Secret Beyond the Door... – Kino Lorber (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1947
Director: Fritz Lang
Writers: Silvia Richards, Rufus King
Cast: Joan Bennett, Michael Redgrave, Anne Revere, Barbara O'Neil, Natalie Schafer, Paul Cavanagh, Anabel Shaw, Rosa Rey, James Seay, Mark Dennis

Release Date: May 7th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 98 Minutes 52 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $24.95

"Noir queen Joan Bennett (Scarlet Street) stars as Celia, a bored heiress who, while on vacation, meets a mysterious architect named Mark (Michael Redgrave, Dead of Night). They fall in love and are soon married and settled into Mark’s New England estate, where Celia finds herself seemingly suffocating within the spare yet surreal and terrifying confines of her husband’s mansion. As shocking secrets are revealed, Celia is determined to stay and find the cause of Mark’s strange obsession with murder—even though she must risk her own life to do so." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "2022 HD Master by Paramount Pictures – From a 4K Scan".

Secret Beyond the Door... comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 31.8 GB

Feature: 29.5 GB

The source looks great; it's an improvement over Olive Films 2012 Blu-ray release. Shadow detail is the one area where this release shows the most improvement. Also, though image clarity generally looks strong, there are moments where it looks too soft. That said, there appears to be some digital filter of the image.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. The audio is in good shape: dialog always comes through clearly enough to follow, and everything sounds balanced. That said, things sound limited range-wise, and there is a minor background hiss.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an audio commentary with author/film historian Alan K. Rode, and a slipcover (limited to the first pressing).

Other extras include trailers for The Woman in the Window, The Mad Doctor, The Web, Alias Nick Beal, Night Has a Thousand Eyes, Love Letters, So Evil My Love, and Human Desire.

Summary:

Directed by Fritz Lang, whose other notable films include Der Müde Tod (Destiny), Metropolis, Spies, M, Scarlet Street, The Woman in the Window, and The Big Heat.

The narrative revolves around a woman who starts to believe that her husband wants to kill her.

Despite being billed as a Film noir, most likely because of Fritz Lang’s connection to this genre, Secret Beyond the Door... is better described as a psychological drama in the same vein as Alfred Hitchcock. Secret Beyond the Door... is a story about a woman who is hesitant to marry, only to quickly fall in love with a man and marry him. And what appears to be an idyllic romance slowly becomes something more sinister. That said, when it comes to the visuals, this is in one area that is undeniably Film noir.

Secret Beyond the Door... reteams Joan Bennett with Fritz Lang for their fourth and final collaboration. Though mostly known for her work in the Film noir genre and the film Suspiria, she was actually a versatile actress who excelled in every film genre. That said, she delivers another exemplary performance. Michael Redgrave’s (The Lady Vanishes, 1938) portrayal of the husband is also exceptional. His character is haunted by a trauma from his past, and only his new wife has the key to unlock that door.

From a production standpoint, Fritz Lang is clicking on all cylinders; he fully exploits all of his resources. The well-executed narrative does a phenomenal job building momentum to its moment of truth ending that brings everything full circle. And though the visuals have a film noir-like quality to them, there are moments that are infused with surrealism. Of Joan Bennett’s four films with Fritz Lang, Secret Beyond the Door... may be their weakest collaborations, only because the other three films they made set the bar so high.

Kino Lorber gives Secret Beyond the Door... its best audio/video presentation to date.

Written by Michael Den Boer