7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.2 |
Comedy legends Bud Abbott and Lou Costello cemented their place in film history with the hilarious wartime comedy classic BUCK PRIVATES. After spending years on stage in burlesque and on radio perfecting classic routines such as "Who's on First?," the duo transitioned to motion pictures at Universal in 1940. In their first leading roles, Bud and Lou play con artists who accidentally enlist in the U/S.Army to avoid going to jail. Making matters worse, their no-nonsense drill sergeant turns out to be the cop who tried to arrest them! Featuring classic routines such as "Drill," "Dice Game" and "You're Forty, She's Ten," the film also starred the popular singing group The Andrews Sisters performing the Academy Award-nominated song "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." Following the success of BUCK PRIVATES, Bud and Lou made an astounding 26 more movies at Universal leaving a legacy of laughter that will be treasured forever.
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lee Bowman, Jane Frazee, Alan Curtis (I)Musical | 100% |
Comedy | 71% |
War | 7% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Isn’t it funny how sometimes the most trivial things can stick in the memory, seemingly for no obvious reason? Years ago, too many years for me to want to admit, my father was getting ready to take me on a camping trip, just the two of us, to the Four Corners region of the American Southwest, and then slightly east to Mesa Verde and the cliff dwellings that are one of the most incredible sights of Native American life in a bygone era. My father had been out getting our trailer ready for the travels, and I, all of seven or eight, had turned on the television where a movie called The Time of Their Lives was just starting up. I was instantly entranced by this quasi-ghost story featuring two people I had never heard of, Abbott and Costello. My Dad came in and said we were ready to go, and I told him, somewhat trepidatiously, that I had started a movie that was really good and would like to watch the end of it. He asked me what it was, and I was fully expecting him to tell me to just turn off the television and get cracking so that we could leave. Instead when I mentioned the film’s title, my father’s eyes lit up and he started exclaiming about how funny it was, actually spoiling several gags that hadn’t yet come into view. He sat with me, quite happily so, for the rest of the film, telling me a lot about Abbott and Costello, including their famous “Who’s on first” routine, during the broadcast’s many commercials. Perhaps for that reason more than other, I’ve always had a soft spot for Abbott and Costello’s films, overlooking their obvious flaws and instead concentrating on their silly, innocent joy which is something that obviously was part of their allure for my father and his generation when the films were first exhibited theatrically.
Why don't we just cut to the chase with regard to Universal's AVC encoded 1080p transfer (in a 1.35:1 aspect ratio) of Buck Privates and answer the burning question that will probably be foremost on the minds of many readers of this review: is there DNR? Yes. Is it horrible? Well, that's another matter entirely, and one which will no doubt depend on one's tolerance for a digitally scrubbed image. There is still grain in this presentation, but it has been diminished. The noise reduction here is not as dramatic as in many Universal catalog releases (which of course may be damning with faint praise), and the studio seems to be gaining cognizance (albeit too slowly for some aficionados) of how their efforts are being greeted by potential consumers. There is still some good fine detail here, especially in close-ups, and the elements here are in generally good shape, though occasional scratches and flecks still dot the landscape, albeit very briefly. There are also a couple of missing frames which I assume have always been in the film, as there's no noticeable disruption of the soundtrack at those moments. Contrast is quite good as well, with excellent renderings of gray scale and solid black levels. The overall film is a tad on the soft side, and some second unit and stock footage is noticeably more ragged than the bulk of the film. Those who hate DNR will no doubt hate this transfer, while those with a bit more tolerance will just as undoubtedly find a lot to like here.
Though this Blu-ray ostensibly has a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix, to my ears it sounds like we simply have a mono track pumping out on two channels (the protocol with mono tracks on Blu-ray is decidedly spotty, with some labels releasing 1.0 tracks and others offering 2.0 tracks). If there is a faux stereo mix here, it is very narrow, offering little discrete splaying or directionality, at least that I noticed. Fidelity here is quite good, actually remarkable, considering the film's age and the ubiquitous use of music, which frequently sounds overly boxy in this vintage film. While there is certainly narrowness here, with somewhat compressed highs and lows, overall the sound here is surprisingly fulsome, with The Andrews Sisters sounding wonderful and all dialogue delivered crisply and cleanly.
Buck Privates is a relic of a bygone age, with a decidedly different comedy ethos than a lot of what's on display nowadays. Avid fans of Abbott and Costello are only slightly less rabid than those of The Three Stooges, and for those folks, this new high definition presentation of the pair's first starring entry will no doubt be like manna from heaven. Other, more cynical, types may question the film's burgeoning militarism (something inescapable given its context and premise) as well as a couple of questionable bouts with political incorrectness. But for those who grew up with Abbott and Costello, either in the theaters or on television, Buck Privates remains one of their simplest, least forced entries, one which retains just the right amount of lunacy mixed in with some fantastic music interludes courtesy of the winning Andrews Sisters. DNR-phobes will be upset with this release's video quality, but fans of the pair will be willing to overlook that perceived shortcoming to enjoy this release's otherwise decent looking video and good sounding audio. The Seinfeld special is another definite bonus and helps to make this release Recommended.
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