Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Lifeboat Blu-ray Movie Review

US Debut of LIFEBOAT on BD

My colleague Dr. Svet Atanasov previously reviewed the UK-based Eureka Entertainment edition of Alfred Hitchcock's "Lifeboat" (1944). You can read his thoughts on the film here.

The sailing survivors stand up to the German aboard the lifeboat.

Lifeboat Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Lifeboat makes its American premiere on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber Studio Classics on this AVC-encoded BD-25. I first became familiar with Hitch's thirtieth feature in the interview book, Hitchcock/Truffaut, which was required reading for a dual undergraduate/graduate seminar I took titled "The Art of Hitchcock." I was disappointed that my professor did not screen or assign it for external viewing so I rented it myself on VHS and was impressed with its narrative economy amid a confined setting. A 1990 CBS/Fox LaserDisc was really the only other way to see the film until Fox finally released it on DVD in 2005. According to famed archivist and expert restorer Robert Harris, the original 35mm negative has perished. Some high-quality fine grain masters and 16mm prints remain in existence and these have served as a basis for the composite print used for the DVD and BD editions. Considering the movie's age and the source materials, the image on the DVD was solid but plagued by inferior contrast issues. Nitrate decomposition has affected the first and penultimate reels. It is also important to point out that contrast seemingly appears poor in the first reel because a ship explodes and a thick layer of smoke permeates the air for about ten minutes. When Lifeboat played in the US in early 1944, critics underlined aesthetic elements such as cinematographer Glen MacWilliams's aquarelle or watercolor style, the grey Atlantic area, the misty atmosphere, and the "smoking funnel" emitted from the blast.

Lifeboat has also been released on BD in Germany, Australia, and Italy. The compression on the DE Concorde Video transfer was okay, with video streams that average 21999 kbps. When juxtaposed next to the Eureka, the image looks darker with less grain intact. Kino presents Lifeboat in an aspect ratio of about 1.39:1. The picture is not horizontally stretched and shows more information along both sides compared to the Eureka and other video copies. Contrast is improved on both the Eureka and Kino. Check out the black levels following the first reel. Detail also improves as you can see the sweat on Walter Slezak's forehead in #19. Damage marks occur intermittently throughout the presentation but are most pronounced during the first thirteen minutes. You'll notice thin vertical tramlines in various numbers on Screenshot #s 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17. Also see the soiled stains on John Hodiak in #18. Overall, though, this is the best Lifeboat has looked on any format. My score is 4.25.

Lifeboat Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Kino chose to encode Lifeboat's monaural sound track with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track (1556 kbps, 16-bit). Eureka used the same lossless option but the mean bitrate is only 828 kbps (nearly identical to Concorde's English audio of 829 kbps). The audio master is in better shape than the composite print. There is a little audible hiss but no scratches or dropouts. Lifeboat is comprised of an American and European cast with a mixture of regional and ethnic accents so keep the remote handy to access the (white) optional English SDH. (The US Fox DVD had rather unattractive yellow English subtitles.) Walter Slezak's Willy speaks in German but Tallulah Bankhead's journalist character translates the dialogue in English. Hitchcock opted not to use an original music score, although Canada Lee plays the recorder on the lifeboat.

Kino has divided the movie into eight scene selections.

Lifeboat Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The CBS/Fox LD was a bare bones but Fox produced several new bonus materials for its inaugural DVD, a few of which have been retained here. Not carried over is a very nice stills gallery that consisted of five domains: "Advertising Lifeboat," "Newspaper Ads," "Newspaper Articles," "Display Accessories," and "Theater Promotions and Contests." Also missing that was only included on a couple of the European DVDs is a vintage TV interview (ca. 50 min.) with Hitch called "A Talk with Hitchcock." Furthermore, Kino apparently was unable to license from Eureka the wartime documentaries that Hitchcock made about the French Resistance: Bon voyage and Aventure malgache. I own the UK SteelBook of Lifeboat and that package (along with the Dual Format Edition) additionally contained a 36-page booklet featuring new and exclusive essays on all three films by critics Bill Krohn, Arthur Mas, and Martial Pisani.

• Audio Commentary by Film Professor Drew Casper - a feature-length track with USC Professor Casper that was originally recorded for the DVDs. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Tim Lucas - a fact and trivia-filled track with Lucas, who supplies a lot of nuggets about cast and crew. In English, not subtitled.

• The Making of Lifeboat (20:00, upscaled to 1080p) - a featurette about Lifeboat that includes interviews with Drew Casper, Patricia Hitchcock O'Connell, Mary Stone, and Robert DeMott. This is recycled from the Fox DVD. In English, not subtitled.

• Hitchcock/Truffaut — Icon interviews (11:53) - audio interviews (ca. 1962) with Hitchcock by François Truffaut about making Lifeboat and the wartime shorts. Helen Scott was present to translate Truffaut's queries into English (as well as translate Hitchcock's responses into French).

• NEW Blu-ray Disc Trailer (1:27, 1080p) - Kino produced this trailer to promote the BD release of Lifeboat.

• Promo Trailers - bonus trailers for other Kino catalog titles including Compulsion (1:01), 23 Paces to Baker Street (2:15), and Five Miles to Midnight (3:19).

Lifeboat Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One hopes that the Burbank-based firm Lowry Digital (where a digital intermediate of Lifeboat resides) eventually conducts a frame-by-frame restoration of the picture to eliminate as many print defects as possible. Until then, this Kino edition is the top package for video and sound presentations. It also acts as a complementary release to Eureka's in the UK. The US adds an informative commentary with Tim Lucas and ports over the feature-length Drew Casper audio essay that premiered on the 2005 DVD but was not acquired for inclusion on the Eureka disc. The US loses the two wartime docs and booklet. True fans of the film will want to own both. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.