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LAURA CONTINUES TO HAUNT FILM NOIR on DVD Director Otto Preminger's slick and polished film noir, "Laura" (1944) has since become a cornerstone in American cinema. Yet, under its elegant facade of debutantes and high-society fashion is a world of ravenous jealousy, deceptive passions, intriguing blackmail, and faux murder. The film pits gruff police detective, Mark McPhereson (Dana Andrews) against smug and cultured columnist, Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb). McPherson has been assigned to investigate the murder of Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney in her best role), a handsome woman who seemingly had no enemies in life. Through a series of interviews conducted with potential suspects, McPherson builds his profile of the dead girl - all the while falling under the spell of her striking portrait. But the puzzle unravels when the murder victim materializes in a bizarre twist of fate that forces McPhereson to re-think his entire case. Preminger's direction is flawless - effortlessly moving from near humorous moments in the dynamic clash of wills between McPherson and Lydecker, to haunting segments of full bodied thrills involving the strangely surreal heroine of the piece. Dame Judith Anderson turns in a stellar performance as the diabolical socialite with an agenda; Ann Treadwell, while Vincent Price's oily performance as gigolo, Shelby Carpenter is nothing short of sublime. David Raksin's lush theme has since entered our collective consciousness and movie going heritage. Fox's DVD exhibits a superb transfer. The gray scale has been impeccably rendered with exceptional tonality and attention to fine detail. The picture is generally sharp and pleasing on the eyes. Blacks are very rich, deep and solid. Whites are on the whole clean. Occasionally one will detect a note of edge enhancement and the odd age related artifact, but these are bare quibbling on an otherwise flawless presentation. The audio is mono and very nicely balanced. A hint of background hiss is detected in quiescent scenes, but again, for a film element that is pushing 70 years, there's really nothing to complain about. This DVD comes with well deserved extras; including two Biography specials - one on Gene Tierney, the other on Vincent Price; deleted scenes, a superlative audio commentary by David Raskin, Rudy Behlmer and Jeanine Basinger, and the film's original theatrical trailer. Very nicely put together, indeed.