216 You and Me

[MichaelB]

YOU AND ME
(Fritz Lang, 1938)
Release date: 23 September 2024
Limited Edition Blu-ray (UK premiere)

Pre-order here

Sylvia Sidney (An American Tragedy), George Raft (Spawn of the North), and Harry Carey (The Long Gray Line) head up the cast of this powerful film from the great Fritz Lang (Ministry of Fear).

When ex-convict Joe (Raft) gets a job in a department store, he falls in love with his co-worker Helen (Sidney) and, even though the rules of their employment strictly forbid it, the two secretly are married. However, when he discovers that Helen has been hiding the fact that she is also an ex-con, Joe becomes enraged and decides to rob the store, putting their relationship in jeopardy.

With a screenplay by Virginia Van Upp (Affair in Trinidad) and Norman Krasna (Fury), as well as music by the legendary Kurt Weill (The Threepenny Opera), You and Me is a unique mix of crime thriller and romantic comedy which confounded audience expectations at the time of its release, but which has become a critical favourite in the decades since.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• 2K restoration
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with writer and film programmer Tony Rayns (2024)
• Lucy Bolton on Sylvia Sidney (2024): the academic discusses the life and lengthy film career of the stage and screen actor
• David Huckvale on Kurt Weill (2024): the author and musicologist discusses the film’s unique musical score
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Farran Smith Nehme, an archival interview with Fritz Lang conducted by Peter Bogdanovich, an archival interview with screenwriter Norman Krasna, a contemporary profile of Lang, and film credits
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies for the UK

All extras subject to change

#PHILE216B
BBFC cert: TBC
REGION B
EAN: 5060697922622

[TMDaines]

Finally!

[domino harvey]

...and of course I bought the KLSC not too long ago. This is a weird Lang film, no doubt, but the fact that this and An American Tragedy are getting released solo makes me doubt the clue that was IDed as Good Dame, because that seems very much like a little-known title that would get released in a Sidney-themed box set, not solo (though it fully merits one) and now they're already releasing several Sidney films that could anchor a box

[Red Screamer]

A weird Lang, but a great Lang, and an essential part of his Sylvia Sidney convict trilogy. The most German and the most Hollywood elements of his 30s films get blended together recklessly and it shouldn’t work, particularly with Raft, but in the end, it’s strangely moving.

[Peacock]

Aside from the trailer all the extras are unique from the almost barebones Kino. The Kino is single layer so doesn’t have a dual layer advantage this time over the Indicator making the UK release almost certainly an easy winner all round.

[ChunkyLover]

Aside from the trailer all the extras are unique from the almost barebones Kino. The Kino is single layer so doesn’t have a dual layer advantage this time over the Indicator making the UK release almost certainly an easy winner all round.

It's also possible that the Indicator could very well be a single layered disc like a lot of these dueling 30s-40s Uni Kino-Indicator releases have been. A dual-layered disc isn't automatically going to necessarily be better. Plus, a lot of these masters are for films are either aren't super long or very demanding in terms of things such as high frequency (and any video extras not taking up a big chunk of space).

[Peacock]

It's also possible that the Indicator could very well be a single layered disc like a lot of these dueling 30s-40s Uni Kino-Indicator releases have been. A dual-layered disc isn't automatically going to necessarily be better. Plus, a lot of these masters are for films are either aren't super long or very demanding in terms of things such as high frequency (and any video extras not taking up a big chunk of space).

The main issue is that single layer releases tend to have lower bitrates than dual layer. When compressing I’m always trying to maintain the highest bitrate possible for the desired file size / viewing format as it does make a visible difference to the film grain even with the best compressionist in the world.

But yes it’s possible you’re right and it will be single layered like many Golden Era titles Indicator has put out. But as per the recent UHD debate it ultimately isn’t a dealbreaker either way, it will still look great I’m sure.

[MichaelB]

I can't for the life of me see why this release would need a dual-layered disc. We're only talking 94 minutes of video (with thick black bars at the sides, so needing less space than a screen-filler) plus two video featurettes and a commentary. Any competent encoder should be able to get that onto a single-layer disc without compromising bitrate, and our encoder is rather more than merely competent.

[MichaelB]

Final specs:

[MichaelB]

Beaver and Me - which confirms that Indicator went for a dual-layer disc in the end.