Double Indemnity DVD Announced (At Last)
Filed under: Classics, Universal, Home Entertainment
One reason why I bought a multiregion DVD
player last year was because Double Indemnity had been released
on DVD overseas, but was not available in this country. Universal was entangled in a DVD rights dispute over the 1944
noir classic, and no one could tell when the situation might be resolved. Last year, rumors surfaced that the
movie would be released as part of a Universal noir boxed set, but Double Indemnity remained disappointingly
absent.But the wait is finally drawing to a close: Universal has announced that a two-disc edition of the movie will be released on August 26. No news yet on extra features, but I don't care as long as the transfer is good. After all, it's not as though they can include audio commentary from writer/director Billy Wilder, co-screenwriter Raymond Chandler, or novelist James M. Cain. Sadly, none of the principals involved with the film are still alive. I suppose someone could interview Lawrence Kasdan, who reworked the story in 1981 as Body Heat, but I don't find the prospect appealing.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-02-2006 @ 4:48PM
Mike said...
Hooray! It's about time this, inarguably one of the greatest film noirs of all time and arguably THE greatest, is back "in print" on DVD. As for bonus material, I'm not the big fan of add-ons that many folks are, but in addition to some of the movie trailers, I'd love to see the gas chamber scene that didn't make the last cut (the movie's final scene was, after all, the perfect place to stop). Having grown up a generation and a half after MacMurray and Stanwyck, I was amazed to see them appearing as someone other than Mr. Douglas and Victoria Barkley. I also think that anyone wanting to become a screenwriter must be locked in a cell until they've memorized the screenplays to Double Indemnity, Casablanca, and The Maltese Falcon.
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