Film Noir Classics Collection 2 [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

I had the privlege of borrowing this boxed set from a critic-pal of mine, as it hasn't hit the street yet. My copy is already on order.

After delivering one of the best boxed sets of 2004 with their first FILM NOIR COLLECTION, Warner Brothers once again hits the bell with a gorgeous collection of 5 stellar noirs, with great transfers and beautiful packaging.

Noir hero Lawrence Tierney stars in two entries here, the underrated BORN TO KILL, and the rarely seen Monogram programmer DILLNGER. He had an amazing screen persona, which makes it doubly sad that his personal problems put the kabosh on his screen career. But in these two films, he is at his best, especially in his breakthrough role in DILLINGER, which most certainly is a hard-boiled film noir that had to be made at B-studio Monogram, because the major studios weren't allowed to "glorify" criminals in that era.

My favorite film in the pack is Richard Fleischer's THE NARROW MARGIN, which moves along at a break-neck pace, and is presented here not only in a sparkling print, but with comments on the audio track from the director.

One of the greatest of all directors, Fritz Lang, created a tense and brooding drama of lust and betrayal with CLASH BY NIGHT, boosted by terrific performances by noir legends Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Ryan, and an early, but memorable performance by Marilyn Monroe who looks as magnificent as ever.

Last, but certainly not least, is the heralded classic CROSSFIRE, with Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan, in a smoldering tale that deals with hatred, murder, and anti-Semitism. This was a breakthrough film, and comes with a great commentary track that features comments from its late, great director Edward Dmytryk.

No serious cinephile will be disappointed in this splendid collection.

The first set of the Film Noir Classic Collection was chock full of great movies, so I was naturally looking forward to the second set. Volume 2, happily, is also a good collection, not quite at the par of the first set but still with five decent-to-great movies. And if they play a little faster and looser with the definition of film noir in this set, that doesn't deprive the collection of its value.

First viewed (I tried watching them in chronological order) is Dillinger, a fictional biography of the real-life criminal John Dillinger. This movie stars Lawrence Tierney as the title character, a generally cold-hearted killer who is a cunning bank robber. For those most familiar with Tierney from his role as a crime boss in Reservoir Dogs, this is a showcase for the actor in his prime. The movie itself is more of an old-fashioned gangster movie (similar to the ones in the Warner Gangster Collection) than a true noir movie, but it is nonetheless good, though too much the B movie to be great.

Second is Crossfire, a more true noir film dealing with anti-Semitism. Starring three Roberts - Ryan, Young and Mitchum - it gets somewhat preachy towards the end which makes it merely good instead of great. Although the focus of the story shifts from character to character, the true star is Ryan as a hateful psychopath. Mitchum is good but underutilized and Young is competent but relatively boring.

The gem of the collection is Born to Kill, with Lawrence Tierney and Claire Trevor in a tale of classic film noir complete with femme fatales, murder and plenty of shady characters. Tierney plays a man on the lam after killing his girlfriend and her date (an ill-conceived attempt to get Tierney jealous). Soon he meets Trevor, but finding her engaged, woos and marries her wealthy step-sister. That doesn't stop Trevor and Tierney from their own star-crossed romance and soon enough there is more death. Directed by Robert Wise (also responsible for The Set-Up, and in other genres, The Day the Earth Stood Still, West Side Story and Sound of Music), this is one of the classics of the noir genre.

Almost as good is Narrow Margin, the one movie with lesser stars such as Charles McGraw and Marie Windsor. The story is about a cop escorting a reluctant witness on a train ride from Chicago to Los Angeles; also aboard the train are killers who don't know what the witness looks like, but are certain that McGraw is protecting her. This leads to mix-ups and plot twists that are ironic but rarely comic. This is one of the great "train thrillers," a neat sub-genre that includes such classics as The Lady Vanishes and North by Northwest.

Finally, there is Clash by Night. Although the use of lighting and dialogue is noirish, this movie is not film noir but rather a soap opera with a romantic triangle of Barbara Stanwyck as the woman with the past, Paul Douglas as her benevolent but rather simple husband and Robert Ryan as the callous friend who insinuates himself into her life. Marilyn Monroe has a small role but as always, steals her scenes. Playing her boyfriend is Keith Andes, a guy who was supposed to be the next big thing but never made it.

All the discs come with commentaries that are often illuminating. Born to Kill and Narrow Margin are five-star flicks; the others are four stars. That averages to 4.4, but I will round up because of the extras. Even if these are not all truly film noir, this is a great collection and well-worth the viewing if you enjoy classic movies.

Although this set is not loaded with as many classics as Warner's first noir box (I don't think the quality of that box set can ever be equalled), it is loaded with fine examples of the genre.

I am sure some reviewers (some already have) will criticize the films in this box and in future Warner fim noir box sets. Something those people need to understand is that Warner likely does not own the rights to many of the films that they may want to see included - Criterion released "Thieves Highway", Fox released "Nightmare Alley", and many other classics, including "Double Indemnity" are owned by some company other that Warner and have not released those films yet.

Personally, I feel that any release of classic noir, especially with the care and extras that Warner gives it, is worth five stars.