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Site created 12/15/97.
page created: 8/13/07
 Barrie Maxwell - Main Page |
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| Summer
2007 Reviews Activity by the studios in releasing classic titles in High Definition has continued to be modest at the very best, with only Rio Bravo, Battle of the Bulge, and The Cowboys really fitting the bill. I have reviews of those three titles in this edition of HDC plus coverage of more current fare such as Blood Diamond, Flags of Our Fathers, Freedom Writers, Trading Places, The Holiday, Premonition, and Planet Earth. Due to time constraints for this column necessitated by my current moving activities, my comments are brief for each title. As in the previous HDC column, HD-DVD is abbreviated by HD and Blu-ray by BD. Note also that in some instances both HD and BD versions have been reviewed while in others only one or the other have been evaluated. I think which case is which will be evident from the headings/specs of each review. If you have any comments on the reviews at all, I'd appreciate hearing from you as it gives me a better feel for the interest level that exists for a column with a High Definition focus. |
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| In
my most recent Classic Coming Attractions
column, I reviewed Warners' new Special Edition DVD of this title
and I invite you to
that
location for my take on the film and the supplementary content
on the discs (the latter being the same as on the HD and BD
versions). As for the new High Definition versions, both HD and BD
efforts are interchangeable in video and audio quality. The image is
bright and colourful while preserving the grain that was
characteristic of the original release. In comparison to another
Warner release of a John Wayne film of similar vintage (The
Searchers), Rio Bravo
doesn't offer the same visual pop nor quite the same degree of
pristine-looking cleanliness. It is, however, an admirable visual
experience for a film that's now almost half a century old and
improves on the DVD SE in the areas of colour intensity and level of
image detail. The mono sound track provides a very nice sonic
accompaniment. It's clean and clear and even manages some decent
presence to gunshots and the like. Recommended. |
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| This
is one of the better films of John Wayne's final years. In it he
portrays a rancher taking his cattle to market who must turn to a
group of boys for help when the herders he had hired desert him for
the lure of gold. Initial mutual ambivalence between Wayne and his
young charges gives way to understanding and appreciation as the
drive progresses and Wayne really takes the boys under his wing. A
shocking event in the latter part of the film forces the boys to
become older than their years as the lessons they learned under the
Wayne character's tutelage are tested in the reality of a harsh
world. Directed by Mark Rydell, who moved from suspicion of Wayne's
politics to an appreciation for Wayne as an actor while the filming
progressed, The Cowboys has
taken on added luster over the past 35 years. At the time of its
original release, many viewed it as just another western churned out
by Wayne in his final years. Somewhat akin to The
Shootist, however, though not at the same personal level,
the film actually reflects, even presages, changes in Wayne's and
our contemporary world. Old heroes are no longer invincible and gun
violence is seen as the easy response for youth faced with
adversity. The Cowboys
exhibits another fine catalogue transfer from Warner Bros. The image
is for the most part sharp and clear. Facial features and clothing
textures are nicely detailed and the western vistas are very
attractively rendered. There are a few blemishes and the odd
instance of softness, but the overall impression is quite positive
and about on a par with that of Rio Bravo,
but below that of The Searchers.
The 5.1 sound track is mainly focused on the front with only
sporadic use of the surrounds. Dialogue is clear and clean, but
gunshots seem weaker than one would expect. John Williams' score
sounds quite impressive and enveloping. The supplements are the same
as found on the DVD Deluxe Edition recently released. They include a
superior audio commentary by Mark Rydell, who also participates in a
cast reunion featurette that lasts about half an hour. It's best to
view the latter before listening to the commentary due to the
overlap in information content. Recommended. |
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| One's
enjoyment of this film will be dictated very much by one's frame of
mind. If you're in the mood for an old-fashioned war epic with
plenty of clichés and lots of well-known faces in both
starring and cameo roles, and also don't mind kicking back for the
best part of three hours, Battle of the
Bulge is for you. On the other hand, if you're looking
for the real lowdown on the actual Battle of the Bulge, don't want
to be distracted by star cameos, and don't have all afternoon or
evening to spend, you should look elsewhere. Personally, I'm always
beguiled by old-fashioned war epics, so even though this one drags
at times more than I'd like to admit, I find it to be time enjoyably
spent for the most part. Warners' high definition versions offer one
more reason to enjoy the film. For those who aren't aware, the
Battle of the Bulge was the final German offensive of significant
consequence during the Second World War. It occurred in late 1944
when many Allied soldiers were beginning to feel the German army was
really on the run. Instead, the Germans mounted a desperate
tank-based attempt to slow the Allied advance in eastern France,
hoping to buy time for new German air weapons to help swing the
war's momentum back in Germany's favour. Henry Fonda and Robert Shaw
portray the key characters on the Allied and German sides
respectively, with the likes of Robert Ryan, Dana Andrews, George
Montgomery, Telly Savalas, James MacArthur, and Charles Bronson
peppered throughout the film. The film's major failing is its desire
to explain each side's approach to the battle; it doesn't do a very
coherent job and at times one is left scratching one's head at
exactly what's happening. Still if you persevere, there are some
decent battle scenes as compensation and plenty of opportunity to
play name the actor (even if one does get tired of seeing Telly
Savalas play a wisecracking NCO type for what seems like the
hundredth time). Whatever one may think of the film, there can be no
debate about the impressive job that Warners has done on bringing
the 2.76:1 Ultra Panavision alive in High Definition. Looking
identical in HD and BD, the film appears as though it was virtually
shot yesterday . Colours demonstrate excellent fidelity and the
image is very clean and very well detailed - the latter to the point
where some of the film's special effects (model work, rear
projection use) are almost cruelly revealed. Warners created a new
5.1 track for the film previous DVD special edition and it's a fine
effort in terms of clarity and accuracy. It exhibits only limited
surround character, however, so that one seldom experiences the
feeling of envelopment that one would like from the battle sequences
for example. The disc supplements are highlighted by an audio
commentary by director Ken Annakin and actor James MacArthur, an
extra that was not included on the standard DVD special edition. For
most people beyond ardent war film enthusiasts, it'll probably be
best to try a rental on this one. |
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| The
last few years have seen some really fine performances by Leonardo
DiCaprio, fulfilling the promise of his earliest work. I'm talking
about the likes of The Aviator
and The Departed, to which you
can now add Blood Diamond. In
the latter, DiCaprio plays an ex-mercenary turned smuggler who
stumbles across the trail of a rare pink diamond of significant
value found by a fisherman (Djimon Hounsou). The story is set
against the civil war background of 1999 Sierra Leone. Directed by
Edward Zwick (Glory, Legends
of the Fall, The Last Samurai),
the film is relentlessly paced and paints a very stark picture of
late 20th century Africa. The latter aspect is the most striking
component of the film and gives what is already an engrossing plot
considerable added interest. The acting is first-rate across the
board (including a fairly stock part of a journalist played by the
always-welcome Jennifer Connelly). The HD presentation looks very
fine, both in facial close-ups and in long shots of the African
landscape. Dark scenes are handled very well. The image looks
pristine, befitting such a new film, and appears to replicate the
theatrical experience effectively. Edge effects are not in evidence
and one can only quibble over some sequences that seem a little
soft. Equally as effective if not more so is the TrueHD audio which
delivers a thoroughly exhilarating surround experience with
effective low frequency effects as well. The film's frequent gunfire
has great presence. The highlight of the disc's supplements is a
thorough and engrossing audio commentary by Zwick. Together with the
In-Movie Experience that Warners has provided, I'd say you learn
just about everything there is to know about the making-of the film.
Also of considerable value is a lengthy documentary on the road a
diamond travels from source to retail and on the diamond trade in
general. Highly recommended. |
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| Clint Eastwood just keeps churning out superior products these days. His most recent endeavor has been two films made simultaneously about the Iwo Jima events of World War II. Letters from Iwo Jima tells the story from the Japanese point of view while this film, Flags of Our Fathers, tells it from the American. The film is based on the book of the same title by James Bradley whose father was one of the men who raised the flag in the famous Iwo Jima image. Bradley traced the history of all the men involved in that event and revealed many surprising facts. The truth behind the flag-raising and the fate of the flag raisers makes for an engrossing tale, but only once you become comfortable with the complex flashback format that Eastwood has used to tell the story. Along with a number of mainly unknown actors, this makes the narrative difficult to follow at first. Eventually though the approach becomes less obtrusive as the faces of the actors and the names of those individuals they're portraying coalesce. The comfort level that one develops also enhances one's appreciation of Eastwood's juxtaposition of Iwo Jima battlefield scenes and those on the American home front. The result is a film experience that greatly benefits from a second viewing in order to appreciate all the intricacies of the story. In high definition, Flags of Our Fathers looks superb. Although different encodes have been used for the HD and BD presentations, I could see no significant difference between the two. Image detail is about as good as you can get whether on the battlefield or in big city or small-town America. The desaturated look that Eastwood has employed for the battlefield sequences is as effectively conveyed as the more colourful home front passages. Eastwood's use of colour also seems authentic for the 1940s, something that is hard to achieve without an artificial look for a period that one is so used to viewing in black and white. On the audio side, the HD version has a modestly more vibrant sound due to its DD Plus track than does the BD version which has to make do with a standard DD Surround. On both, however, the battlefield sequences are particularly notable for the very fine surround effects and the precision of individual sonic events. Paramount has accorded this release a two-disc treatment with all the supplements contained in high definition on the second disc. The bulk of the supplements comprise a superior six-part documentary that covers the film-making process in admirable detail. There's no commentary by Eastwood, but he does provide an insightful introduction to the film. Recommended. |
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