Customer Reviews

The Black Book

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Reign of Terror, or The Black Book, is one of the great Anthony Mann's very best pictures - a nightmarish tale of the French Revolution shot in the style of a film noir expressionistic nightmare with superlative production design from William Cameron Menzies. But I'm loathe to say any more that might encourage you to buy this disc simply because this is without doubt the very worst DVD I have ever seen - the poor contrast and appalling definition ruining John Alton's brilliant cinematography, while the variable transfer speed makes slurs of many of the witticisms. This is a neglected masterpiece crying out for the kind of treatment that MPI have given the Sherlock Holmes films, but whatever you do, don't make the mistake of thinking this terrible transfer from Alpha/Gotham is worth the low price - it isn't, and that's a real crime against cinema.

This movie is a gem, but to view it in these poor conditions (the frame is off-center, the blacks are light grey and the pictures fuzzy) is really an offense to the original material. Don't be fooled by the low price. Even if it was free I would still hesitate.

This is a comment on the Synergy Entertainment release of Anthony Mann's "The Black Book" (AKA "Reign of Terror"). This splendid film just can't get any respect on DVD! The running time of this version is 75 minutes, making it 14 minutes shorter than the version on Alpha Video! Critical scenes are missing, with Synergy imposing its own fade outs on entire sections. Even the previous reviewer who called this version "passable," noted the gaps in continuity. Visually, the print is much softer than Alpha's, with many jumps and splices, with much more of the picture area cropped off, and it goes in and out of focus. I previously thought that the Alpha release was the worst transfer of a movie I had ever seen, but this travesty put out by Synergy is a total disgrace, and should be avoided at all costs!

This edition of an Anthony Mann film has been crudely transferred, and is actually worse than another release of the same movie still around.It requires muchvideo adjustment to get it to a comfortable image. It is a shame for it has many first class features:(1) A script, reasonably faithful to actual history, but obviously cut to come out as a basic thriller,(2) a splendid cast, with the exception of Cummings, who however does not spoil the drama,(3)Arlene Dahl, one of the great beauties, who did not havetoo much luck with her assignments.
Maybe some day some one will produce a restored
faithful print.

"We're living in a perpetual state of violence. The people have become a bloodthirsty mob that thrives on human lives. Each day this monster must reach its quota. There is only one man who can control this beast and that man must be dictator Robespierre!" The man speaking is, of course, Maximilien Robespierre (Richard Basehart).

It's Paris, 1794, and for all practical purposes Robespierre rules France. He not only has sent his enemies to the guillotine, he keeps finding new enemies. He has a black book in which he lists his friends and his enemies and what they have done. He has marked those who will kiss the blade, and among them are many who think they are his friends. Then the book goes missing just 24 hours before he expects to be acclaimed dictator of France. He is determined to find the book.

But there are a few brave freedom-fighters struggling to bring Robespierre down. Among them are Charles D'Aubigny (Robert Cummings) and Madelon (Arlene Dahl), a woman who had cast Charles aside but who now must work with him. D'Aubigny takes on the role of Georges Duval, the butcher...the prosecutor...of Strasbourg who Robespierre has named to find the black book within 24 hours. There are many twists and turns before the truth comes out, before Charles and Madelon learn to trust each other again, and before France is saved...well, before France is saved for Napoleon.

Although the DVD picture and audio are in bad shape, even for a movie in the public domain, the film has a lot of visual style. Paris with its cobblestone by-ways, crowded hovels and turnip-strewn streets never looked more picturesque. Director Anthony Mann keeps things moving with a noir approach that features high angle shots, low angle shots, off-kilter close-ups and lots of mysterious shadows. There are plenty of howling mobs and unshaven soldiers.

Robert Cummings and Arlene Dahl make conventional leads. Cummings has little gravitas and Dahl, while gorgeous, was no actress. They are redeemed, however, by three first-rate heavies. Robespierre is a psychopathic, unsmiling politician in a powdered wig. He has no sense of humor. Robespierre's henchman, Louis de Saint-Just played by Jess Barker, is a vicious man who takes delight in the pain of those he dislikes, and he seems to dislike everyone. Best of all is Joseph Fouche, the head of the secret police, a wily, amoral pragmatist with a sly sense of humor. He's played by Arnold Moss, a thin actor with a wonderful voice, baggy eyes and a proud nose. When we last see Fouche he is making the acquaintance of a young soldier from Corsica.

The movie seems to have been released in the U.S. as "Reign of Terror" but took on the name "The Black Book" for its U.K. release. This Alpha Video apparently was made from a U.K. print. As mentioned, the DVD is barely watchable. Still, it's all there is. If the price is right and you enjoy historical adventures with some first-rate villains, why not try it? There are no extras.

After reading disgruntled reviews of two other DVDs of this classic film, I decided to take a chance on one that had not been reviewed. While the intensity of the excellent acting holds interest, and the atmosphere, start to finish, is suitably jarring, suggestive of that particularly horrific period in French history, black-out breaks in the action (original to the film, or the result of splicing and editing--hard to tell which)detract from the presentation a bit. In the climatic conclusion, when the arch villain gets his comeuppance, we see him addressing the angry mob, hoping to bluff his way out of the situation. In the complete version, Robespierre is shown getting shot in the throat, but in this cut, in an instant, he goes from speech to speechless, a bandage wrapped about his neck sans visual explanation. If I had not seen the full scene on a TV broadcast, I would not have known what happened. Still, the image is easy on the eyes. Facial expressions and other details are clear and readable. Overall, a good effort to preserve all of the elements of the original film.

Jim O'Dell
Camarillo, CA

Many of the existing reviews critical of the DVD transfer are
so negative that one doesn't want to view this material.Yet
the story is great and the acting good. It is a work of historical
fiction about the French Revolution-comparable in many ways to
A Tale of Two Cities (ignoring the transfer problems).If you like
this period,you should view this DVD.The transfer improves a bit
as you get into the body of the work. I did find the cover art
(picture of Arlene Dahl) a bit disappointing.

Essentially a fake DVD, apparently ripped from a VHS recording from a television broadcast and missing about twenty percent of its running time. Very disappointing, since the film is a fascinating specimen of the work of the director Anthony Mann and the great film noir cinematographer John Alton.

The plot is fairly interesting. The acting is quite good. It informs you, albeit scantily, of a time in French History that, at least I, had not much knowledge of.

This is a true "B" film and yet, as has been proven time-and-again by Anthony Mann (T-Men, Raw Deal, He Walked By Night, Winchester '73 etc.), he manages to put his stamp on a film and raise it beyond what most directors could.

I feel sorry for, what must be, John Alton's (cinematographer extraordinaire - Painting With Light) deft-touch in lighting. However, you would never be able to tell by this poor, poor quality transfer of both the visual and audio.

Personally, I do not find the film worthy of repeated viewing even IF it was of pristine quality regardless of what Mann & Alton bring to it.

I don't expect the greatest from Alpha-Video (oldies.com) because they transfer whatever they can get their hands on, as is, from Public Domain.
Sometimes, as with "The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers", you get an "A" film with fairly good visual and sound quality overall, and sometimes you get barely acceptable.

If you want to see prime Mann & Alton, I would suggest: T-Men, Raw Deal, He Walked By Night. One of the best Alton photographed films out there is: The Big Combo (directed by Joseph H. Lewis).

Quality of DVD: *1/2 /**** Sound: *1/2 /**** Plot: **/**** Acting: ***/**** Cinematography: ***/**** Direction: ***/****

I saw this film on AMC and thourghly enjoyed it. I was shocked when I saw this DVD. Who was the inept clown who edited out many of the most important sequences and made the DVD version so patchy as to be almost unwatchable? The film was not that long and did not need to be edited. If you only watched this DVD you would be hard pressed to discern a cohesive story line. I will not purchase anything more from this distributor as they should be ashamed of themselves.