Don Is Dead

Universal's disc of The Don Is Dead offers a solid budget-line edition of this film. The letterboxed video transfer is a nice one, lending Richard Kline's earthy, dark cinematography a much-needed sharpness that was lacking in the film's videotape incarnation. Sound options are limited to the original mono soundtrack, but dialogue and effects have plenty of clarity despite the lack of stereo separation. The only extra is a trailer, but it's a pretty entertaining one -- a punchy combination of clips and optically enhanced still images that give the film an old-fashioned 'hard sell.' Some fans might be disappointed by the lack of extras or a stereo soundtrack remix, but it's really nice to see such a lesser-known catalog title be released at all, much less given a decent remastering job. To sum up, Universal's disc of The Don Is Dead offers gangster fans a reasonably priced way to get acquainted with this forgotten genre entry.