|
|
| Special Features: |
Widescreen anamorphic format
Chapter selection
The Bogart Collection
Trailers |
| Video Format: |
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1)
[SS-SL]
|
| Languages: |
English (Dolby Digital 1.0) Mono
Portuguese (Dolby Digital 1.0) Mono
|
| Subtitles: |
English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese.
|
| Captions: |
Yes
|
| Casing: |
1-Disc Keep Case
|
Mark Robson's "The Harder They Fall" was Humphrey Bogart's final film. The Hollywood tough-guy died of throat cancer the following year. "The Harder They Fall" is a gritty look at the seamy under-belly that was professional boxing. Who knows, it may still be this way?
Eddie Willis (Humphrey Bogart) is an out of work sports writer. Eddie still has a reputation as a stand-up guy. Nick Benko (Rod Steiger) is a corrupt boxing promoter. Nick's minions have discovered Toro Moreno (Mike Lane) in South America. Toro is a giant muscle man. There are just a few problems with Toro: he punches like a schoolgirl and has a glass jaw. Nick hires Eddie to help promote Toro. Nick needs someone of Eddie's stature to pull off his scam. Nick wants to get Toro a shot at the title. Eddie has scruples, but he is out of work. Nick finds Eddie's price. What follows is a great character study of a good man going bad.
Robson's film doesn't achieve the classic status of "Body and Soul" with John Garfield, but it is still one of the better boxing films ever made. The movie is aided by excellent performances all around. Bogart is great as the aging newsman who is in the verge of losing his soul. Mike Lane is very sympathetic as the lumbering oaf who doesn't even realize that his fights have been fixed. There are numerous real-life boxers in the movie. "Jersey" Joe Walcott plays Toro's trainer, while former champ Max Baer Sr. (Jethro's father) plays the champion whom Toro must face in the film's final fight. The fight sequences are very good. Of course, Martin Scorsese spoiled us all with the fights in "Raging Bull," but the final fight in "The Harder They Fall" is very tense.
Very good movie, picture and sound. No real extras.
Picture Quality: 9/10
Columbia did a nice job restoring the film before the digital transfer was made. Burnett Guffy was nominated for an Oscar for his excellent Black-and-White photography. The movie benefits from the location shooting in New York. The grime of the city accents the amoral characters. Only a few artifacts were present. Nice delineation of light and dark shades in the gray scale.
Sound Quality: 7/10
The sound is good. Not great. There is no loss of dialogue. The sound is a bit flat in the higher ranges.
Menu: 7/10
Nice "film noir" look to the menu. Simple design. Easy to navigate. No Easter Eggs found.
Extra Features: 5/10
The "Bogart Collection" is a montage of biographical information, publicity stills and US and international movie posters for several Humphrey Bogart films being released by Columbia/Tristar on DVD. There are trailers for three films.
The Final Word:
Bogart fans will love this. I had never seen "The Harder They Fall." I'm happy to have it in my collection.
Rusty White
|
Advanced Media Network : : :
Cube |
Xbox |
PSP |
DS |
Game Xplain |
Revo-Europe |
RPGamer |
Anime |
Einsiders |
AMN Radio
American Red Cross volunteers have been deployed to the hardest hit areas of Katrina’s destruction, supplying hundreds of
thousands victims left homeless with critical necessities. By making a financial gift to Hurricane 2005 Relief, the Red
Cross can provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need.
