Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

The Web (Kino Lorber) Blu-ray Review

Collapse
X
Collapse
  •  
    Ian Jane
    Administrator

  • The Web (Kino Lorber) Blu-ray Review

    Click image for larger version

Name:	Web-Blu-ray-Review-cover.jpg
Views:	1
Size:	22.2 KB
ID:	385643

    Released by: Kino Lorber
    Released on: July 13th, 2021.
    Director: Michael Gordon
    Cast: Edmond O'Brien, Ella Raines, Vincent Price, William Bendix, Fritz Leiber, Maria Palmer
    Year: 1947
    Purchase From Amazon

    The Web - Movie Review:

    Directed by Michael Gordon and released by Universal Studios in 1947, The Web tells the story of Leopold Kroner (Fritz Leiber), a man who has just been released from prison after doing a half decade behind bars for embezzlement at Colby Enterprises, the company he used to work at.

    Andrew Colby (Vincent Price), is none too keen to learn of Kroner's release and soon starts telling others that the newly freed man has been threatening him. He brings a lawyer named Bob Regan (Edmond O'Brien) onboard to protect him, seemingly quite convinced that Kroner really does have it in for him. And wouldn't you know it, a short time later Colby comes face to face with a pistol wielding Kroner with Regan arriving just in time to shoot him dead. With Kroner out of the picture, you'd think Regan would go back to his regular life, but instead he falls fast in love with Noel (Ella Raines), Colby's drop dead gorgeous secretary.

    As Regan and Noel explore their blossoming relationship, facts are uncovered about the details of Colby's relationship with Kroner that begin to make Regan think he's been setup.

    A very strong thriller with elements of romance and drama thrown liberally into the mix, The Web is a legitimately gripping film that does a great job of holding out attention from start to finish. Of course, the fact that it has such a strong cast certainly helps, the acting here is top-notch across the board. Price plays Colby with Price's typically cool demeanor, never hamming it up or chewing the scenery as he could occasionally do. He's very good here. Leiber's good in his role but is out of the picture before the plot really gets moving, while Edmond O'Brien plays his tough guy character with style and class. He has good chemistry with Ella Raines, who acts as good as she looks in this picture. The supporting players all do fine work here as well. Look for Maria Palmer in a supporting part as Mrs. Martha Kroner, she's very good in her part and William Bendix is a lot of fun here as a cop named Damico.

    Michael Gordon directs with admirable control over the film's pacing. Information is relayed to the audience with expert timing, ensuring that we don't find out too much too soon but that we do get enough to keep us guessing. Production values are solid, with Irving Glassberg's atmospheric and moody cinematography ensuring the visuals are strong and the score from Hans J. Salter proving very effective and evocative.

    The Web - Blu-ray Review:

    The Web, which makes its home video debut with this release, comes to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber framed at 1.37.1 in AVC encoded 1080p high definition taking up 28GBS of space on the 50GB disc. The transfer is a good one, there's very little print damage here, just some small white specks here and there. Contrast on the black and white image is good and there's frequently some impressive detail on display here. The picture gives us nice depth and is free of any obvious compression artifacts, edge enhancement or noise reduction. No complaints here at all.

    Audio options are provided in 16-bit English DTS-HD 2.0 Mono with optional subtitles offered up in English only. The score sounds fine, with some nice depth noticeable in the score and some decent power behind the gun shots that occur in the movie. Dialogue stays clean and easy to follow throughout and there's very little hiss or distortion here.

    The main extra on the disc is a new audio commentary by Professor and Film Scholar Jason A. Ney that covers all the bases. He explores how the movie exploits its different themes in interesting ways, discusses its place in the noir movement, talks about what makes some of the characters in the film unique and offers up some welcome critical analysis as the movie plays out. Along the way he also offers up plenty of information on the cast and crew, puts certain scenes into their proper social and historical context and quite a bit more. Lots of food for thought in here.

    Aside from that, the disc includes a theatrical trailer for the feature, bonus trailers for a few other Kino Lorber releases (Alias Nick Beal, Shield For Murder, Calcutta, The Sleeping City, Kiss The Blood Off My Hands, O.S.S. and Thunder On The Hill), menus and chapter selection.

    The Web - The Final Word:

    Great stuff! Kino Lorber are to be commended for saving The Web from obscurity with this release, and giving this excellent dramatic thriller a really nice high definition release. The presentation is excellent and the commentary quite good, while the movie itself is a gem. Highly recommended!

    Click on the images below for full sized The Web Blu-ray screen caps!
































      Posting comments is disabled.

    Latest Articles

    Collapse

    • Hot Spur (Severin Films) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Severin Films
      Released on: April 30th, 2024.
      Director: Lee Frost
      Cast: Joseph Mascolo, Virginia Goodman, John Alderman
      Year: 1969
      Purchase From Amazon

      Hot Spur – Movie Review:

      Director Lee Frost and Producer Bob Cresse's film, Hot Spur, opens in Texas in 1869 with a scene where a pair of cowboys wanders into a bar where they call over a pretty Mexican waitress and coerce her into dancing for them. She obliges, but
      ...
      03-22-2024, 11:53 AM
    • Death Squad (Mondo Macabro) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Mondo Macabro
      Released on: April 9th, 2024.
      Director: Max Pecas
      Cast: Thierry de Carbonnières, Jean-Marc Maurel, Denis Karvil, Lillemour Jonsson
      Year: 1985
      Purchase From Amazon

      Death Squad – Movie Review:

      Also known as Brigade Of Death, French sleaze auteur Max Pecas’ 1985 film, Death Squad, opens with a night time scene outside of Paris in the Bois de Boulogne Forest where cars pass by a small gang of transsexual
      ...
      03-22-2024, 11:46 AM
    • Roommates (Quality X) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Quality X
      Released on: February 28th, 2024.
      Director: Chuck Vincent
      Cast: Samantha Fox, Vernoica Hart, Kelly Nichols, Jerry Butler, Jamie Gillis
      Year: 1982
      Purchase From Amazon

      Roommates – Movie Review:

      Directed by Chuck Vincent and released in 1982, Roommates opens with a scene where a young woman named Joan Harmon (Veronica Hart) gets a hotel room with an older man named Ken (Don Peterson, credited as Phil Smith),
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:10 PM
    • Night Of The Blood Monster (Blue Underground) UHD/Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Blue Underground
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Jess Franco
      Cast: Christopher Lee, Maria Rohm, Dennis Price
      Year: 1970
      Purchase From Amazon

      Night Of The Blood Monster – Movie Review:

      Directed by Jess Franco, The Bloody Judge (or, Night Of The Blood Monster, as it is going by on this new release from Blue Underground) isn't quite the salacious exercise in Eurotrash you might expect it to be, and while it
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:07 PM
    • Phase IV (Vinegar Syndrome) UHD/Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Saul Bass
      Cast: Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy, Lynne Frederick, Alan Gifford, Robert Henderson, Helen Horton
      Year: 1974
      Purchase From Amazon

      Phase IV – Movie Review:

      Saul Bass’ 1974 sci-fi/thriller Phase IV is an interesting blend of nature run amuck stereotypes and Natural Geographic style nature footage mixed into one delicious cocktail of suspense and
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:02 PM
    • The Bounty Hunter Trilogy (Radiance Films) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Radiance Films
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Shigehiro Ozawa, Eiichi Kudo
      Cast: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Minoru Ôki, Arashi Kanjuro, Bin Amatsu, Chiezo Kataoka
      Year: 1969-1972
      Purchase From Amazon

      The Bounty Hunter Trilogy – Movie Review:

      Radiance Films gathers together the three films in Toie Studios’ Bounty Hunter Trilogy, starring the inimitable Tomisaburo Wakayama. Here’s how the three movies in this
      ...
      03-13-2024, 11:30 AM
    Working...
    X