7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
During WW2, a man persuaded to live on an isolated island and spot aircraft finds himself responsible for a teacher and several students, all female.
Starring: Cary Grant, Leslie Caron, Trevor Howard, Jack Good, Sharyl LockeRomance | 100% |
War | 31% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Adventure | 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 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Ralph Nelson's "Father Goose" (1964) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Olive Films. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new video interview with Ted Nelson, the eldest son of director Ralph Nelson; new audio commentary by film historian David Del Valle; new video interview with author Marc Eliot; new printed essay by essay by critic Bilge Ebiri; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
The boozer
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Ralph Nelson's Father Goose arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.
The release is sourced from a recent 4K remaster, not the same master that was used for the old release of Father Goose, which offers various notable upgrades. Indeed, especially in terms of delineation and depth the improvements can be quite dramatic, and the larger your screen is, the more obvious they will become to you. Plenty of the daylight footage -- and this includes close-ups and wider panoramic shots -- boasts excellent depth with substantially stronger density (see screencaptures #1 and 13). During the darker indoor footage you will also see much improved shadow definition that removes the flatness from the old master and again helps the depth. Grain is also better exposed, and in many areas where on the old release there is practically only mush now you will see proper grain structure and ultimately delineation. This being said, some density fluctuations remain, and in one sequence there is one quick but very obvious drop, but everything that I see tells me that they are inherited source limitations. There are absolutely no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. Colors are lusher and there is a wider and better range of nuances. My feeling is that overall balance could be a tad better, but I am perfectly fine with what I see. My one and only minor criticism pertains to the presence of some very tiny flecks that occasionally pop up here and there, which could have been removed manually.Also, some very minor encoding optimizations could have been done as well. Still, I much prefer this type of presentation over the refurbished 'remasters' that some big studios have been licensing to the boutique labels. (For reference, see Shout Factory's recent release of John Landis' Into the Night). All in all, this upcoming release of Father Goose represents a very solid upgrade in quality over the first release of the film.
*A quick note about Olive Films' decision to delay the release. A few weeks ago, we discovered encoding glitches on the screener that was sent to us for review from the first pressing and alerted the distributors (see screencapture #26). The current screener, which is from a second pressing, is flawless. Kudos to Olive Films for the prompt response.
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.
The lossless track has very good depth and action sequences dynamic intensity is as good as one can expect for a period film of this caliber. The dialog is clear, clean, stable, and easy to follow. There are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in our review.
The great Alfred Hitchcock is almost certainly the main reason why Father Goose exists because he apparently managed to convince Cary Grant that he would get a chance to win an Academy Award only if he adopted a new artistic personality. So in a way Father Goose was one last -- and quite possibly desperate -- attempt to finally make a lifelong dream a reality. While the film isn't flawless I think that it has a special charm, and I find it every bit as enjoyable as Lina Wertmüller's Swept Away and Marco Ferreri's Liza. Olive Films' upcoming Signature Edition is sourced from a recent 4K remaster and represents a very solid upgrade in quality over the first release of the film from 2013. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
1959
Warner Archive Collection
1964
1962
1984
2003
1993
1944
2008
Indiskret
1958
Universal 100th Anniversary
1959
1942
1937
Warner Archive Collection
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Rental Copy
2015
1964
1964
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Warner Archive Collection
1957