used by NTA to create its 16mm reduction negative and prints for the t-v stations. Their opening had the 20th Century-Fox animation dissolve into an NTA title card about midway through the Fox fanfare. The NTA card either faded out or dissolved into the main title of the feature. I believe Fox was forced to cut in the new logo at the beginning of "Laura" in order to get rid of the NTA credit because all that remains of "Laura" is the NTA material. Back in the 50's, film prints for t-v were made low contrast because of the nature of the telecine cameras. So, as disappointing as is this version of "Laura," it's probably as good as we'll ever see, the only chance for something better being a frame by frame digital resortation or Fox finding pre-NTA materials.

Buy Laura (1944) Now

I was motivated to write this review when I noticed that Amazon had suspended sales for unspecified reasons. I'll leave plot exposition to the other fine reviews of this classic movie.

I pre-ordered "Laura" on Dec. 18, 2012 for $16.99. With Amazon's Pre-order price protection I was credited $0.19 on my purchase, which I received on Feb. 6th. If you're peeping, Amazon, my Blu-ray of "Laura" and all of the special features played without a hitch. And thanks for the 19 cents!

All the special features from 20th Century Fox's 2004 DVD release were ported over to this Blu-ray, in Standard Definition and "pillar-boxed" to preserve the original 4:3 aspect ratio. There are two 44 minute A&E Biography episodes on Gene Tierney (1999) and Vincent Price (1997); a trailer; and a deleted scene that can be inserted back into the film, extending the run-time by 1:37. Also ported over from the DVD are two separate commentary tracks.

The only new feature on the Blu-ray is "The Obsession," an enjoyable short featurette produced in 2005 by 20th Century Fox, focusing on Laura's place in history and its influence on other films. A great film with a great cast.

"I'm not kind. I`m vicious. It's the secret of my charm." -Waldo Lydecker.

Read Best Reviews of Laura (1944) Here

I agree with another reviewer who said some of the scenes are too bright or overexposed but its a minor complaint. Still a rich, detailed re-issue of a great mystery! In our limited attention span, reality-show obsessed , Kardashian worshipping country it's nice to see an important, classic film restored or even remembered. And no, I am not old.

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Laura is just a great film all around. A pristine transfer, excellent audio, and fair extras...and the gorgeous Gene Tierney...who could ask for more?

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