Forgotten Noir Collector's Set [3 Discs]

"This is a nicely put together triple-DVD package from VCI and Kit Parker Films -- the three discs, which are also available separately, fit well together as crime-related dramas, though they're not all necessarily examples of film noir. There are commentary tracks on Portland Expose and Loan Shark, and a two-part biography of about the production company Lippert Pictures and its founder, Robert L. Lippert, Sr., by Robert L. Lippert, Jr.. Each disc has a completely different menu design, and the one on the second DVD, Loan Shark/Arson Inc., is a lot easier to maneuver than the menu on Portland Expose/They Were So Young. Lindsley Parsons, Jr.'s commentary on Portland Expose is more informative than the one by Richard M. Roberts on Loan Shark, though Roberts is more entertaining. The tranfers are uniformly clean and surprisingly crisp, given the age of the movies involved and the low budgets on which they were shot -- only Shoot To Kill seems deficient in quality, with softness to its detail, but even it is eminently watchable on a technical level. Portland Expose and They Were So Young are letterboxed (1.85-to-1), while the other films in this collection are full-screen (1.33-to-1). Disc Three, containing Shadow Man/Shoot To Kill -- a pair of British crime pictures -- is unusual for offering the original UK version of Shadow Man, entitled Street of Shadows and running seven minutes longer than the US version. The bonus features, in addition to the commentary tracks and production company history, include original trailers, shooting scripts, bios on the stars and crew, and filmographies., all accessiible in clearly delineated blonus sections on each disc."