Blacks are accurately rendered, and the level of shadow detail is good for a color film from 1947. Film grain is somewhat noticeable at various points throughout the film, but is never distracting. There are some minor blemishes that crop up occasionally, however they are easily ignored on this movie that is more than a half a century old. The Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack does have the frequency limitations of a film more than half a century old, but it never sounds distorted. There is a bit of hiss present and a slight brittleness to the sound, but it nothing out of the ordinary for a track of this vintage.
Dialogue is always crisp and fully intelligible.
The basic interactive menus provide access to the standard scene selection and set up features. The DVD s supplements are also accessible through the menu system. The commentary is fairly informative and insightful, although Powell does not impart as many details as someone would about a film that they had recently directed. Listening to the differences in the way the two directors speak is a somewhat amusing, since Powell s deliberateness only intensifies Scorsese s hyperactive speaking manner. The documentary is great, especially since it allows film buffs to meet one the greatest cinematographers of all time.