7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A naval officer unjustly reprimanded after Pearl Harbor is later promoted to rear admiral and gets a second chance to prove himself against the Japanese and to his naval pilot son.
Starring: John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal, Tom Tryon, Paula PrentissWar | 100% |
Period | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
German: Dolby Digital 2.0 (224 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (224 kbps)
English, English SDH, French, German
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
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.
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.
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 includes several trailers and a vintage featurette. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not
ship with a
slipcover.
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.
1976
1954
1960
2020
Special Edition
1958
1954
Warner Archive Collection
1945
1943
1953
1960
1968
Warner Archive Collection
1955
1969
La Battaglia d'Inghilterra
1969
1978
1967
1983
1942
Standard Edition
1980
Limited Edition / Import
1940