The Big Heat
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Synopsis
Noir doesn’t get any more hard-boiled than this scorching tale of vice and retribution, a film that finds director Fritz Lang working at the peak of his Hollywood style—stripped to the bone, simmering with outrage, and fatalistic to the core. A tightly wound Glenn Ford stars as a homicide detective whose investigation into a sprawling crime syndicate becomes a shockingly personal, hate-fueled quest for revenge. Costarring an iconic Gloria Grahame as the mink-coated gangster’s moll with her own axe to grind, and featuring a supporting cast led by a sensationally sleazy Lee Marvin, The Big Heat hits with raw, unstoppable force.
Picture 10/10
The Criterion Collection presents Fritz Lang’s The Big Heat on 4K UHD, delivering the film on a triple-layer disc—though the file size just barely exceeds the 66GB limit of a dual-layer UHD—featuring Dolby Vision and framed in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1. The 2160p/24hz ultra high-definition presentation is sourced from a new 4K restoration, taken from scans of the 35mm original camera negative, with a 35mm fine-grain master positive used to fill in as needed. Criterion also includes a standard Blu-ray featuring a 1080p version of the film alongside all of the release’s video features.
The film has gone through several home video iterations over the years, with Twilight Time and Indicator both offering solid Blu-ray editions. I thought those looked pretty good, and probably would’ve been content with just those, but Criterion’s new 4K presentation is a very welcome surprise: it's an absolute stunner, just jaw-droppingly good.
The restoration work here is exceptional, scrubbing away virtually all signs of damage and delivering a pristine image. While multiple sources were used, the transitions between them are seamless; a few shots go a little soft, but it’s barely noticeable, and contrast remains consistent throughout. The image is razor sharp, effortlessly resolving fine details and textures, with a healthy layer of grain that’s beautifully rendered and always natural.
Contrast and grayscale are especially impressive, with HDR providing a notable boost. The grayscale range is broad and cleanly graded, with deep, inky blacks and gorgeous shadow rendering, most striking in scenes where light filters through window blinds. Highlights also look great, without killing detail, and depth is superb. This all just leads to a wonderful photographic texture that gives the image some real weight that just wasn't there before.
In the end, it looks phenomenal. It's an enormous upgrade over previous editions, and arguably the best-looking noir I've yet seen on the format.
The Big Heat - Screen Captures
Audio 7/10
The film’s restored monaural soundtrack is presented in lossless PCM, and I came away fairly impressed. The audio is remarkably clean, with solid range and fidelity for a mono track. Dialogue is sharp and clear throughout, and the score manages to hit some surprising highs without any noticeable distortion. It’s a very strong track; nothing flashy, but excellent for what it is.
Extras 8/10
Criterion puts together a solid special edition for The Big Heat, though it only carries over a handful of supplements from previous editions. Returning here are the original trailer and two short interviews recorded by Sony in 2006, featuring directors Martin Scorsese (6 minutes) and Michael Mann (11 minutes) sharing their appreciation for the film and Lang's contributions to noir of the period.
Newly commissioned for this release is an audio commentary featuring film noir experts Alain Silver and James Ursini. It’s a strong track, with the two discussing what sets The Big Heat apart from other noirs of the era, from its unusually central female characters to the film’s overt nastiness (still restrained by the production code). Along the way, they touch on the plotting, Lang’s clever touches, comparisons to the source novel, and even share notes from Lang himself. They also address some of the film’s criticisms, particularly its violence, and offer thoughts on the cast, with Gloria Grahame getting special attention. It’s not an especially revelatory track, but it works well as a thoughtful appreciation of the film and Lang’s contributions. The commentary appears on both the 4K disc and the Blu-ray.
The rest of the features are Blu-ray-only, including the Scorsese and Mann interviews. Also new to this edition is a 28-minute video essay by Farran Smith Nehme, The Women of “The Big Heat.” As the title suggests, it explores how the film sidesteps the standard femme fatale tropes, presenting a range of complex women who ultimately drive the story, and Glenn Ford’s Bannion, forward, even as they suffer from the fallout of his actions. Nehme offers sharp insights, even breaking down one scene to illustrate how character traits are foreshadowed early on. It’s a smart, well-assembled piece that pairs nicely with the commentary.
Criterion also includes two archival audio interviews with Lang. The first is a 16-minute excerpt from a 1956 conversation with Gideon Bachmann, in which Lang talks about fleeing Germany and his early Hollywood films, including Scarlet Street. The second is a 7-minute excerpt from a 1965 interview conducted by Peter Bogdanovich (during the period when he and Polly Platt were traveling to meet and record their cinematic heroes), where Lang briefly discusses The Big Heat, a film he says he likes “very much.”
Rounding things out is a new insert essay by Jonathan Lethem, who connects the film to Lang’s European sensibilities and characteristically bleak worldview.
It’s not a packed edition, and it’s a bit of a shame Criterion couldn’t include other material available elsewhere, like Tony Rayns’ excellent appreciation from the Indicator release. Still, the new features here are strong and well worth digging into.
Closing
Criterion delivers a stellar upgrade for Fritz Lang’s brutal noir classic, with a gorgeous 4K presentation and a solid, if modest, selection of supplements.
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