Hello!

We’re hoping we’re in line to review Ignite Films and Eagle Rock Pictures’ new 4K edition of Joseph H. Lewis’s key noir The Big Combo.  Ignite is a very special film collection, having accomplished such a terrific restoration and release for the previously abused classic  Invaders from Mars. 4K Ultra HD ought to do a lot for The Big Combo, with its ‘extreme noir’ lighting by John Alton.

The crime drama has been a focus of noir studies from the 1970s, focusing on the twisted personalities on view — every relationship has a perverse angle. The romantic triangle is really a tangle of sexual obsessions, while the only stable people are a pair of gay hit men. The stars carry the drama with ease: Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, Richard Conte, Brian Donlevy and Helen Walker. The inseparable hired killers are none other than Earl Holliman and Lee Van Cleef.

Ignite / Eagle Rock have announced four separate packages, standard editions in 4K and Blu-ray, plus two separate Steelbook editions. Each package includes an entire bonus feature filmed by John Alton, The Crooked Way. More info is available at the  Ignite Website.

Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson