Fans of film noir, classic movies, and even 1980's Raging Bull will be pleased to have this hard-hitting 1947 boxing picture on DVD. Justly famous for John Garfield's modernistic performance and James Wong Howe's vivid, trend-setting camera work, this Republic release cleans up the soundtrack and preserves the film's original full-screen aspect ratio. Don't worry about reviews that claim this is a pan-and-scan disc; before the early '50s, all motion pictures were shot in an aspect ratio that now conforms to the standard television set. The disc also includes some production notes but it's a shame that some of the movie's many famous admirers (such as Martin Scorsese) wasn't given the opportunity to do a DVD audio commentary for this gritty masterpiece. Years later, director Robert Rossen went on to make The Hustler, a similarly dark and seedy sports movie with a flawed, yet oddly sympathetic protagonist.