Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Caravans Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 22, 2023

James Fargo's "Caravans" (1978) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new commentary by critic Evgueni Mlodik and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Somewhere in Zadestan

It took me a long time to spend a night with James Fargo’s Caravans. I did not avoid it because I had read James Michener’s novel and heard that it was a poor cinematic adaptation of it. I very rarely agree with popular takes on what ought to be bad, poor, and terrible older films, so as far as Caravans is concerned, I just never found the time to view it. For what it’s worth, I have not read Michener’s novel either, so I do not know if it is as good as claimed.

A few nights ago, I was finally able to view Caravans. It met all of my expectations and perhaps even exceeded a few. However, I should make it very clear that when I pushed the play button on my remote control, I did not think that there was a real possibility that Caravans could turn out to be a masterpiece. I expected that it could be a pretty good looking period film.

The events that are chronicled in Caravans take place in the fictional country of Zadestan sometime in the year 1948. Zadestan is a very exotic country with large deserts capable of revealing oil reserves worth billions of dollars and, perhaps entirely predictably, run by powerful men with delusions of grandeur.

One such man, Col. Nazrullah (Behrouz Vossoughi), has married an American woman, Ellen Jasper (Jennifer O’Neill), who has disappeared without a trace. Another such man is Zulffiqar (Anthony Quinn), an aging tribal leader, who fears that as Zadestan continues to change his people will be forced to perish in the deserts. Then there is the pragmatic Sardar Khan (Christopher Lee), perhaps the most powerful man in Zadestan, who understands that the evolution of his country is irreversible and instead of trying to fight the process attempts to manage it as best as possible.

The three men become key players in a multi-layered drama after Senator Jasper dispatches the young and quite inexperienced diplomat Mark Miller (Michael Sarrazin) to track down his daughter and convince her to return home. After meeting Khan, Miller goes on the road and eventually discovers that Senator Jasper’s daughter has joined Zulffiqar’s tribe and decided to support their fight for survival. During their interactions, Miller gradually begins to understand why their way of life appeals to her, too.

Virtually all serious issues in Caravans can be quickly traced back to its politics, which are neither controversial nor in any way surprising. For example, right from the get-go Caravans makes it impossible for its characters not to appear one-dimensional because all choices they are forced to make are very carefully scripted. Also, all good choices promote a noble cause, while all bad choices are reflective of efforts to hurt the noble cause. In other words, instead of telling an engaging story with unique characters, Caravans effectively becomes a debating platform where one-dimensional morally superior characters overpower their one-dimensional opponents.

What partially redeems Caravans is its visuals, some of which are not just good but outstanding. Fargo and Douglas Slocombe shot on location in Iran right before the collapse of the monarchy so there is a lot that can be of tremendous interest to folks that appreciate historic content.

A fine soundtrack courtesy of Mike Batt (Watership Down) enhances the period atmosphere rather well, too. However, the most grandiose visuals do not require its presence to leave a lasting impression.

Caravans Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Caravans arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an older master that is mostly decent. However, the larger your screen is, the easier it will be for you to conclude that Caravans could be quite the visual stunner if it is properly restored. It is not only because there are obvious inconsistencies either. In several areas, the outdoor panoramic footage is breathtakingly beautiful and actually tends to exacerbate some of the shortcomings of the current master. Most indoor footage with restricted light, for instance, can look substantially better. There are traces of very light sharpening. Color balance is stable. However, this is another area where meaningful improvements can be made. Saturation, in particular, can be quite a bit better, plus several supporting nuances should be expanded and looking healthier. Image stability is good. I noticed a few blemishes, but there are no large surface imperfections to report in our review. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Caravans Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The lossless track sounded great on my system. I was quite surprised by its wide range of nuanced dynamics and potency, so at the moment, I do not think that any future remastering work can produce meaningful improvements. The dialog is very clear, sharp, and easy to follow. There are no balance issues.

Caravans Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for Caravans. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Evgueni Mlodik.

Caravans Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The abundance of spectacular panoramic footage from pre-revolutionary Iran is the main reason to see James Fargo's Caravans. No, I did not think that it is a bad film but its characters are so one-dimensional that its drama did not resonate with me at all. Kino Lorber's release of Caravans is sourced from a mostly decent older master that was supplied by Universal Pictures. If you decide to pick it up for your collection, do so when it is heavily discounted. RECOMMENDED.