The Stranger (MGM DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C     Extras: D     Film: B

 

 

Orson Welles’ 1946 classic The Stranger is one of those films released in hopelessly poor DVD copies, with awful detail and the like, but it turns out MGM actually has it and the rights to it.  They have finally issued a DVD and it is not perfect, but is easily the first good copy maybe ever on DVD.

 

The tale of the history professor (Welles) living the good life in small town America and he even is ready to get hitched to keep his cover going.  Turns out he is a Nazi war criminal and I love how Welles picked Loretta Young (the epitome of pure female Americana) to be the wife.  Fortunately, a government agent who is not ready to give up on uncovering such people so soon (played well by Edward G. Robinson) finds an agent dead in a sting to find such people, he is ready to find the killer and uncover the truth.

 

The Anthony Veller/Victor Trivas/Decla Dunning screenplay is terrific and has been imitated a few times, but this is another Welles original and that he made it outside of the major studios is also impressive.  It is one of the later classic Film Noirs and reminds us what a master of filmmaking he was.  If you have seen the film before and were not impressed, you need to see this DVD.  If you are a fan, you’ll enjoy the quality upgrade.

 

The full frame 1.33 X 1 image is in very crisp and clean black and white transfer for a film its age with good video black and only suffers slight softness throughout.  Can’t wait to see this in Blu-ray!  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono does show its age with some more compression than necessary.  More restoration and/or a new audio transfer need to be done.  There are unbelievably no extras, but some should be made for later editions because the film is too key for it to be a basic release only. 

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo