A box-office hit (despite being banned in three states), Scarlet Street is one of legendary director Fritz Lang’s (M, Metropolis) finest American films. When middle-aged milquetoast Chris Cross (Edward G. Robinson, The Stranger) rescues street-walking bad girl Kitty (Joan Bennett, The Woman in the Window) from the rain-slicked gutters of an eerily artificial back-lot Greenwich Village, he plunges into a whirlpool of lust, larceny and revenge. As Chris’s obsession with the irresistibly vulgar Kitty grows, the meek cashier is seduced, corrupted, humiliated, and transformed into an avenging monster before implacable fate and perverse justice triumph in the most satisfyingly downbeat denouement in Hollywood history. Dan Duryea (Larceny), as Kitty’s pimp boyfriend, skillfully molds “a vicious and serpentine creature out of a cheap, chiseling tin horn” (The New York Times). Packed with hairpin plot twists and “bristling with fine directorial touches and expert acting” (Time), Scarlet Street is a dark gem of film noir.

For thoughts on Scarlet Street, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

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Video Quality

Scarlet Street appears on 4K UHD Blu-Ray in 1.37:1 courtesy of a fetching 16-bit 4K scan of the 35mm Nitate Compositie Fine Grain in 2160p/Dolby Vision that showcases this classic film in its most agreeable form within its source limitations. That being said, those expecting your typical 4K UHD quality should prepare themselves. With the Original Camera Negative unavailable, this has always been a poor-looking effort. The last Blu-Ray release from Kino Classics was in 2012. While we may not have it for comparison, by all accounts this release was a rough watch. This new restoration is excellent for what it can be, but there is quite a bit of lingering damage such as stray lines and consistent speckling. It may not be flawless, but the 4K UHD Blu-Ray is still the ideal way to watch the film at home. Fans of Fritz Lang’s film should be grateful for what is accomplished.

The black and white cinematography captured by Milton Krasner has never looked better with consistent gradients and subtle textures showcased in the backgrounds of each setting. The Dolby Vision allows the black levels to be perfectly deep without any intrusions such as crush or banding. Highlights are likewise in top form with no clipping on display. The transfer embraces its filmic quality with natural film grain resolving favorably without an issue. The grain looks tight and natural with nothing veering into noise or compression artifacts. The clothing and environments exhibit a striking amount of textural detail. There is so much previously untapped depth to the image. Kino Classics has treated this one well despite the obvious issues with the source material.

Audio Quality

The 4K UHD Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that works well for this one despite some hindrances. Dialogue comes through mostly clearly with no egregious moments of weakness. There is only some slight unevenness in certain exchanges. Age-related wear and tear such as hissing and crackles do not serve as an issue. The environmental effects are not very ambitious, but they come through to make this city three-dimensional. This is balanced capably with the background noises so everything works together in harmony. The score from Hans J. Salter does not exhibit any major instances of distortion or signs of damage. Kino Classics has kept this one in as good of a condition as they could manage. There are optional English SDH subtitles included for the feature film.

Special Features

Audio Commentaries: This disc offers a new commentary track from film historian Imogen Sara Smith plus an archival commentary track from author David Kalat. Throughout these tracks you come to learn where this fits into the career of Fritz Lang, how this film came together, how it fares as a feat of adaptation, the performances in the film, the shooting locations, the response to the film, and more.

- Audio Commentary #1: Film Historian Imogen Sara Smith

- Audio Commentary #2: David Kalat, the Author of The Strange Case of Dr. Mabuse

Trailers: There are trailers provided for The Woman In The Window, The Stranger, Night Has A Thousand Eyes, Black Tuesday, A Bullet For Joey, One Way Street, Human Desire, and Touch Of Evil.

Final Thoughts

Scarlet Street is a strong piece of work from the great Fritz Lang as he collaborates with Edward G. Robinson on a tale of temptation and greed. The general narrative has been adapted in a few different forms, but Robinson uses his magnetic presence to make this an essential telling complete with a knockout ending. This is a prime example of film noir that sticks with you. Kino Classics has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring a much-improved A/V presentation and a nice assortment of new and archival special features. This is a must for any fan of the talent involved. Recommended

Scarlet Street is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD 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.