Read my review of THE STRANGER
Film Chest has taken this Orson Welles public domain title and brought it to Blu-ray from a 35mm print. The result is mixed, but not bad. The restoration of the image is well done, ridding the image from virtually all damage and decay. However, the process has left the picture soft or washed out at times. Bright sunny outdoor scenes suffer the most. The high contrast suits the shadowy scenes best. Black are as dark as Welles' Nazi-in-hiding character. Details in close-ups during these dark scenes actually show remarkable detail.
There are two soundtracks — Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0. The 5.1 track simply relegates Bronislaw Kaper's score to the back speakers. The 2.0 track represents the original sound design better anyway. Without access to source material, the print used is not the best one could hope for. Pops, cracks and synch issues plague the entire film. Additionally, the high and low range seems compressed.
The disc comes with a DVD version as well. Difference in quality between that and the Blu-ray are certainly noticeable. The special features are very limited — the theatrical trailer and a demo of the restoration.
With public domain titles like this one, it will take a firm like Criterion or Kino to have a more robust transfer, but for now the Film Chest version is worth the reasonable price.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
