Black Book

Anthony Mann's The Black Book (1949), also known as Reign of Terror, has arrived on DVD from Alpha Video in a decent edition made from a somewhat worn but surprisingly viewable print, marred by occasional missing frames, that gets better as the movie advances. The movie doesn't look as good here as it did in its last showing at New York's Film Forum in 1998, but considering how unlikely it is that there will be an authorized version anytime soon (MGM/UA would have first claim on it, but they've shown no willingness to exploit the Eagle-Lion catalog), one shouldn't hesitate to grab this treasure. The picture is good enough to capture the exquisite use of shadows by Mann and his cinematographer, John Alton, and the sound is very slightly boomy, but not so bad as to render anything unintelligible, and is all consistent. It's a very watchable disc given the budget pricing, and good enough to be attractive despite the absence of any frills -- indeed, along with Fear in the Night and Open Secret, this could easily be the best movie in the whole Alpha catalog. The usual six chapters on an Alpha disc must suffice; the disc opens automatically to a simple menu with the "play" option in the default position.