Written by: Michael Den Boer on February 15th, 2007
Theatrical Release Date: London, October, 1927
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: Alfred Hitchcock, Alma Reville
Cast: Carl Brisson, Lillian Hall-Davis, Ian Hunter, Forrester Harvey, Harry Terry, Gordon Harker
| DVD released: | 2005 | 2007 |
| Approximate running time: | 89m10s | 89m16s |
| Aspect Ratio: | 1.33:1 Full-Frame | 1.33:1 Full-Frame |
| Rating: | NR | NR |
| Sound: | Dolby Digital Mono English | Dolby Digital Stereo English |
| DVD Release: | Brentwood | Loins Gates |
| Region Coding: | Region 0 NTSC | Region 1 NTSC |
| Retail Price: | $19.98 | $39.98 |
Brentwood’s Region 0 DVD
‘One-Round’ Jack Sander’s fiancée runs away another boxer named Bob Corby. Jack Sander’s not a man to let someone take his lady away so easy trains and takes on all fighters in hopes of fighting Bob Corby one day. After moving up the ranks Jack Sander’s finally gets his chance to fight Bob Corby the man who stole the woman he loved.
Brentwood’s transfer which looks like it was sourced from a print via Janus films looks wore and beaten. The image looks cropped and lacks detail through out. Lions Gates transfer while not flawless is about as good as this film can look since some of the print damage is inherent to the source and its removal would be monumental task. The print damage though present never becomes distracting. The framing is correct on the Loins Gates transfer and the image looks sharp through out.
The Ring is a silent film with all the dialog is spoken via title cards which are in English. The score that accompanies the Brentwood is in mono and has some noticeable instances of hiss and distortion. The score that accompanies the Loins Gates release is in stereo. This mix sounds full and evenly balanced. There are no problems with distortion or any other sound defects.
Extras on the Brentwood release include two episodes “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” and “Chaney Vase” from the Alfred Hitchcock Presents T.V. show. The Brentwood release also comes with nine other films The Man Who Knew Too Much, Sabotage, Blackmail, Secret Agent, The lady Vanishes, Rich & Strange, Juno & the Paycock, Young & Innocent and The Lodger. Extras on the Loins Gates release include a featurette titled “Pure Cinema: The Birth of the Hitchcock Style”. The Loins Gates release also comes with four other films Murder, The Manxman, The Skin Game and Rich & Strange.
Loins Gates DVD for The Ring is another superb transfer on an early Hitchcock film that is leaps and bounds ahead of all previous releases.