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Release Date: 16th March 2015
Format: Blu-ray
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison
Directed by: Alexander Mackendrick

Synopsis: MATCH ME, SIDNEY

One of the darkest films ever to come out of the Hollywood mainstream – both literally and figuratively – this spellbindingly cynical study of Machiavellian media machinations in a neon-drenched New York City was the first and best American film by Alexander Mackendrick, who already had several Ealing Studios classics on his CV (Whisky Galore, The Man in the White Suit, Mandy, The Ladykillers) when he crossed the Atlantic.

Considering his star status, Burt Lancaster was famously fearless when it came to risking audience sympathies, and he gives one of his most memorable performances as ruthless gossip columnist J.J. Hunsecker, who’ll go to any lengths to break up his sister’s unsuitable romance, even if it means destroying the reputation of press agent Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis).

Brilliantly scripted by Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman from the latter’s autobiographical short story, and filmed in gleaming monochrome by legendary cinematographer James Wong Howe, Sweet Smell of Success is one of the greatest and most clear-eyed of all American films, lifting up the stone of Fifties decorum and unflinchingly revealing what was crawling underneath.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
- Restored High Definition (1080p) presentation of a digital transfer from the original 35mm camera negative
- Original uncompressed PCM mono 1.0 audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
- New video essay by critic and film historian Philip Kemp, author of Lethal Innocence: The Cinema of Alexander Mackendrick
- Mackendrick: The Man Who Walked Away – Dermot McQuarrie’s Scottish Television documentary from 1986, featuring interviews with Mackendrick, Burt Lancaster, producer James Hill and many others
- Theatrical trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring an original poster and newly commissioned artwork by Chris Walker
- Collector’s booklet with new writing on the film by Michael Brooke and excerpts from Alexander Mackendrick’s writings on film directing, illustrated with original stills and posters.

Region: B
Rating: PG
Cat No: FCD1073
Duration: 96 mins
Language: English
Subtitles: English SDH
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Audio: LPCM mono 1.0
B&W

I've just finished the first cut of the Philip Kemp video essay, which clocks in at 57:45. I reckon trims and intertitles/credits will more or less cancel each other out.

It's broadly the same model as the Frank Krutnik piece on The Killers - a video intro followed by a commentary over six key scenes. And it would be fair to say that Philip knows his stuff.

Slightly off-topic, Kenneth Lonergan made an appearance at IFC Center a few years back and said he loved how James Wong Howe photographed NYC for this film - he found out that the only he would ever add during the night time exteriors came from China balls, so Lonergan's crew pretty much did the same for Margaret. (The film has far fewer night scenes, but they do look great.)

Not remotely off-topic - many thanks for that: I hadn't made the connection.

Beaver and Blu-ray.com both like it.

How come the 86 documentary is 10 minutes longer on Arrow's disc than on Criterion ?

It's funny, I was just trying to answer this question myself, and six years later still can't find any comments on this online. I figure maybe Criterion cut some clips from other films?

I don't know what Criterion did, but we encoded what Scottish TV sent us.

I also seem to recall that once we realised that it was from a film source we deliberately slowed it down to 23.976fps to maximise player compatibility, which had the happy side-effect of returning the clips to their original projection speed - that would account for around three minutes' difference if Criterion did what they usually do with 25fps PAL material and simply converted it from 25fps PAL to 29.97fps NTSC (which wouldn't affect the running time).

BD.com’s review lists Criterion’s as being in 1080i, so that lines up. Cheers, Michael.

I'm so used to the 4% PAL difference I forgot it could be a bigger gap because it's 1080i 29.97fps. It indeed lines up when jumping from 23.796 to 29.97 fps so it seems that's it !