BRIGHTON ROCK

'This is a story of that other Brighton' explains the on-screen text at the beginning of this film: that, and a newspaper article reporting a death suffice to set the gangland scene of Brighton Rock - a classic British film recently remade with an all-star cast by director Rowan Joffe.

It is 1930s Brighton and a gang of criminals are discussing how best to avenge the death of one of their number, Kite. In the frame is a guy called Fred - although he's operating under a false name - but unluckily for Fred, now that Kite is dead he's at the mercy of the new boss, Pinky (Richard Attenborough). Fred, thoroughly spooked by his initial meeting with the gang, tries desperately to extricate himself from the situation, as it seems that with Pinky in command he's likely to get more than just 'carved'. As he flees, he throws himself on the mercies of those he meets along the way, including the garrulous Ida (Hermione Baddeley) - but, in a brilliant sequence, Fred finds himself taking a genuinely scary turn on the Ghost Train with Pinky. So much for Fred.

But actually killing Fred was never the intention of the rest of the gang. Furthermore, Pinky's worried about the whereabouts of Fred's calling cards, left around the city by gang member Spicer at various places to help provide an alibi, including Snow's restaurant. Pinky decides he has to get the card back and, when it becomes clear that one of the waitresses at Snow's has picked up the card, Pinky hatches a plan to get close to her - and to keep her quiet by any means necessary, be it by faking an affection for her or otherwise.

Meanwhile, Ida has been following the inquest into Fred's death with some interest. When rival mob boss Colleoni adds to Pinky's problems by trying to muscle in on the gang's 'subscribers' then the situation for Pinky - and by proxy for Rose, the waitress - begins to escalate, slowly but surely. Pinky won't rest until he's master of all he surveys, irrespective of who he has to hurt to secure his position.

I was interested to see this earlier version of Brighton Rock after watching the remake recently, and I have to say, I think the 1947 version is the superior film. It is in many ways of its time - being a quite heavily stylised piece - but it does a superb job of layering on tension and unrest with almost no bloodshed on screen. There's also much more plot exposition here, with motivations explored often quite simply (a sentence here, a clue there). It boasts some fantastic sequences: one which springs to mind is the fall down the stairs scene, which is innovative, well handled and even artistically-realised. It also has to be said that many of the earlier film's scenes are recreated almost exactly in the remake, which says a great deal about their merit.

Although ostensibly a crime drama, the film plays out like a tragedy. Pinky is obsessed with expanding his power but grows increasingly paranoid about its collapse - and he ties himself in knots questioning the motivations of those around him, forgetting that they are only implicated because of his actions. Although some of Greene's Catholic references are heavy-handed to say the least, it is the good performances here which carry the pathos along. Putting to one side the strong physical similarity between young Attenborough and the actor in the 2011 version (Sam Riley), the best-realised role is definitely Attenborough's because you get a better sense of the inner life of his character: he is brooding, intense, but also has real depth. It is made clearer that there is something behind that cold exterior. As for the other characters, Rose (Carol Marsh) is less of a tormented figure here: she is still naïve of course, but she is not hammered into the ground like a tent peg with the same ferocity as in the remake. The way which Ida is played by Hermione Baddeley is interesting too: Ida here is a cartoonish, brash figure, and although her role is important, she comes across as almost comic relief in an otherwise heavy, atmospheric film (there are other moments of respite too, such as the brawl at the racecourse).

Brighton Rock has long been considered as part of the classic British film canon, and I think this is definitely deserved. It is slick, ahead of its time, and achieves a great deal with its balance of subtlety and clarity. This is a film which definitely deserves a modern audience.

This is a good quality print, with superb clarity and crisp, clear blacks and whites. I didn't notice any blemishes or flaws on the transfer and the sound (with that excellent incidental music) was clearly audible and had good range (the disc also offers hard-of-hearing subtitles). As far as extras go, the screener automatically started up with a spotlight for some classic cinema releases as well as an original Peeping Tom trailer to commemorate the 50th anniversary re-release. The disc also comes with a scene selection, an interview with remake director Rowan Joffe and an interview with John Boulting and Richard Attenborough conducted at the NFT back in 1954.

Review by Keri O'Shea