Classics Tip
Nightmare Alley R2 (Uk Import) - Goulding, EdmundReleasedatum: 14 november 2005
Often described as the grimmest of all Hollywood film noirs, Nightmare Alley's reputation as a cult classic reached near-mythical status due to a decades-long dispute between the film's producer (George Jessel) and Fox, which prevented it being screened anywhere or even released on home video. With the conflict now resolved, Nightmare Alley can be re-discovered in this stunning transfer as one of the most darkly sophisticated noirs of the period. Tyrone Power, cast against type — at his own insistence — gives the performance of his lifetime as handsome scumbag/carnival barker/con-man Stanton Carlisle. He seduces fellow sideshow performer Mademoiselle Zeena (Joan Blondell) to learn the secret of her once lucrative mind-reading act with her alcoholic husband (Ian Keith). Carlisle, a "born mentalist", secures the secret method and sets off with his new carnie wife, Molly (Coleen Grey) to milk the bigtime as a spiritualist in Chicago. As Carlisle's success grows, it's only a matter of time before his greed — and twisted involvement with femme fatale psychoanalyst Lilith Ritter (Helen Walker) — bring Stanton's world crashing down around him.
DVD Extra's:
Introduction to the film by celebrated noir historian and author Woody Haut. Woody Haut on Nightmare Alley - Woody goes into more detail (25 mins). Audio commentary by film historians Alain Silver and James Ursini. Original theatrical trailer. 157-page continuity and dialogue script and the 17-page musical cue sheet (PDF content). 32-page booklet with a new essay by Woody Haut, and rare production stills.
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