6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A broadway version of the Bizet opera, updated to WWII, with new lyrics and an African-American cast.
Starring: Harry Belafonte, Dorothy Dandridge, Pearl Bailey, Olga James, Joe Adams (IV)Musical | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.55:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.55:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
English SDH, French, Japanese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Even those who wouldn’t know a Lerner from a Loewe usually recognize what is arguably the most iconic pairing in the entire history of musical theater, Rodgers and Hammerstein. Part of that recognition has to do with the pair’s marketing savvy, which tended to place their names above the title of whatever show of theirs was lighting up the Great White Way before typically matriculating to Hollywood for screen versions. And even casual fans can come up with Richard Rodgers’ pre-Oscar Hammerstein II writing partner, Lorenz Hart, for so many standards from the Great American Songbook bear the Rodgers and Hart label that that pairing has become virtually as famous as the later one. But when the focus shifts to Hammerstein, things tend to get a little bit trickier, at least for those who aren’t up to snuff on the history of American musicals. Hammerstein actually had more of a successful pre-Rodgers career than Rodgers had pre-Hammerstein, with most of that success due to his partnership with the legendary Jerome Kern. Kern and Hammerstein wrote what is often considered the first truly integrated work of musical theater, Show Boat (both the 1951 and 1936 film versions are still sadly lacking on Blu-ray). But Hammerstein also collaborated with several composers who were attempting to slowly morph the then popular operetta form into something more substantial, composers like Rudolf Friml and Sigmund Romberg. But perhaps Hammerstein’s oddest collaboration was with a composer who had been dead for well over half a century by the time Hammerstein deigned to work “with” him. Georges Bizet had a tragically short life, one which didn’t meet with a lot of success prior to his crowning work, Carmen. Rather interestingly, Hammerstein was working on his modern day adaptation of Bizet’s most famous work, which was renamed Carmen Jones, while he was collaborating with Rodgers on their first and in some ways most legendary musical, Oklahoma! (another great musical film—in two versions, Todd-AO and CinemaScope, no less—which has yet to see the Blu-ray light of day). Oklahoma! (the stage version) is often held up as the true beginning of the so-called Modern American Musical, and while it may seem tame to cynical younger audiences today, when viewed in its proper historical context, it was (and is) a rather revolutionary musical. What’s so very interesting about all of this is that in its own way Carmen Jones, which has never reached the same level of prestige that Oklahoma! has, is just as revolutionary, though for different reasons.
Carmen Jones is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.55:1. The elements utilized for this transfer are in excellent shape, though there are occasional very minor splotching anomalies that may indicate either dupe elements or at least aged elements. As with some other CinemaScope films, there are occasional focus anomalies that are readily apparent, usually toward the middle of the frame (see screenshot 9, where Dandridge's face seems slightly blurry). The color here is just a bit on the brown side, with a slight green tinge some of the time. But reds and oranges (including Carmen's fiery skirt in the early part of the film) pop with great vividness. Preminger was a newcomer to CinemaScope, and doesn't seem to want to get too close to his performers a lot of the time, which tends to mitigate fine detail somewhat. But overall the image here is clean and clear and shows no signs of excessive digital manipulation.
Carmen Jones' original four track mag soundtrack is nicely reproduced here with a boisterous DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0 mix that significantly bolsters the brass centered orchestrations of Herschel Burke Gilbert. The music is nicely splayed through the channels and some of the set pieces—including the boxing segment—also utilize the surrounds in a nicely immersive way. Fidelity is top notch and the track has no issues like dropout or even much noticeable hiss.
Carmen Jones may in fact appeal more as a concept than in its finally realized form. There's a certain clunky quality to this film that even its extremely gifted cast can't completely overcome, but Dandridge is simply a force of nature and makes this film eminently watchable despite its shortcomings. This Blu-ray offers no substantial supplements (a real letdown) but its video, while occasionally problematic, is good and its audio is excellent. For lovers of musicals at least, Carmen Jones comes Recommended.
Limited Edition to 3000
1957
Warner Archive Collection
1958
1936
Warner Archive Collection
1955
50th Anniversary Edition
1961
Limited Edition to 3000
1979
2015
Limited Edition to 3000
1943
2007
Warner Archive Collection
1951
1957
15th Anniversary Edition
1996
1956
1957
Reissue
1972
1986
1945
Warner Archive Collection
1943
Warner Archive Collection
1936
Warner Archive Collection
1942