Chandu the Magician Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Chandu the Magician Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 5, 2016

Bringing a popular radio show to the big screen requires special care, challenging the production to be ambitious with visuals to help match the theater of the mind already in progress. 1932’s “Chandu: The Magician” elects to secure audience interest through spectacle, hoping to dazzle viewers with extensive and exceptional special effects, turning “Chandu: The Magician” into a cinematic showcase of artistry and awe, sprucing up the fatigued crime-busting subgenre.

“Chandu: The Magician” isn’t short on weirdness, focusing on the exploits of Frank Chandler (Edmund Lowe), a American who’s mastered the ways of the yogi, using Eastern mysticism to power his heroic plans. When enemy Roxor (Bela Lugosi) rises up to destroy the world with a death ray, it’s up Chandu to save the day, exercising his magic skills, most requiring help from the production, which launches a series of editing tricks to help generate the proper illusions. Special effects remain quite effective even to this day, developing Chandu’s skill of evasion and Roxor’s fury. There are a substantial number of them as well, with the producers trying to summon bigness for the feature to give the titular character and his primary antagonist true motivation and a display of the unexplainable.

Chandu the Magician Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.37:1 aspect ratio) presentation doesn't provide a thorough restoration for "Chandu: The Magician," with the feature's advanced age apparent throughout the viewing experience. Scratches and assorted points of damage are detected, but they don't cripple the movie. An encouraging amount of detail is up for study, clarifying costuming and facial reactions. Special effects are also open for examination. Softness is periodically encountered, but definition remains. Delineation is comfortable. Grain is filmic.

Chandu the Magician Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Age is more problematic for the 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix, which offers a scratchy listening event, with hiss and pops common. Intelligibility is threatened, but never sinks the track, with dialogue exchanges managing the basics without losing lines. Scoring efforts are far from precise, but music holds position, supporting when necessary.

Chandu the Magician Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features Bela Lugosi biographer Gregory William Mank.

• "Masters of Magic: The World of Chandu" (15:17, SD) is a 2008 overview of the brand name, with its radio origins translating to film once Hollywood got a taste of genre hits. Interviewees include historians and admirers, providing enthusiasm for the picture and its specific creative highlights.

• "2008 Restoration" (1:19, SD) provides side-by-side examples of work.

• A Theatrical Trailer has not been included.

Chandu the Magician Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Chandu: The Magician" features impressive stunts and spectacle, and it keeps static characters to a bare minimum, though extremely silly comedy is presented to help butter up the viewing experience. The big draw here is Lugosi, who goes broad to represent evil, while Lowe is surprisingly energetic as he swings into action. There's a precise visual fingerprint to "Chandu: The Magician" that hypnotic to watch, working to spice up a thin survival story and deepen characterization. It's a fun ride with a few dramatic hiccups, but remarkable in its way with fantasy, creating a new realm and bizarre challenges for the villain to mastermind and the hero to conquer.