Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

In Harm's Way Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 29, 2021

In Harm's Way enlists as much character drama as it does wartime action, yielding an overlong and overburdened, yet still agreeable, film about war and relationships in the opening months of the United States' involvement in World War II. Director Otto Preminger (Anatomy of a Murder, Advise & Consent), working from a script sourced from James Bassett's 1962 novel Harm's Way, builds an overstuffed picture that works the war in the Pacific and the war within the lives of several involved in the theater, exploring everything from estranged father-son relationships to rape and suicide. It's a sprawling wartime epic that is not without a number of plusses but viewers looking for a lean and focused War picture will want to look elsewhere.

December 7, 1941. Japanese forces have decimated the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. The United States is at war. The film follows the war's early months and several actors in the Pacific fleet, including Captain Rock Torrey (John Wayne), later in the film promoted to rear admiral, and given charge of the vital Operation "Skyhook." The story unfolds around his service in war, his romance with nurse Maggie Haines (Patricia Neal), and his relationship with his estranged son Jeremiah (Brandon deWilde). Jeremiah, an Ensign in the Navy, is dating Maggie's younger roommate, nurse Annalee Dorne (Jill Haworth). Also in focus is Commander Paul Eddington (Kirk Douglas), Rear Admiral Torrey's chief of staff.

What follows the Pearl Harbor attack is a true Hollywood epic, a spectacle picture that uses its runtime to follow several stories that shape the fighting men in the opening months of the war in the Pacific. It's a grand spectacle but more intimate than some; the character interconnectedness keeps the film focused as one story invariably draws from, connects to, and builds within the larger contexts. Director Otto Preminger keeps things grounded and in check, his narrative balanced and the pace well versed in the ebb and flow of wartime action and character development outside the immediate dangers of battle. The cast is largely excellent, all exhibiting strong dramatic interplay and good, muscular performances during the scenes of war.

The film's action scenes thrill for the sense of authenticity and scope alike. Here, the film plays big, it plays fast, and it plays hard. While obviously lacking the blood and guts authenticity that might define a more modern production, there's no denying the action's impact on the screen and the psyche, both of those in the film and the audience watching from the theater. Naval battles, while fought with large, lumbering ships, often done right make for some of the best wartime action and that is indeed the case here. The black-and-white visuals only seem to strengthen the action's resolve and lend to it a period authenticity as well.

In Harm's Way Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

In Harm's Way sails onto Blu-ray with a solid 108p transfer. The picture maintains a high level of textual definition within its natural filmic framework. The picture maintains a natural grain structure for the duration, a pleasing and flattering look that is vital in the Blu-ray image's overall success. Details are sharp and the picture is clear for the duration. The picture never wants for more film-natural detail, proving well capable of revealing fine facial textures -- pores, wrinkles, hair -- with exacting definition, which of course extends to uniforms and all of the adornments on them. Various location details offer exceptional definition, too, including ship's interiors, mess tents, hospital rooms, homes, and so on: there are no shortage of visually interesting locations throughout the film, each of them expressively revealing both broadly and intimately. It's a very impressive textural output. The grayscale is impressively dynamic with fine whites and deep and dense blacks with a middle grayscale that is subtle and capable of great tonal nuance. The only real downside is the steady presence of various speckles and pops and other signs of print wear. A thorough clean-up is needed here to bring out the best, but even short of perfection the film looks very good. Most are going to be well pleased with the presentation.

In Harm's Way Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Paramount enlists In Harm's Way onto Blu-ray with a stout DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track is very lively. The opening dance on the night prior to the Pearl Harbor attack delivers rich instrumental fidelity, a terrific low end percussion, and fabulous space. Even when the tempo slows down the quality of the spacing, the party din, and the musical detail are first-rate. Of course the action to come is just as vigorous and intense, boasting exceptional power to explosions and no shortage of stage saturation. Of course the material is not presented to today's exacting specifications for fidelity and lifelike detail, but for a sound design of this age the Blu-ray results are very impressive, allowing listeners to feel engaged in battle and experience the intense explosive percussions. Score is clear and nicely spaced. Dialogue is lifelike, center positioned, and well prioritized for the duration.

In Harm's Way Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

In Harm's Way includes several trailers and a vintage featurette. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

• Trailer #1 (480i, 4:56).
• Trailer #2 (480i, 1:56).
• Trailer #3 (480i, 1:45).
• Original 1965 Featurette: "The Making of a Movie" (480i, 8:02): A look around the sets, a peek into making several scenes, an exploration of the talent involved in the film, Director Otto Preminger's work on the film, and more.

In Harm's Way Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In Harm's Way joins a long line of storied World War II films that deliver hard-hitting action but also take the time to explore the characters in detail beyond the gunplay and not just in the intermittent breaks when the bullets are not flying. Its focus is not at all like Pearl Harbor, but one can see some narrative similarities in the intense gaze focus on characters away from the action. It's also something The Pacific did well, too: that intermixing of war action and human drama. The film is technically stout and well acted. Paramount's Blu-ray is of a high quality, delivering satisfying video and audio presentations to go along with a featurette and a few trailers. Recommended.