Search DVDBeaver S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r Directed by Henry King USA 1942 A sweeping pirate epic with Power as an aide to notorious buccaneer Henry Morgan (Cregar), the film opens with Morgan pardoned from the gallows and sent to Jamaica as its new governor. Trying to prevent his former associates from continuing their villainous activities, Morgan encounters resistance from two renegades (Sanders and Quinn). Power, meanwhile, falls for the daughter (O'Hara) of the former governor, but she spurns his brazen advances. Although kidnapping her and taking her along on his warship doesn't initially help matters, things change when Sanders and Quinn overpower his ship, forcing Power to fight for the woman he loves. The story and dialogue smack of the Errol Flynn adventure, but the film employs its cliches with such overwhelming vigor and good humor that they seem like old friends.
Even though his physique isn't quite up to the more beefcake aspects of the hardsell by the producers, Power is full of marvelous dash and derring-do. Cregar, all hearty bravado, is equally wonderful, his enormous body bedecked in wigs and finery, and the practically unrecognizable Sanders, sporting a thick red wig and beard, is quite effective as a less civilized type of villain than those he usually played. Distribution 20th Century Fox Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC 20th Century Fox Home Video - Region FREE - Blu-ray Runtime 1:24:36 1:24:41.117 Video 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 8.65 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s 1.33:1 - 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 27,520,876,730 bytes Feature: 26,596,872,192 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.96 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. NOTE: These Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.
ADDITION: 20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray (November 2013): Solid upgrade from the 2006 DVD. Textured grain is visible, colors are richer reaching Technicolor heights, detail is stronger and there is a notable amount of additional information in the frame. The higher resolution did expose, more prominently, the opening scene's obvious backdrop. I seem to recall noting it when I watched the SD - but it is more blatant here. It tends to have some teal-leaning. No bump this time as Fox has the original mono in DTS-HD Master at 1086 kbps sounding flat but clear and the biggest beneficiary of the uncompressed sound is Alfred Newman rousing score. There are optional subtitles and a couple of foreign-language DUBs.
I have verified the disc as being Region FREE. No new supplements - the same, informative Rudy Behlmer and Maureen O'Hara commentary and a trailer. The 'Restoration comparison' and Fox Flix are no longer there. NOTE: BK says to us in email: 'I don't know when it became fashionable to overuse the term 'teal' in terms of Blu-ray transfers and to apply that term as a negative, when Desk Set finally looks exactly as it should - it has no teal/blue leaning to it at all - it's just right for the first time - the middle shots are green - you can't think the film ever looked like that - and the color on this Blu-ray is a perfect replication of what this film looks like in dye transfer Technicolor - I owned a print of it and it's exactly the same. And the same goes for The Black Swan, which also replicates perfectly now what it should have always looked like.' (Thanks BK!) This remains a very above-average pirate adventure - great cast from Power, O'Hara and the fine supporting players. Henry King pieces it together for fine entertainment.
Perfect Blue (パーフェクトブルー, Pāfekuto Burū) is a 1997 Japanese animated psychological. On the set of Double Bind, Mima succeeds in getting a larger part. The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD in Region B by Anime Limited in 2013. Film Black Swan, but denied that Black Swan was inspired by Perfect Blue.
It's a shame they don't make these swashbuckling romances anymore. I suppose it makes these few Hollywood efforts more unique from a classic era gone. ON THE DVD: I have a feeling that this is an accurate representation of how this film looked theatrically.
The colors have that same extravagant variances often seen in other early color films - you get used to it very quickly. It is also quite sharp with good contrast (blacks seem a little boosted). The anamorphic, progressive image looks quite impressive. The commentary was acceptable - Ms. O'Hara filled the time quite nicely - although it seemed more like an interview than a commentary at times.
There were a few amusing anecdotes but we are talking about a film almost 65 years old. Behlmer knows his stuff and talks quite well. The restoration comparison shares visual evidence of the superiority - frankly, I think our DVDBeaver comparisons do a better job:) - but the 2 million dollars worth of restoration are very evident (I've now heard it was closer to 5 million). Overall this film looks quite remarkable and makes for very enjoyable viewing. Fox continues to impress with its 'Studio Classics' lineup. Menus 1) 20th Century Fox (Fox Studio Classics) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT 2) 20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920 X 1080 RESOLUTION Subtitle Sample 1) 20th Century Fox (Fox Studio Classics) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP 2) 20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM.