Blake
Edwards isn’t exactly a director that one normally associates with dark
noir-ish thrillers- after all; the man was responsible for all those PINK
PANTHER movies. Although comedy is where Edwards made his biggest
impression as a director, he did successfully dabble in other genres
throughout his career. In 1962, Edwards score two of his biggest
non-comedy successes with the human drama of THE DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES
and with the disturbing shocks of EXPERIMENT IN TERROR ($20).
With
EXPERIMENT IN TERROR, Edwards manages to create some of the most
psychologically frightening sequences of his career- especially during the
film’s first scene, where an unseen assailant mentally and physically
assaults Lee Remick’s character. During the early sixties, this sequence
must have been particularly unnerving to audiences, and I have to admit
this scene remain very effective today. However, the film doesn’t fare
as well once it becomes a police procedural- these sequences now seem
inept, especially to anyone that has become a devotee of TV’s CSI,
a show that emphasizes every aspect of forensic science.
The
plot of EXPERIMENT IN TERROR centers on Kelly Sherwood (Lee
Remick), a beautiful young woman, who is assaulted in her dark garage one
evening by an unknown assailant with asthmatic breathing. This unknown man
threatens Kelly’s life, and that of her teenage sister Toby (Stefanie
Powers), unless Kelly steals $100,000.00 from the bank in which she works
as a teller. Although warned against calling the authorities, Kelly does
contact FBI agent John Ripley (Glenn Ford). To protect Kelly and her
sister, Ripley places them under covert surveillance by a team of FBI
agents, while they try to uncover the identity of the unknown culprit. The
cast of EXPERIMENT IN TERROR also features Roy Poole, Ned Glass,
Anita Loo, Patricia Huston, Clifton James and Ross Martin.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made EXPERIMENT IN TERROR available
on DVD in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for
playback on 16:9 displays. In general, this is a very, very good transfer
taken from black and white film elements that only display some minor
signs of age and wear. The image is pretty crisp and produces very good
levels of detail. Blacks are always very inky, while the whites are
rendered cleanly and with complete stability. Contrast is occasionally a
bit harsh, but this enhances the noir-ish quality of the film’s
cinematography. Shadow detail is good, but some of the darker sequences
are intentionally indistinct. Additionally, the image displays a
noticeable grain structure throughout much of the movie, but it is never
excessive or particularly bothersome. Digital compression artifacts are
well always concealed.
EXPERIMENT
IN TERROR features a solid Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack that has
aged well. All signs of background hiss and surface noise appear to have
been scrubbed away with a digital clean up, which enhances the overall
quality of the track. Fidelity is on par for a film produced in the early
1960s, but still manages to sound clean and smooth, where the film’s
music is concerned. Like so many other Blake Edwards movies, EXPERIMENT
IN TERROR features a terrific score by Henry Mancini, which is
rendered quite pleasantly, even when given more than a bit of
amplification. Dialogue is crisp and always completely understandable. No
other language tracks are included on the DVD, but English, French and
Japanese subtitles are provided. The basic interactive menus allow one
access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a
theatrical trailer for EXPERIMENT IN TERROR and bonus trailers for THE
BIG HEAT and THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI.
EXPERIMENT
IN TERROR is a stylish and entertaining noir thriller from director
Blake Edwards that has been given a very good presentation on DVD by the
folks at Columbia TriStar. If you are a genre fan, or a fan of the film’s
stars or director, you should definitely check out EXPERIMENT IN TERROR
on DVD.
Blake
Edwards isn’t exactly a director that one normally associates with dark
noir-ish thrillers- after all; the man was responsible for all those PINK
PANTHER movies. Although comedy is where Edwards made his biggest
impression as a director, he did successfully dabble in other genres
throughout his career. In 1962, Edwards score two of his biggest
non-comedy successes with the human drama of THE DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES
and with the disturbing shocks of EXPERIMENT IN TERROR ($20).
With
EXPERIMENT IN TERROR, Edwards manages to create some of the most
psychologically frightening sequences of his career- especially during the
film’s first scene, where an unseen assailant mentally and physically
assaults Lee Remick’s character. During the early sixties, this sequence
must have been particularly unnerving to audiences, and I have to admit
this scene remain very effective today. However, the film doesn’t fare
as well once it becomes a police procedural- these sequences now seem
inept, especially to anyone that has become a devotee of TV’s CSI,
a show that emphasizes every aspect of forensic science.
The
plot of EXPERIMENT IN TERROR centers on Kelly Sherwood (Lee
Remick), a beautiful young woman, who is assaulted in her dark garage one
evening by an unknown assailant with asthmatic breathing. This unknown man
threatens Kelly’s life, and that of her teenage sister Toby (Stefanie
Powers), unless Kelly steals $100,000.00 from the bank in which she works
as a teller. Although warned against calling the authorities, Kelly does
contact FBI agent John Ripley (Glenn Ford). To protect Kelly and her
sister, Ripley places them under covert surveillance by a team of FBI
agents, while they try to uncover the identity of the unknown culprit. The
cast of EXPERIMENT IN TERROR also features Roy Poole, Ned Glass,
Anita Loo, Patricia Huston, Clifton James and Ross Martin.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made EXPERIMENT IN TERROR available
on DVD in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for
playback on 16:9 displays. In general, this is a very, very good transfer
taken from black and white film elements that only display some minor
signs of age and wear. The image is pretty crisp and produces very good
levels of detail. Blacks are always very inky, while the whites are
rendered cleanly and with complete stability. Contrast is occasionally a
bit harsh, but this enhances the noir-ish quality of the film’s
cinematography. Shadow detail is good, but some of the darker sequences
are intentionally indistinct. Additionally, the image displays a
noticeable grain structure throughout much of the movie, but it is never
excessive or particularly bothersome. Digital compression artifacts are
well always concealed.
EXPERIMENT
IN TERROR features a solid Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack that has
aged well. All signs of background hiss and surface noise appear to have
been scrubbed away with a digital clean up, which enhances the overall
quality of the track. Fidelity is on par for a film produced in the early
1960s, but still manages to sound clean and smooth, where the film’s
music is concerned. Like so many other Blake Edwards movies, EXPERIMENT
IN TERROR features a terrific score by Henry Mancini, which is
rendered quite pleasantly, even when given more than a bit of
amplification. Dialogue is crisp and always completely understandable. No
other language tracks are included on the DVD, but English, French and
Japanese subtitles are provided. The basic interactive menus allow one
access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a
theatrical trailer for EXPERIMENT IN TERROR and bonus trailers for THE
BIG HEAT and THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI.
EXPERIMENT
IN TERROR is a stylish and entertaining noir thriller from director
Blake Edwards that has been given a very good presentation on DVD by the
folks at Columbia TriStar. If you are a genre fan, or a fan of the film’s
stars or director, you should definitely check out EXPERIMENT IN TERROR
on DVD.
