6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A young violinist turns to boxing and finds himself torn between his two occupations — especially when seductive Barbara Stanwyck slinks into his life. Based on the hit play by Clifford Odetts.
Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, Adolphe Menjou, William Holden, Lee J. Cobb, Joseph CalleiaRomance | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: LPCM 2.0 Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Rouben Mamoulian's "Golden Boy" (1939) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment. There are no supplemental features on the release. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
The dream
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Golden Boy arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment.
The release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by Sony Pictures. Even though there is room for improvement, I like this master a lot. It gives Golden Boy a very solid organic appearance of the type that the majority of the films in the Columbia Noir series have. What does this mean exactly? It means that at some point in the past Golden Boy was properly remastered by the folks at Sony Pictures and the current master is free of digital anomalies. Delineation, clarity, and depth range from good to very good, and there are no stability issues. The grayscale is convincing as well. Is there room for meaningful improvements? Yes. Grain exposure can be superior, but the visuals already look quite nice. Some highlights can be managed better as well. I would say that there is room for very minor surface improvements, but this would be the type of cosmetic work that will not make a notable difference because the entire film already looks very healthy. Fluidity is very good. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I did not encounter any serious age-related anomalies to report in our review. The dialog was clear, stable, and easy to follow. Victor Young's dramatic score sounded very good on my system as well. Needless to say, I think that if the audio is newly remastered at best there will be some insignificant rebalancing improvements.
Most unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this release.
William Holden was forever grateful for the trust and support he received from Barbara Stanwyck during the shooting of Golden Boy. It is easy to understand why. Without Stanwyck, Holden's career in Hollywood almost certainly would have had a very different trajectory. I think that they genuinely liked each other and a lot of this attraction was captured by Rouben Mamoulian's camera. I detect it everywhere in Golden Boy and think that it is what makes the film special. Via Vision Entertainment's release is sourced from an older but very strong organic master that was supplied by Sony Pictures. It is Region-Free. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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