6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 3.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.3 |
Air Force Colonel is tasked to escort a defecting Soviet pilot who is scheming to lure him to the USSR.
Starring: John Wayne, Janet Leigh, Jay C. Flippen, Paul Fix, Richard RoberRomance | 100% |
Drama | 62% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1, 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Josef von Sternberg's "Jet Pilot" (1957) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only bonus feature on the disc is an original vintage trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Comrade Marladovna
Presented in aspect ratios of 1.85:1 and 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jet Pilot arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
The release is sourced from an old master that was supplied by Universal Pictures. Unfortunately, this master is every bit as mediocre as the one the major licensed to Indicator/Powerhouse Films for the recent Region-B release of Hellfighters.
I viewed the 1.85:1 presentation, but tested the 1.37:1 presentation as well. Believe it or not, the latter makes some of the visuals a bit easier to tolerate simply by 'tightening' them up a bit. Sadly, there are so many different age-related imperfections and traces of digital tweaks that more often than not large portions of the film actually do not look like film. For example, it is very easy to tell that the grain is collapsed by some sort of a digital adjustment, which is why delineation and depth range from mediocre to poor. Clarity is occasionally satisfactory, but contrast anomalies and other issues have destabilized the native dynamic range of the visuals. Also, there are obvious registration issues that produce awkward color pulsations and even odd halo-like effects. So, when all of these issues are grouped together it is hardly surprising that the visuals routinely look very, very flat, at times even smeary. Finally, there are plenty of dirt spots, specks, scratches, and even rather large blemishes that pop up throughout the entire film. My score is 2.75/5.00. (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 is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I did not encounter any serious technical anomalies to report in our review. However, while the dialog is clear and very easy to follow, plenty of the footage with the bombers sounds pretty thin. The upper register is very clean, but my guess is that if one day the film is fully restored in 4K and the audio redone from scratch, there will be meaningful optimizations that address the thin areas. This being said, you don't have to be concerned about the quality of the existing track. It is still very, very good.
Just like The Outlaw, Jet Pilot was a big vanity project for Howard Hughes that turned out to be a big turkey. John Wayne had every right to consider it the worst film he had appeared in because it is ridiculous in so many different ways that it does not even work as a parody. Some of the footage with the bombers is mildly entertaining, plus there are a couple of short hilarious scenes where Wayne clearly flirts with Janet Leigh, but this isn't enough to declare that Jet Pilot is suitable even for very late-night viewing. On the other hand, Jet Pilot probably deserves to be described as a historic relic, so it is good to have it on Blu-ray.
2012
1958
Limited Edition to 3000
1957
1974
1979
1952
40th Anniversary Edition
1981
Warner Archive Collection
1958
1988
50th Anniversary
1973
1927
1962
1990
1946
1945
Limited Edition to 3000
1960
Warner Archive Collection
1964
1943
1958
1993