Official Synopsis:
Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray star in this gripping film noir from Academy Award-winning director Billy Wilder. A calculating wife encourages her wealthy husband to sign a double indemnity policy proposed by smitten insurance agent Walter Neff. As the would-be lovers plot the unsuspecting husband's murder, they are pursued by a suspicious claims manager (Edward G. Robinson). It's a race against time to get away with the perfect crime in this heart-racing Academy Award®-nominated masterpiece.
Our Take:
When I was in school, I took a film class and inevitably we studied the genre known as film noir. Of course, the second I walked out of the classroom after taking the final exam I forgot just about everything I learned; however, I didn’t forget Double Indemnity.
Although the story itself doesn't have the most intricate plot compared to some contemporary films, it rightfully deserves its title as one of the best noir films. It was one of the first movies that actually revealed the whodunit in the beginning of the film, as opposed to making the audience wait until the end of the film to find out.
Double Indemnity finally receives a proper DVD release in this double disc set. With great looking video quality for a picture released in 1944, this set showcases how the movie contains double the mystery and intrigue.
* Feature Commentary - Featuring Richard Schickel, film historian. Very dry, but very informative. For those of you who are film students, this is a good listen if you’re writing a paper on this film.
* Feature Commentary - Featuring film historian and screenwriter Lem Dobbs and film historian Nick Redman. These two sit down together for another interesting discussion on the film. It’s refreshing to hear two people in the same room together as opposed to having them phoned in.
* Introduction (3 minutes) - Robert Osborne of TMC provides a brief introduction to the film, worth watching either before or after.
* Shadows of Suspense (40 minutes) - Telling the story of Double Indemnity are selected writers, directors, film historians and film critics. Very interesting, it drags on a bit, it would have been nice for a couple chapter breaks. Nonetheless, a very well put together documentary.
Disc 2:
* Double Indemnity TV Movie (1973, 75 minutes) - Honestly, I don’t see why this film was included with this set. Other than possibly just to make it a two disc set, this made-for-TV dud starring Richard Crenna, Lee J. Cobb and Samantha Eggar only shows that some films just shouldn’t be remade.
Double Indemnity is a classic, plain and simple. I feel too insignificant to say that it’s good or not good but it’s definitely something I think anyone who appreciates a good dark film will like. For those of you unfamiliar with noir, think of movies in the vein of L.A. Confidential or The Usual Suspects, and then check out Double Indemnity, the film that helped spawn a whole genre.
Overall Picture:
Movie: A
DVD: A-
- Chris Lawrence
Staff Writer
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