{"id":4015,"date":"2012-02-20T23:00:11","date_gmt":"2012-02-21T07:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=4015"},"modified":"2021-05-28T16:42:35","modified_gmt":"2021-05-28T23:42:35","slug":"review-anatomyofamurder-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2012\/02\/review-anatomyofamurder-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Anatomy of a Murder Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Anatomy of a Murder<\/em><\/strong> is a very well made courtroom suspense-drama thanks in large part to a well put together selection of actors. James Stewart continued his streak of wonderful performances while the story manages to hold its own throughout the duration of the lengthy running time.<\/p>\n

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\nAnatomy of a Murder: Criterion Collection (1959)<\/strong><\/p>\n


\nREVIEW NAVIGATION<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe Movie<\/a> | Special Features<\/a> | Video Quality<\/a> | Audio Quality<\/a> | Overall<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Genre(s): <\/strong>Drama, Crime
\nCriterion | NR \u2013 161 min. \u2013 $39.95 | February 21, 2012<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

MOVIE INFO:<\/span>
\nDirected by: <\/strong>Otto Preminger
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>John D. Voelker (novel); Wendell Mayes (screenplay)
\nCast: <\/strong>James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, Arthur O\u2019Connell, Eve Arden, Kathryn Grant, George C. Scott<\/p>\n

Theatrical Release Date: <\/strong>July 1, 1959<\/p>\n

DISC INFO:<\/span>
\nFeatures: <\/strong>Featurettes, Interviews
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>1<\/p>\n

Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), English (PCM 1.0)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 1.85
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>NA
\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/p>\n

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THE MOVIE<\/strong> \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Otto Preminger\u2019s Anatomy of a Murder<\/em><\/strong> is one of his more mainstream and popular films that, from my reading, is well regarded amongst those in the judicial system. For me, in my first viewing of this courtroom thriller and although I can\u2019t speak as highly of it compared with others, it\u2019s still well made with some great performances and a few a bit on the exaggerated side.<\/p>\n

The story centers on attorney Paul Biegler (JAMES STEWART) who was once the town\u2019s district attorney but lost out in a re-election bid. When he\u2019s not taking on smaller cases, Biegler is out fishing \u2013 has a fridge full of them \u2013 and spends time with alcoholic buddy Parnell McCarthy (ARTHUR O\u2019CONNELL) and sarcastic but tough secretary Maida Rutledge (EVE ARDEN).<\/p>\n

After returning back from a fishing trip, he is contacted by Laura Manion (LEE REMICK) by telephone and without really knowing the crime until hanging up, agrees to see her husband who is housed in the local jail. It\u2019s only after hanging up when Parnell informs him and the husband, Lieutenant Frederick \u201cManny\u201d Manion (BEN GAZZARA) was arrested for a murder for which he has confessed to doing.<\/p>\n

At first Biegler reluctant to get back into the game courtroom trials and his meeting Manny doesn\u2019t exactly help finding the man to be cocky. And yet, he takes the case anyway but that\u2019s only the beginning… First thing is, he has to find a way to defend his client who killed the victim after the man had raped Laura but there\u2019s only one option of defense: irresistible impulse (i.e. insanity). Another issue at hand is Laura doesn\u2019t exactly act like a victim and as he would discover later, doesn\u2019t mind flirting around while her husband is on trial.<\/p>\n

Inside the courtroom, meanwhile, Biegler goes before a genial but straight forward judge (JOSEPTH N. WELCH), the district attorney who took his old job (BROOKS WEST) and state prosecutor Claude Dancer (GEORGE C. SCOTT).<\/p>\n

How will the trial turn out? Is he innocent or guilty? The answers to those questions won\u2019t be obvious and really not supposed to be as it would seem director Preminger set out to make a film showcasing the judicial system, albeit with a cynical flavor, but throw in some titillating elements as a form of controversy… for its time as nowadays Anatomy of a Murder<\/em><\/strong> probably would\u2019ve received a light PG-13 rating. What\u2019s more interesting, and for the good, is this isn\u2019t Perry Mason or Matlock or \u201cInsert Generic Yet Quirky Lawyer Here\u201d TV series because while you have plenty of passion from each side, there\u2019s not really a last minute \u201cah ha\u201d scene, although one does come pretty damn close yet it\u2019s still satisfying.<\/p>\n

Outside of the interesting and unique plot, what probably stands out the most are the performances, save for one: Welch was not a trained actor and while it wasn\u2019t a deal breaker, it still brought unneeded attention in an otherwise finely acted movie.<\/p>\n

In any case, James Stewart obviously is the headliner here and it would seem it\u2019s during this period where he goes from playing the morally pure characters (It\u2019s a Wonderful Life<\/em>, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington<\/em>, Rear Window<\/em>, etc) in the 30s and 40s to somebody a bit more ambiguous in the 50s and 60s. It makes for a far more multi-dimensional character.<\/p>\n

The other actor who makes a splash is Lee Remick as the puzzlingly sultry wife\/victim. Whenever she\u2019s on screen you\u2019re never quite sure what to make of her and in turn of Ben Gazzara as her husband. As a pair it\u2019s obvious they\u2019ve got some serious issues going on but beyond that, you\u2019re never positive as to what the truth is and what spin from Stewart to get his client off the charges.<\/p>\n

Clocking in at an astounding 161 minutes, I was concerned that the movie would drag in parts but as the plot moved along, even at a slower pace, I never looked at the clock wondering how much longer it was until the end. Instead Anatomy of a Murder<\/em><\/strong> breezes along, an accomplishment that\u2019s rare today. This is a movie well worth checking if nothing more than to see a great cast and some brilliant and bewildering performances.<\/p>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Interviews<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 The disc contains interviews with Otto Preminger biographer Foster Hirsch (29:45), Otto Preminger (excerpts from a television show) (10:41), critic Gary Giddins talking about composer Duke Ellington (21:47) and writer Pat Kirkham discussing graphic designer Saul Bass (14:53). All of these are absolutely fascinating but if you can only watch one, it\u2019d be Giddins\u2019 as you can\u2019t help but be pulled in talking about Preminger.<\/p>\n

Newsreel Footage (5:02)<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 This is kind of cool to see this old footage of making the movie in a small town in Michigan. I look at this as the pre-cursor to Entertainment Tonight and eventually any number of web sites.<\/p>\n

Photos by Gjon Mili<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 This is a gallery where you can check out images made for Anatomy of a Murder<\/em> and taken from the book, \u201cAnatomy of a Motion Picture\u201d. The images range from costume test shots to general publicity photos.<\/p>\n

Anatomy of \u201cAnatomy\u201d (30:11)<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 In 1997, a Marquette County, Michigan resident published her firsthand account of the impact that Otto Preminger\u2019s film had in 1959 on the Upper Peninsula community where it was shot.<\/p>\n

Trailer (4:50)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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VIDEO \u2013 4.75\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Criterion Collection releases Anatomy of a Murder<\/em><\/strong> onto Blu-ray with an absolutely brilliant looking 1080p high-definition transfer. The film, presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio, is free of the wear and tear you often see with older films (this one going on 50+ years). Although it is in black and white, the movie looks excellent with natural film grain showing through while still providing crisp and clear detail levels throughout. Once again Criterion has shown how releasing a catalogue release should be done.
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AUDIO \u2013 4.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The disc comes with the original PCM 1.0 track as well as a robust 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. I only tested the film with the PCM track but even that one is decent while the DTS-HD MA one sounds great and is free of crackles and pops that make this a track which rivals most dramas released on Blu-ray today.<\/p>\n

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OVERALL \u2013 4.25\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Overall, Anatomy of a Murder<\/em><\/strong> is a very well made courtroom suspense-drama thanks in large part to a well put together selection of actors. James Stewart continued his streak of wonderful performances while the story manages to hold its own throughout the duration of the lengthy running time. The Blu-ray in the meantime has excellent video and audio transfers and the features have some informative featurettes\/interviews.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The Movieman<\/em>
\nPublished: <\/strong>02\/20\/2012<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anatomy of a Murder is a very well made courtroom suspense-drama thanks in large part to a well put together selection of actors. James Stewart continued his streak of wonderful performances while the story manages to hold its own throughout the duration of the lengthy running time.    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1431,1428,1430,1429],"class_list":["post-4015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blurayreviews","tag-george-c-scott","tag-james-stewart","tag-kathryn-grant","tag-lee-remick"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4015"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26134,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4015\/revisions\/26134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}