Black Widow actually is a unique film noir in an era that was filled with them and at its core, a well done murder mystery. The film also features some wonderful performances, most notably, Van Heflin, Ginger Rogers and Peggy Ann Gardner.
Black Widow
— The Limited Edition Series —
(1954)
Genre(s): Drama, Crime, Film Noir
Twilight Time | NR – 95 min. – $29.95 | October 16, 2018
Date Published: 11/06/2018 | Author: The Movieman
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PLOT SYNOPSIS |
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At a party, Broadway producer Peter Denver (VAN HEFLIN) meets Nancy Ordway (PEGGY ANN GARDNER), a young writer struggling to make it in New York City. Taking pity on her, Denver offers Nancy his apartment as a place to write while his wife, Iris (GENE TIERNEY), is away. Shortly after, Nancy is found dead in his bathroom, apparently murdered, and Denver is, of course, the main suspect. As rumors swirl about his involvement with Nancy, Denver decides to search for her killer himself. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.75/5 |
| This comes with an 8-page booklet. Features include an Audio Commentary with Film Historian Alan K. Rode as he discusses the background on the film from the actors to the source material; Ginger Rogers at Twentieth Century Fox (8:32) featurette on the actresses history with the studio; Gene Tierney: Final Curtain for a Noir Icon (6:19) on the actress and her career; and finally the Original Theatrical Trailer (2:32). |
VIDEO – 5.0/5, AUDIO – 4.5/5 |
| Black Widow is presented in its original 2.55 widescreen aspect ratio and given a beautiful looking 1080p high-definition transfer. This is a great looking picture with some vibrant, yet still natural, colors throughout along with sharp and nicely defined detail while still maintaining the film noise. I did not notice any major or apparent instances of artifacts, aliasing or any film damage like dust marks or scratches.
The movie comes with an impressive and effective DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which does output clear dialogue levels and the music comes through the other channels quite nicely. There are also options for 4.0 and 2.0 tracks. |
OVERALL – 3.5/5 |
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Overall, Black Widow actually is a unique film noir in an era that was filled with them and at its core, a well done murder mystery. The film also features some wonderful performances, most notably, Van Heflin, Ginger Rogers and Peggy Ann Gardner. The Blu-ray released by Twilight Time offers up excellent video/audio transfers and a decent selection of features, at least compared to other TT releases. |