WAIT
UNTIL DARK ($20) is a highly enjoyable little thriller featuring
memorable performances from Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin. Sure the movie
is very stagy, but then again, there aren’t too many ways that one can
open up a single set stage play on film, especially when the necessities
of the plot limit the action to that single setting. In WAIT UNTIL DARK
Hepburn portrays Susy Hendrix, a recently blinded young woman who finds
herself victimized by a psychotic criminal named Roat (Arkin) and his
accomplices. Roat is after a doll containing a valuable shipment of
heroin, which Susy’s husband Sam (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) unintentionally
picked up in the airport. Creating an elaborate charade, Roat hopes to
force a frightened, blind Susy into revealing the doll’s whereabouts.
The cast of WAIT UNTIL DARK also features Richard Crenna, Jack
Weston, Samantha Jones and Julie Herrod.
Warner
Home Video has made WAIT UNTIL DARK available on DVD in a 1.78:1
wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for 16:9
displays. This is a pretty nice transfer, although there are some minor
flaws in the presentation, due to the film elements, which do show some
signs of age. During the presentation, blemishes creep up here and there,
and while they are never particularly excessive, the DVD would have been
more satisfying had they been cleaned up digitally. Additionally, colors
seem a bit off in places, but for the most part they are nicely saturated
and stable. The image itself is fairly sharp and pretty nicely defined.
There are a few shots that appear a bit soft, but this is not a major
concern. Blacks are accurate, whites are clean and contrast is very solid.
Shadow detail is good for a film of this vintage, although there are
sequences that are purposely dark and remain that way. Digital compression
artifacts are usually well concealed.
WAIT
UNTIL DARK comes with a perfectly acceptable Dolby Digital monaural
soundtrack. This is a dialogue driven drama, so the limitations in
fidelity are not really a big concern for the presentation. The film’s
musical score can sound a bit reedy in places, but it takes a bit of
amplification without any signs of distortion. Additionally, most traces
of background hiss and other audible anomalies have been cleaned up in the
mastering process. Dialogue itself is always completely understandable,
although the timbre of voices isn’t always consistent. A French language
track is also included on the DVD, as are French and Spanish subtitles.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which allow one access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as few extras. A
Look In The Dark is an eight-minute program featuring actor Alan
Arkin and producer Mel Ferrer (who was also Audrey Hepburn’s husband at
the time), who share their recollections of the production of the film. Stage
Frantics is a text essay that provides a brief look at the various
stage and screen incarnations of WAIT UNTIL DARK. A theatrical
trailer closes out the extras.
WAIT
UNTIL DARK is a very enjoyable little thriller that features some fine
work from both Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin. If you are a Hepburn fan, or
enjoy a good thriller, then you should definitely check out WAIT UNTIL
DARK on DVD.
WAIT
UNTIL DARK ($20) is a highly enjoyable little thriller featuring
memorable performances from Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin. Sure the movie
is very stagy, but then again, there aren’t too many ways that one can
open up a single set stage play on film, especially when the necessities
of the plot limit the action to that single setting. In WAIT UNTIL DARK
Hepburn portrays Susy Hendrix, a recently blinded young woman who finds
herself victimized by a psychotic criminal named Roat (Arkin) and his
accomplices. Roat is after a doll containing a valuable shipment of
heroin, which Susy’s husband Sam (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) unintentionally
picked up in the airport. Creating an elaborate charade, Roat hopes to
force a frightened, blind Susy into revealing the doll’s whereabouts.
The cast of WAIT UNTIL DARK also features Richard Crenna, Jack
Weston, Samantha Jones and Julie Herrod.
Warner
Home Video has made WAIT UNTIL DARK available on DVD in a 1.78:1
wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for 16:9
displays. This is a pretty nice transfer, although there are some minor
flaws in the presentation, due to the film elements, which do show some
signs of age. During the presentation, blemishes creep up here and there,
and while they are never particularly excessive, the DVD would have been
more satisfying had they been cleaned up digitally. Additionally, colors
seem a bit off in places, but for the most part they are nicely saturated
and stable. The image itself is fairly sharp and pretty nicely defined.
There are a few shots that appear a bit soft, but this is not a major
concern. Blacks are accurate, whites are clean and contrast is very solid.
Shadow detail is good for a film of this vintage, although there are
sequences that are purposely dark and remain that way. Digital compression
artifacts are usually well concealed.
WAIT
UNTIL DARK comes with a perfectly acceptable Dolby Digital monaural
soundtrack. This is a dialogue driven drama, so the limitations in
fidelity are not really a big concern for the presentation. The film’s
musical score can sound a bit reedy in places, but it takes a bit of
amplification without any signs of distortion. Additionally, most traces
of background hiss and other audible anomalies have been cleaned up in the
mastering process. Dialogue itself is always completely understandable,
although the timbre of voices isn’t always consistent. A French language
track is also included on the DVD, as are French and Spanish subtitles.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which allow one access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as few extras. A
Look In The Dark is an eight-minute program featuring actor Alan
Arkin and producer Mel Ferrer (who was also Audrey Hepburn’s husband at
the time), who share their recollections of the production of the film. Stage
Frantics is a text essay that provides a brief look at the various
stage and screen incarnations of WAIT UNTIL DARK. A theatrical
trailer closes out the extras.
WAIT
UNTIL DARK is a very enjoyable little thriller that features some fine
work from both Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin. If you are a Hepburn fan, or
enjoy a good thriller, then you should definitely check out WAIT UNTIL
DARK on DVD.
