7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
In 1933, during the Depression, Shack the brutal conductor of the number 19 train has a personal vendetta against the best train hopping hobo tramp in the Northwest, A No. 1.
Starring: Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Keith Carradine, Charles Tyner, Matt ClarkThriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Anyone wanting a quick jolt of directorial testosterone could put together a visceral double feature with Emperor of the North and another recent Twilight Time release, House of Bamboo . While these films have virtually nothing in common other than a scenic reliance on some picturesque locales, and a couple of intense showdowns between various characters, each serves as an exemplar of the unabashedly macho miens of Samuel Fuller (in the case of House of Bamboo) and Robert Aldrich (in the case of Emperor of the North). Both Fuller and Aldrich often luxuriated in the camaraderie of male bonding, or at least the ferocity of male aggression. Emperor of the North has next to no plot, simply positing Lee Marvin as a Depression Era hobo nicknamed A-No.-1 who likes to ride the rails, coming into conflict with Ernest Borgnine’s similarly generically named Shack, a martinet conductor who delights in “disembarking” various vagrants with the aid of a large mallet. The film plays out as an extended cat and mouse game between the two, with an expected if no less viscerally exciting hand to hand combat sequence capping the film. While there may in fact not be much “there” there in Emperor of the North, both Marvin and Borgnine seem to be having a fair amount of fun having free rein to ham it up pretty spectacularly as some jaw droppingly beautiful Oregon scenery passes by in the background.
Emperor of the North is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Reportedly culled from a new 4K scan done at the behest of the typically completely reliable crew at Fox, the film looks fantastically well detailed in close-ups, where elements like Marvin's pinpricks of facial hair can be seen in all their precision. Colors are occasionally tamped down, intentionally offering a Depression Era grit that helps to support the almost apocalyptic feeling of the film. Grain is very natural looking, resolving organically throughout the presentation, but occasionally fairly chunky looking in some darker sequences. There are a couple of inherent issues that occasionally detract from detail levels, including some very dark nighttime or dimly lit interior scenes where shadow detail is negligible, as well as a longish sequence that supposedly takes place in mist and/or fog, and which was evidently accomplished at least partially through filters, something that gives the imagery an almost Impressionistic feel where detail is relatively lackluster (see screenshot 17).
Emperor of the North lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track provides ample support for the effects inflected sound design, one which delights in the clitter clatter and mechanical pummeling sounds that trains regularly offer, while also offering more "exotic" elements like overpowering conflagrations and the squeal of metal wheels on metal tracks. Dialogue and Frank De Vol's score are also supported very well and are well prioritized.
Emperor of the North doesn't have the convoluted plot mechanics of some of Aldrich's other films like What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? or Kiss Me Deadly, and so viewers might have to cut the film a bit of slack, allowing for a narrative drive that is built out of vignettes rather than some Grand Design of screenwriting brilliance. What makes the film so memorable are its admittedly far from subtle performances, though Marvin and Carradine come off as at least relatively more nuanced than the hammily buffoonish Borgnine, who struts through this film like the veritable bull in a china shop. Joseph F. Biroc's cinematography captures both the grit of the hobo life as well as the elegance of the Oregon countryside, and while the film never really amounts to much more than a series of showdowns between A-No.-1, Shack and/or Cigaret, it has its own manic momentum which makes the journey if not the destination a lot of fun if also a bit disturbing at times. Recommended.
4K Restoration
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1987
Warner Archive Collection
1955
North West Frontier
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Warner Archive Collection
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Warner Archive Collection
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Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1958