None Shall Escape Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

None Shall Escape Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 12, 2019

None Shall Escape is one of Director Andre DeToth's (House of Wax) earliest films, released by Columbia Pictures on February 3, 1944. That release date is important because the film takes place in a post-World War II setting and tells the story of a Nazi war criminal both as he is on trial in some future time after the war and of the life he previously lived that led him to oversee wartime atrocities in Poland. Of course, the war was still in full swing at the beginning of 1944 when the film hit theaters. The Nazis occupied most of Europe, the Allies were still months away from launching the D-Day invasion, and the war in the European theater would not formally come to an end for another 15 months. It is in some ways, then, a hopeful picture within the context of its time, but it's also a grim portrayal of the wartime landscape and the atrocities the played out well away from the front lines.

The film begins some time after World War II has come to an end. Wilhelm Grimm (Alexander Knox) is on trial for war crimes committed against humanity. His story is told in flashback, during his time in the village of Lidzbark, where Grimm lived prior to serving Germany in the first World War and where he returned afterwards, a different man who lost his leg in battle and began to lose his soul to the Nazi party. The film follows his rise in the Nazi ranks, beginning with the breakup with his Polish fiancé Marja Pacierkowski (Marsha Hunt), a rape accusation that costs him his eye and costs a young girl her life, a family feud with his brother Karl (Erik Rolf) who despises the Nazi party, and return to Lidzbark as a Nazi officer where he committed the crimes for which he now stands trial.

The film plays up its fictional tale of one man's rise through the Nazi ranks, hitting all of the historical notes necessary to build a convincing villain. Grimm (which is obviously a name chosen not by accident) is a disgruntled veteran of the first World War. He begins to take on personality characteristics that lead him to the Nazi party, shunning his old way of life and finding fault in the world around him. Germany's loss in the war becomes a rallying cry for him, personally, blaming his finance's postponement of their marriage on his war wounds, but she is not seeing a fake leg; she is seeing the crumbling soul within him. Indeed, Grimm's story becomes increasingly grim, as the Nazi party takes shape, as he battles within his own family, notably with his brother Karl who is not exactly thrilled with the prospect of Hitler's rise to prominence and power. The family feud will play out in a shocking, horrific manner as Grimm himself becomes a prominent figure in ruling over Lidzbark, ordering the round-up and slaughter of Jews and destroying everything he may have once held dear in the process.

The film is constructed in nonlinear (and out of time, as the case may have been upon film's release) style, jumping between Grimm's past and the courtroom scenes, which are little more than time-, character-, and narrative-establishing cutaways. There's little in the way of riveting courtroom drama in the film, which instead favors a more traditional construction that follows Grimm's transformation from returning veteran to Nazi monster. Alexander Knox is terrific in the part, finding a tangible, though usually not relatable (and understandably so) character depth throughout the picture. His gradual turn from schoolteacher to scorned finance, from supporter of the Nazi party to executor of some if its most heinous actions, is both riveting and revolting. While the personality shifts are not subtle or even gradual -- the film rips through the story in less than 90 minutes but does so without sacrificing depth of narrative and character -- they are handled extremely well, and viewers will be left in shock by Grimm's total transformation. It's a horrifying, even if expected, portrait that is effective even as the character simply moves through a number of Nazi character tropes.

None Shall Escape Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

None Shall Escape looks gorgeous on Sony's pressed MOD (Manufactured on Demand) Blu-ray. The image is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 (approximately 4x3), maintaining its original theatrical exhibition ratio which places vertical "black bars" on either side of the 1.78:1 high definition display. The presentation is consistently excellent. A modest and even grain structure is visible for the duration, offering a positive reproduction of the original film-source elements. Textures are resultantly well defined without any serious digital tinkering apparent. Faces and clothes are particularly sharp, with note of various Nazi paraphernalia on uniforms later in the film. Environments, from Lidzbark streets to schoolhouse interiors, from welcoming homes to Grimm's offices, reveal various appointments and structural elements with commendable ease and clarity. The grayscale translates particularly well to Blu-ray. Every shade therein appears firm and accurate, with black level depth a particular highlight. There are no signs of severe print deterioration and no evidence of any digital tampering. This is a terrific Blu-ray presentation from Sony.

None Shall Escape Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

None Shall Escape features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. The presentation is about as expected of a vintage movie appearing on Blu-ray. There are no major examples of high end sound extension. Clarity is not dismal but it is imperfect, whether considering the odd sound effect or score. Music is decently wide but doesn't stretch the stage to its limits. Dialogue is the primary driving force, and its presentation is satisfactory, for the most part, imaging well enough towards the center. There is a slight underlying hiss that sometimes accompanies dialogue, coming into audible range when a character speaks and dropping back out when they are finished. There are numerous examples to be heard throughout the film. The track does accomplish the primary task of delivering the film's fairly meager sound design; it's not a first-rate listen, but it's a good reproduction of the track's necessary elements.

No additional language options are included and no subtitles are available.

None Shall Escape Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of None Shall Escape contains no supplemental content. No top or pop-up menus are included. The film simply begins playback upon disc insertion. No DVD or digital copies are included. The release does not ship with slipcover.

None Shall Escape Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

None Shall Escape is none too subtle, but it is nevertheless a disquieting film about one man's rise in power through the Nazi ranks and the paralleling fall of his soul. It's dark and deep, very well acted, and succinctly constructed. No doubt had the film, which was made well before the Allies won the war, would have been burned and erased from history had Nazi Germany won the war. Fortunately the film survives, and now thrives, on Blu-ray thanks to Sony's technically strong release. The disc is unfortunately absent supplemental content (it does not even include a menu screen) but the video quality is nothing short of excellent and the audio presentation satisfies requirements. Highly recommended.