6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Toward the end of World War II, two American soldiers fighting in Southern France become romantically involved with a young, American woman. Her background will reveal more about them than her.
Starring: Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Leora Dana, Karl SwensonRomance | 100% |
Drama | 41% |
War | 24% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Stephen Colbert hasn’t been shy about talking about how difficult it’s been to fill the shoes of someone as iconic as David Letterman, but what about that poor schlub who had to fill Colbert’s old timeslot on Comedy Central? Larry Wilmore’s show was originally supposed to be called The Minority Report, an obvious reference not just to Wilmore's race but to the overall focus of the series, but evidently both Minority Report and the (apparently) short-lived television series of the same name put the kibosh on those plans for either logistical or actual legal (or legalistic) reasons. Wilmore’s show has regularly offered piquant commentary on race relations, as might be expected, and while the show has been nowhere near as popular as the late, lamented The Colbert Report, it has often reached significant comedic heights as it has examined various sociopolitical currents sweeping our often fractious nation. One of the renamed Nightly Show’s best moments came during the Rachel Dolezal fracas. For those with short memory spans, Dolezal was the Spokane woman who headed that city’s NAACP chapter until it was revealed that she was not in fact African American as she had claimed for some time, but utterly Caucasian. Wilmore and ebullient contributor Holly Walker unapologetically skewered this odd news story, with Walker offering an absolutely hilarious take on an addled woman who had been tracking “incognegroes” for years. Walker offered a laugh out loud “archival” video of just such an “incognegro” wandering through a sylvan glade, a la that old snippet that supposedly caught Bigfoot traipsing around the great outdoors. While the bit was intentionally outrageous, it helped to humorously expose how black folks see both themselves in their own communities as well as ostensible interlopers who want to claim the mantle of minority status for themselves, especially once other Nightly Show contributors jumped into the fray and started arguing that Dolezal was simply a “convert” to being black, a pioneer of sorts who should be embraced, not disparaged. The very fact that a television show could address these inherently contentious issues is perhaps a sign of at least a little progress in thinking about race that has accrued over the years, and it’s enlightening to contrast this sort of whimsy with the deadly earnest attempts to explore ideas of both interracial relationships as well as mixed race status for individuals that showed up in a number of films in the mid 20th century. 1949’s Pinky famously detailed a light skinned black woman “passing” for white, offering a somewhat florid melodrama that also included an interracial romance angle. There’s something a bit similar going on in 1958’s Kings Go Forth, albeit couched in a supposed war drama that finds an American soldier falling for an expat woman who turns out to be half black.
Kings Go Forth is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Fans of deeper catalog items from the (in some cases former) major studios have come to expect a certain heirarchy in high definition quality, with Sony-Columbia usually taking the top spot and 20th Century Fox coming in neck and neck in many cases. That has left the former MGM catalog looking a bit lackluster at times, at least relatively speaking, but Kings Go Forth is really one of the nicer looking efforts we've seen from the studio, one with an impressively organic look that offers rich contrast, suitably deep blacks, and excellent detail. Elements are in very good condition, with only very minor instances of dirt and other speckling. Grain resolves naturally and there are no compression anomalies of any note. There are some very minor fluctuations in sharpness and clarity which are at least partly attributable to things like outdoor location photography versus studio bound interior sequences.
Kings Go Forth features a workmanlike DTS-HD Master Audio mono track which capably supports the film's dialogue, effects and Elmer Bernstein's excellent score (given a somewhat fuller treatment in the isolated score option included on the Blu-ray). There are some very minor issues with distortion and/or damage present, especially with regard to a couple of noisier set pieces, but generally speaking fidelity is excellent.
Kings Go Forth ends up being too turgid for its own good, never exploiting the World War II angle viscerally enough to work up any real tension, and also tending to keep the romantic triangle in a pretty melodramatic rut. Wood is as charming and emotional as usual, and Sinatra does fine in a pretty undemanding role (despite the supposedly shocking subtext). Curtis is the odd man out here (in more ways than one), never really connecting with a character who has to be a heel and a hero at various moments. Technical merits are generally excellent for those considering a purchase.
1979
Limited Edition to 3000
1979
80th Anniversary Edition
1942
2001
1927
Warner Archive Collection
1954
2001
1948
Warner Archive Collection
1936
1946
2008
1933
Fox Studio Classics
1947
1957
1942
Limited Edition to 3000
1957
1937
1947
Paramount Presents #22
1951
Special Edition
1978