6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A group of allied commandos, infiltrate Yugoslavia on a secret mission against the Third Reich.
Starring: Robert Shaw (I), Harrison Ford, Barbara Bach, Edward Fox, Franco NeroWar | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Guy Hamilton's "Force 10 from Navarone" (1978) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage trailer for the film and exclusive new audio commentary by critics Steve Mitchell and Steven Jay Rubin. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
The bridge
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p[ transfer, Force 10 from Navarone arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
This release is sourced from a recent 2K master and features only the longer extended version of the film. Now, having just viewed it for the first time, I can confirm that it is not identical to the remaster Indicator/Powerhouse Films used to produce this release of the film. Here the entire film has a different color scheme, plus in a lot of the darker footage shadow definition and delineation are superior. Indeed, in certain areas, there is substantially more to see, and not only in backgrounds, so the perception of depth is different as well (compare screencaptures #24 and 26 to the corresponding screencaptures from our review of the Region-B release). Furthermore, the primary colors and supporting nuances are better balanced, so the strong red/pink hues from the Region-B release are eliminated. I don't know why there is such a dramatic difference, but the saturation levels are much better balanced on this release and as a result, there is a bigger variety of color contrasts. The density levels are practically identical. Image stability is excellent. Lastly, I spotted a couple of tiny white flecks, but there are no distracting debris, cuts, damage marks or other distracting age-related imperfections. So, there are minor but meaningful adjustments/improvements on this release that in my opinion produce a superior technical presentation of the film. My score is 4.75/5.00. (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).
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Maser Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
I viewed the entire film with the 2.0 track. I had to turn up the volume just a tiny bit more, but my impression was that it was every bit as solid as the one that is present on the Indicator/Powerhouse release. I did not detect any technical anomalies to report in our review.
If you are looking for the best technical presentation of Force 10 from Navarone you will have to pick up Kino Lorber's release. It has only the extended version of the film, which is the one to see, and I expected that its technical presentation will be identical to the one from Indicator/Powerhouse Films' recent release. Well, it looks quite different, and on my system also very clearly superior. I am not a fan of this film, but if you are get this release for the better technical presentation and the Region-B release for the extensive supplemental features.
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