In this thrilling remake of Josef von Sternberg’s Shanghai Express, Joseph Cotten (The Third Man) stars as World Health Organization doctor Michael Bachlin, traveling by train from Shanghai to Peking. Among the other passengers on board the Peking Express are Michael’s former lover (Corinne Calvet, Rope of Sand), a priest (Edmund Gwenn, Foreign Correspondent) and a reporter (Benson Fong, Deception), all fleeing Chinese Communist rule. But when an outlaw (Marvin Miller, Dead Reckoning) and his terrifying gang hold the train hostage, the refugees are plunged into even greater danger. Director William Dieterle (Portrait of Jennie, The Turning Point) mixes gripping film noir with breathtaking action-adventure in Peking Express, featuring gorgeous cinematography by Charles Lang (A Foreign Affair) and an excellent script by John Meredyth Lucas (Dark City), Jules Furthman (The Outlaw) and Harry Hervey (Road to Singapore).

For thoughts on Peking Express, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/dxlcPGipsSw?t=3114]

Video Quality

Peking Express makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to Kino Classics with a brand new 1080p transfer from a 4K scan of the 35mm Fine Grain courtesy of Paramount. This film is over 70 years old, but this presentation holds up pretty well despite a few flaws remaining even after the remastering process. The lovely black-and-white photography shot by Charles Lang sparkles in high definition with natural grain intact. Black levels are serviceable with no obvious occurrence of black crush or compression artifacts. The contrast is firmly defined, and the track only experiences momentary instances of flicker and density fluctuation in the print.

The new transfer exhibits an impressive amount of depth and enhanced detail within the film’s composition. The interior of the train is captured in ways that can make it feel vast or claustrophobic depending on the narrative needs. The occasional stray line or speck of damage remains, but there is no doubt that it has been cleaned up considerably. There is a great amount of detail present with textures on the clothing and within the production design. Kino Classics has provided a formidable presentation for this one.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a pretty good DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that serves this movie well considering its vintage. Dialogue and background elements are represented in harmony with all competing elements. Even during the more bustling moments, the dialogue is able to be heard quite easily. The track can sound a bit thin when it comes to the music, which likely can be attributed to the age of the source elements. Thankfully, the music does not overwhelm the dialogue or other important information. This track does present a minor amount of age related wear and tear and some faint hissing, but it is not a major issue throughout. Kino Classics has provided a perfectly solid presentation. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Film Historian Eddy Von Mueller delivers a really informative commentary track in which he talks about how this compares to other filmed versions of this tale, the background of the ensemble players, the score of the picture, the costumes featured in the film and many other topics. This is a well-researched track that is worth checking out.

Trailers: This disc provides trailers for Detective Story, The Turning Point, Lady On A Train, I’ll Be Seeing You, Portrait Of Jennie and Under Capricorn.

Final Thoughts

Peking Express is a perfectly fine drama when you are not comparing it to previous versions of the story. This adaptation of the material cannot stand up to the Josef von Sternberg film, but William Dieterle brings some engaging flourishes to this one. Joseph Cotten is a captivating lead with an ensemble that matches him fairly well. The action and intrigue provides enough fun to make it worthy of your time, but there is nothing that makes it stand out as an undisputed classic. Kino Classics has delivered a Blu-Ray release that sports a really good A/V presentation and an informative commentary track. If you are a fan of the cast or the director, this release will more than do the trick. Recommended

Peking Express is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.