6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Jeff East is young Huck Finn in this song-filled adaptation of Mark Twain's popular novel that follows Huck and runaway slave Jim on an adventurous journey down the Mississippi River.
Starring: Jeff East, Paul Winfield, Harvey Korman, David Wayne, Gary MerrillMusical | 100% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Note: This film is available as part of
Tom Sawyer / Huckleberry Finn.
Was Arthur P. Jacobs a masochist, or at least a glutton for punishment? Jacobs didn’t have a ton of credits as a producer, but he did have a couple
of sizable hits in vastly different genres with both What a
Way to Go! in 1964 and Planet of the Apes
in 1968. However, in between those two smashes Jacobs made the perhaps unfortunate choice to produce one of the biggest behemoth flops of
the
decade, the musical version of Doctor Dolittle, which
came out in 1967 and threatened to erase all of the profits 20th Century Fox was still amassing from The Sound of Music. Jacobs may have been stung from the experience,
since
by all accounts there were frequently bouts of chaos during both pre-production and the actual shoot, and once the film opened, things went from
bad to worse. That said, Jacobs must have subscribed to the “pick yourself up and dust yourself off” adage, because a mere two years later he was
back with another musicalized version of a classic British tome, the 1969 version of Goodbye, Mr. Chips, which, while less costly and troublesome than Doctor Dolittle, was another pretty
spectacular flop at the box office. (It might be noted in passing that Jacobs had a kind of annus horribilis in 1969, since his non-
musical The Chairman didn’t exactly have hordes lined
up at the ticket booth begging to get into a showing.) Some producers may have stopped at those two musical strike outs, but Jacobs persevered,
and in fact as the seventies got underway Jacobs reportedly entered into a multi-picture deal with the Sherman Brothers, who had of course
become household names initially courtesy of their long association with Walt Disney and such classics as Mary Poppins. Kind of interestingly, Jacobs had had Leslie Bricusse write both the
screenplay and music and lyrics for Doctor Dolittle, but by the time Goodbye, Mr. Chips rolled around, had consigned Bricusse
solely to composing and lyric writing duties, with Terence Rattigan handling the screenplay. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn
returned to the Doctor Dolittle model, with the Sherman Brothers providing both screenplay and song score for both pictures.
Huckleberry Finn is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.34:1. This presentation doesn't have quite the luster of Tom Sawyer, and it shows considerably more age related wear and tear than its predecessor, with a number of white flecks and other speckling present. As I mentioned in the Tom Sawyer Blu-ray review, something that struck me about both presentations was the heavier grain in several of the riverside scenes, and that can be seen in some of the screenshots accompanying this review. The entire transfer is definitely on the soft side, but it almost looks like diffusion filters may have been used at times. Some of the most brightly lit environments, as in the big production duet between The Duke and The King, offer a nicely warm palette.
Unlike Tom Sawyer, which had three audio options in addition to its isolated score, Huckleberry Finn boasts only a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. The track isn't overly directional, but the musical moments have some breadth and are presented with excellent fidelity. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout the audio presentation.
There's simply no way any reasonable adaptation of Huckleberry Finn could have offered the same generally carefree tone that Tom Sawyer did, and in that regard I have to say I think this film does at least an adequate job in addressing some of its subtextual issues, something that is helped along by a very impressive performance from Paul Winfield as Jim. Gary Merrill, Harvey Korman and David Wayne seem to be in some kind of competition to see who can chew the most scenery the fastest (with Arthur O'Connell not far behind), which can make for some kind of odd juxtapositions. This presentation offers slightly less pleasing video and only stereo audio, for those who are considering a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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