Search - Pressure Point on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Questionable for Children Movie Release: 1962 DVD Release: 01/20/2004 Format: DVD - Black and White,Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 29 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 3 Genres: Drama, Psychological Drama, Melodrama

Unable to get through to a particularly hostile patient, psychiatrist Peter Falk goes to gray-haired senior shrink Sidney Poitier for advice. This prompts Poitier to recall his experiences during World War II. While working on behalf of the government, Poitier was assigned the case of psycho Nazi sympathizer Bobby Darin. A complex flashback structure reveals the various influences that led to Darin's warped state of mind and to his life of crime. Poitier perceives that Darin is potentially dangerous, and insists that he needs further treatment. The government sees things differently, and allows Darin, who on the surface shows signs of recovery, to leave the hospital. The horrible results of this decision serve to convince Poitier to follow his own gut feelings no matter what his fellow "experts" might advise, and to continue probing even the most recalcitrant or deceptively "cured" of patients. Essentially a conformist psychological melodrama, Pressure Point truly comes to life whenever Bobby Darin is on the screen. His performance was outstanding, far better than his Oscar-nominated turn in 1963's Captain Newman MD. Unfortunately, the critics were aligned against Darin, possibly because of the singer/actor's well-publicized arrogance; Judith Crist went so far as to compare Darin to Dr. Samuel Johnson's walking dog, quipping that the most remarkable aspect of Darin's performance was not that he did it well, but that he did it at all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sidney Poitier - Doctor
Bobby Darin - Patient
Peter Falk - Young psychiatrist
Carl Benton Reid - Chief medical officer
Mary Munday - Bar hostess

An original and audacious movie that would seem a shoo-in for a cult following if it had wider circulation, Pressure Point has been released on DVD in a modest but well-executed edition from MGM Home Entertainment. Pressure Point has been given a letterboxed transfer to disc in its original widescreen aspect ratio of 1.66:1; the black-and-white image is sharp and well-detailed, and the elements look clean and well-preserved. The original English-language soundtrack has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono, and there are optional subtitles in English, French, and Spanish. Along with the movie's original trailer, the only bonus item is a commentary track from director and co-screenwriter Hubert Cornfield; while he offers some interesting perspectives on the film's production and his working relationship with Stanley Kramer and Sidney Poitier, Cornfield suffers from a severe throat condition which makes his speech difficult to understand much of the time. Still, given this film's relative obscurity, MGM is to be commended for giving it this so strong a release on disc. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide