Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Adventures of Don Juan Blu-ray Movie Review

The original Mr. Steal Yo' Girl.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III July 8, 2022

Vincent Sherman's Adventures of Don Juan marks lead actor Errol Flynn's return to swashbuckling adventure in nearly a decade, long after films like The Adventures of Robin Hood and The Sea Hawk (belated review coming soon) propelled him to the genre's upper ranks*. The now older and slightly more mature Flynn still lights up the screen in his title role as the legendary fictional Spanish libertine whose success with a sword was only matched by his success with women. Loaded with humor and sprinkled with romance, rousing action and even a bit of drama, Adventures of Don Juan stands tall as a lightweight but wholly entertaining affair that can still please new audiences almost 75 years later.

Story-wise, Adventure of Don Juan doesn't offer much but we're really here for the characters. It starts out strongly enough with a little sleight of hand as Don Juan himself -- fresh from a very short duel with an angry husband, whose men are in hot pursuit -- rides off with best friend Leporello (Alan Hale) but is stopped by authorities. Pretending to be a Spanish duke that will soon be betrothed to the lovely Lady Diana (Helen Westcott), he's whisked away to meet her... only to find out they've "met" before. Once the real duke shows up, it's time for another daring escape.

So begins the tale of Don Juan, whose fully consensual but totally womanizing ways must eventually come to an end. As a not-so-subtle distraction (after all, idle hands are the Devil's playthings), he's eventually recommended to Spain's Queen Margaret (Viveca Lindfors) as a top fencing instructor in the Royal Spanish Academy, where he'll hopefully be able to prevent an impending war between Spain and England. It's not exactly a tall order considering his legendary swordsmanship, but a bigger challenge remains: Don Juan must balance his new job with newfound feelings for the Queen herself. It'll be tougher than expected, as she's resistant to his advances and flanked by an ineffective husband, King Phillip III (Romney Brent), who's being influenced by the shady Duke de Lorca (Robert Douglas).

While some may have initially written off Adventures of Don Juan as a looser retooling of the formula that worked so well for films like Robin Hood, in further hindsight it's more of a solid victory lap. Flynn turns in great work as usual, as he and the supporting cast feel extremely comfortable in their roles and look great alongside the first-rate costume and production design. Although earlier versions of the story had been in development for well over a decade (see below) and other complications arose -- like composer Max Steiner filling in for Erich Korngold, who had since retired -- the result feels about as seamless as possible under the circumstances, and it plays better than ever on Warner Archive's sterling new Blu-ray. Supported by yet another five-star restoration and a nice little collection of DVD-era extras, Adventures of Don Juan makes for a well-rounded disc that fans and first-timers alike should enjoy.

* - Interestingly enough, both of these earlier adventure films are loosely linked to Don Juan: it was not only first announced as an unofficial follow up to Robin Hood in 1939 (and also originally set to co-star Olivia de Havilland), but its first of several lengthy postponements led to the production of The Sea Hawk the following year.

Adventures of Don Juan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Archives' careful treatment of its parent company's catalog material, combined with the built-in strengths of glorious Technicolor, usually guarantee perfect results... but even with those expectations in mind, their new Blu-ray presentation still manages to impress. Adventures of Don Juan is a lavishly-produced film with perfectly saturated color, beautiful lighting and cinematography, and stylish costumes that all manage to create a visually stunning experience from start to finish. Warner Archive's new 1080p transfer builds on that solid foundation with a recent 4K scan of the original Technicolor negatives and extensive dirt and debris cleanup, resulting in another purist-friendly presentation that balances a clean, pristine appearance with natural film grain and noticeable textures that likely surpass the overall effectiveness of original theatrical showings. Additionally, black levels and shadow detail are both nicely resolved with no obvious signs of posterization, banding, or compression artifacts, and the show is encoded perfectly on a 50GB dual-layered disc that runs at a very high bit rate from start to finish. All things considered, it's another beautiful restoration from Warner Archive that fans will absolutely adore and easily stands as this Blu-ray's biggest highlight.

Adventures of Don Juan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Although the majority of Adventures of Don Juan's DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track sounds perfectly fine (and at the very least, preserves its modest original 1.0 mono mix faithfully), several short scenes and exchanges suffer from a tinny and sometimes gauzy distortion that renders portions of dialogue somewhat tough to decipher. This is likely an age-related or other source material issue and isn't too prolonged or distracting, but it's definitely noticeable at times; luckily, the included English (SDH) subtitles are on hand to clear up some of those issues. Aside from that -- and, of course, a somewhat strained high end for Max Steiner's original score -- it's a reasonably smooth and satisfying presentation that sports an overall solid dynamic range with no drop-outs or flagrant sync issues.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only, but not the extras. This is pretty annoying since the DVD edition that most of them were sourced from did in fact have optional subtitles available. It's perhaps my only ongoing hang-up regarding Warner Archive releases, and one that I hope is addressed at some point.

Adventures of Don Juan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with poster-themed cover art and no inserts. All extras are ported over from Warner Bros.' 2007 DVD (one of two releases on that format), although a few slight upgrades have been made.

• Audio Commentary - This vintage track features late director Vincent Sherman (d. 2006) and film historian Rudy Behlmer, who were recorded separately but stitched together to create a well-organized and informative history lesson with few lengthy gaps along the way. Highlights include Max Steiner's musical contribution, stories about the cast and crew (including other projects), development delays during and shortly after WWII, earlier iterations of the Don Juan, borrowing footage from two earlier Flynn movies, staging the action scenes, Production Code interference, costume and production design, the screenwriters' use of comedy, and more.

• Warner Night at the Movies (4 clips, 37:13 total with "Play All" option) - A series of short period-specific featurettes and other vintage pieces designed to replicate an authentic pre-show theatrical experience.

• Newsreel (1:07) - Coverage of the Miss America competition in 1948. They look so... normal.
• Joe McDoakes Short: So You Want to Be On the Radio (10:47) - Joe (George O'Hanlon) and his lovely wife Alice (Phyllis Coates) are lucky enough to be chosen as contestants on a radio trivia contest, but he's punished every time she incorrectly answers all of the ultra-tough questions.
• Warner Bros. Short: Calgary Stampede (18:10) - This Oscar-nominated 1948 Technicolor short, directed by Saul Elkins and narrated by Art Gilmore, celebrates the Native American history of Calgary, Alberta, including an annual week-long festival and rodeo show with free food and music.
• Warner Bros. Cartoon Short: Hare Splitter (7:09) - This classic Looney Tunes short featuring you-know-who is presented here in restored 1080p with lossless audio and appears identical to the version found earlier on Warner Bros.' still-in-print Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:29) - This majestic promotional piece can also be seen here.

Adventures of Don Juan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Vincent Sherman's Adventures of Don Juan is a fun and highly entertaining adventure film that deftly blends humor, romance, and action to create a real crowd-pleaser. Errol Flynn's unsurprisingly charismatic lead performance anchors it for sure, but strong supporting performances and excellent production/costume design enhance the experience, as do its vivid Technicolor visuals and Max Steiner's memorable score. Warner Archive's typically outstanding restoration and a nice little collection of legacy bonus features add their own value, making Adventures of Don Juan the undisputed highlight of this month's Warner Archive releases. Highly Recommended to fans and first-timers alike.