The Stranger (1946)(Import)

This film is one of the best of its era, which in turn was one of the best in American cinema. Although the ending was rather easy to foresee (even if you hadn't already watched it before), that takes nothing at all away from the three principal performances, which are truly masterful indeed. Robinson and Welles and Young were at the tops of their games when this work was produced in 1946, or more than seventy years ago, when the plot line was as hugely contemporary and relevant as could be. I understand that this version of the public domain work is among the best and most faithful to the original format, which makes its "film noir" mysteries even more foreboding and well ahead of its time. Frankly, there are few better or more enthralling ways to spend an hour and a half of your time than with this film.The old MGM DVD has always been the best print available of this great film. Now, Olive Films has rescanned that same print in hi-def and the result is great! It even retains the MGM video logo at the beginning, so you know this is the print you're watching. The picture is crystal clear, with nice, rich black levels befitting this noir classic. There is some speckling and a few scratches, but these were always there. It's terrific that video noise reduction wasn't used to smooth over the film texture.