Bright Victory Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Bright Victory Blu-ray Movie Review

Bright Victory is a WWII romantic-drama. The feature-film explores race relations and has a story of unexpected romance. Produced by Robert Buckner, Bright Victory is based on the novel by Baynard Kendrick. Bright Victory has a strong ensemble cast including Arthur Kennedy, James Edwards, Peggy Dow, Julie Adams, James Edwards, and Will Geer.

Sergeant Larry Nevins (Arthur Kennedy) is serving during World War II alongside his fellow African American solider Joe Morgan (James Edwards). After experiencing an unexpected terrain of enemy gunfire, Larry ends up in a hospital wing. Larry has become blinded from the incident.

In surviving the event, Larry finds himself under the care of nurse Judy Greene (Peggy Dow). After receiving care from Judy, Larry unexpectedly finds himself falling in love with his nurse. Despite being engaged back home, Larry can’t help but be overcome by emotions for Judy.

As the tale unfolds, Larry discovers he has been blinded in more ways than one – he was casually racist and didn’t even realize his new friend Joe was a black man. Perhaps there is more to life than the appearance of others. Perhaps there is much to learn.

At the heart of the film are the performances. Arthur Kennedy portrays a complicated character and the role is one that was well suited for his own acting style. The role explores the fragility of man and how the life of a man is one that always can continue to develop – as there is often much to learn (as the characters own prejudice and racism causes conflict in the story).

James Edwards is similarly impressive in the supporting role of Joe Morgan and the character has some noteworthy moments to shine during the WWII tale – an important character in the film and one that is brought to life with great vitality by the actor. Peggy Dow delivers a solid performance with her role as nurse Judy Greene and the romantic element is something that adds to the production.

The production has a lot of worthwhile components and Bright Victory looks wonderful as an artistic achievement. The art direction by Bernard Herzbrun (Creature from the Black Lagoon, Battle of Broadway) and Nathan Juran (How Green Was My Valley, The 7^th Voyage of Sinbad) is highly engaging, providing a sense of elegance to the filmmaking. The hospital setting is established well and provides a sense of authenticity to the storytelling.

The costumes by Rosemary Odell (To Kill a Mockingbird, Brute Force) are well-designed and help to tell the tale. The designs are well thought-out for these characters. Odell crafted solid designs that feel as true to the storytelling as the filmmaking required. There is certainly a sense of cohesion to these costumes.

The cinematography by William H. Daniels (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Shop Around the Corrner) is one of the most beautiful aspects of the film. The black and white cinematography is gorgeous. The film has a wonderful aesthetic and the cinematographer handles the production and provides a sleek aesthetic – providing a classical cinematographic style.

The score composed by Frank Skinner (Arabian Nights, The House of the Seven Gables) is a nice highlight of the film. Bright Victory has a solid score by Skinner. The music helps the storytelling unfold and gives some quiet charm to the production. A good effort by the composer.

Edited by Russell F. Schoengarth (The Girl from Rio, My Man Godfrey), Bright Victory has a nice pace and tone. The editing plays a significant role in the filmmaking flowing as well as it does. A solid effort by the editor. Schoengarth helped the filmmaking excel.

The screenplay by Robert Buckner (Yankee Doodle Dandy, Rogues’ Regiment) is compelling and focused on character-development. Buckner crafted a worthwhile tale about some difficult subject matter and managed to make the script thoughtful and compelling. The dialogue is well-written and the film is a worthwhile effort by Buckner.

Despite being a film against the backdrop of WWII, this is not a film with a particularly heavy emphasis on war scenes. The production is a drama at its heart and this is the focus point of the narrative of the story. The more intimate character elements are the central focus. This is the part of the appeal of the film.

Directed by Mark Robson (Peyton Place, Earthquake), Bright Victory has a compelling filmmaking style. The filmmaker imbued the film with a unique visual style. Robson works well with the cast and brings together a solid ensemble. The pace and tone of the filmmaking is effective and it builds to a solid conclusion (well-executed by Robson).

Bright Victory Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, Bright Victory is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37:1 full frame. The high-definition presentation is sourced from a brand new 2K master prepared for the release. The new 2K master is satisfying and offers a nice high-definition image.

The print does showcase occasional wear but these elements certainly don't provide any significant detraction to an otherwise excellent presentation and viewing experience. Despite some sporadic print imperfections, including slight marks to the print and thin scratches, these moments are only a small aspect of the release. The new 2K master is sharp and satisfying on the whole – reproducing the gorgeous black and white cinematography well.

The release also benefits from a healthy, high bit-rate video encoding. The higher bit-rates of the Blu-ray format offer a significant advantage is video quality overing streaming services. Kino Lorber has done a fantastic job with the encoding quality of Bright Victory.

Bright Victory Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono. The lossless audio encoding on the release is excellent. Although the audio depth and fidelity sounds a bit dated, the audio track sounds clear and dialogue remains easy to understand during the presentation.

There were no significant issues to report in regards to egregious hiss, crackle, pops, or clicks. The score composed by Frank Skinner sounds crisp and pleasing during the audio presentation as well. The high-quality lossless encoding is one of the best strengths of the format (with movie streaming services offering only a lossy and compressed data stream by comparison). A worthwhile audio encoding from distributor Kino Lorber.

Bright Victory Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Screenwriter Gary Gerani

Unfortunately, the release does not include any video interviews, behind-the-scenes documentaries, or other featurettes. The inclusion of some more in-depth supplemental video features would have made the release more well rounded overall.

The release includes a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from distributor Kino Lorber:

So Proudly We Hail! – Trailer (SD, 1:41)

Fixed Bayonets! – Trailer (SD, 2:37)

Time Limit – Trailer (SD, 3:16)

Boomerang – Trailer (HD, 2:31)

Bend of the River – Trailer (SD, 1:47)

Paths of Glory – Trailer (HD, 3:03)

Bright Victory Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bright Victory is a compelling WWII drama. The filmmaking in Bright Victory is evocative and there are good performances from the ensemble cast – with leads Arthur Kennedy, James Edwards, Peggy Dow making standout impressions. From a script by Robert Buckner (Yankee Doodle Dandy) and directed by Mark Robson (Peyton Place), Bright Victory rewards with compelling storytelling and visual finesse as a film.

The Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber is sourced from a new 2K remaster of the film. The new master offers a pleasing high-definition remaster. Though the print used on this release isn't as pristine as is sometimes found with the best 4K remasters, this is still a satisfying presentation of Bright Victory. A release that is well worth owning (and with a notable lossless audio encoding as well). Fans of the film should be especially pleased to add this worthwhile release to their collection. Recommended.