Shock Corridor
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Synopsis
Seeking a Pulitzer Prize, a reporter has himself committed to a mental hospital to investigate a murder. As he closes in on the killer, madness closes in on him. Writer-director-producer Samuel Fuller masterfully charts the uneasy terrain between sanity and dementia. Criterion is proud to present Shock Corridor in a gorgeous, black and white widescreen transfer with its rarely seen color sequences.
Picture 3/10
Sam Fuller's Shock Corridor first appeared on DVD through Criterion in this 1998 edition in its original aspect ratio of about 1.85:1 on a single-layer disc. The transfer has not been enhanced for widescreen televisions.
It's a good thing Criterion is revisiting this one since it's one of their weakest transfers. The black and white image is laced with halos and edge-enhancement, jagged edges, and shimmering effects. Sharpness and detail varies, looking pretty strong on close-ups, but everything becomes an indistinguishable mess in long shots. The print isn't as bad as I would have originally expected but it's still in fairly rough condition with scratches and marks.
Pretty bad in the end and certainly open to improvement. I'm looking forward to seeing how much Criterion can improve it with their upcoming Blu-ray edition.
Audio 3/10
Criterion's DVD for The Naked Kiss, which was released the same day as this one, had a poor track because it was weak, but this release's track is poor because it's way too strong. Distortion and harshness is a fairly common problem throughout, with some screeching highs in music. Though at least dialogue is still somewhat distinguishable (which is good since the disc doesn't come with English subtitles.)
Extras 1/10
And similar to most of Criterion's early lower-tier releases there's only a theatrical trailer for the film, which is at least interesting. But we also at least get a nice essay on Fuller by director Tim Hunter in the insert.
Closing
Lackluster, and even at $29.95 it was a rip-off. Poor transfer and the lack of supplements make this edition skippable. Thankfully Criterion is re-releasing this film on DVD and Blu-ray.
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