6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Nineteenth-century government agent Strock hires Prudent, a munitions maker and balloon enthusiast, to help investigate the source of a mysterious voice that emanated from Pennsylvania's Great Eyrie. With Prudent's daughter Dorothy and her fiancé Philip, the pair flies over the mountain, only to be shot down and taken captive by Robur. Using his colossal airship Albatross, Robur plans to end world warfare by decimating any country that refuses to lay down its arms.
Starring: Vincent Price, Charles Bronson, Henry Hull, David Frankham, Vito ScottiSci-Fi | Insignificant |
Adventure | 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 2.0
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Given their iconic status in both the Vincent Price and Roger Corman filmographies, it’s perhaps a little surprising to realize that the actor and
writer-director only made eight feature films together. While the two previous Scream Factory sets of Price material, The Vincent Price Collection and The Vincent Price Collection II, have
necessarily reached beyond that vaunted pairing to include other titles starring the legendary thespian, the dwindling supply of available
titles may mean this third “at bat” will be the last. While there is a Price-Corman collaboration on tap here, this set, like its
predecessors, reaches out into Price’s long relationship with American International Pictures (and others) to provide some charming if often
hammy
opportunities for Price.
For reviews of the many films released in the previous Price collections, please click on the following links:
The Vincent Price Collection Blu-ray
review
The Vincent Price Collection II Blu-ray
review
Master of the World is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. There's a kind of unquestioned acceptance among many videophiles that transfers based off of IPs (as this is advertised as being) or negatives will "necessarily" offer a better looking image than one based off a release print or other secondary source, and while that may be generally true, everything of course comes down to the condition of the source, and in this case, the IP was evidently not in very good shape. There are all sorts of damage issues at play here, including a lot of scratches, nicks, dirt and flecks, as well as two huge, looming black circles that occur early on which resemble "reel change" markers, except for the fact that they're uncommonly large and happen in quick succession. The image is often fairly rough looking, especially in wider shots where detail can be relatively negligible. On the plus side, while there is some evidence of fade, colors are reasonably robust, with blues being especially pleasing throughout the presentation. There's a slightly digital look to the proceedings at times, including what looks like some (relatively minor) sharpening, in what may have been an attempt to overcome inherent limitations of the source elements.
Master of the World features both a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track (our specs can be a little confusing, and so to minimize questions about what's presented on the disc, I included both stereo and mono options in the listing above to hopefully clarify things). The mono track is a bit brighter sounding to my ears, while the stereo track has a somewhat tamped down midrange that may actually sound less brittle to some, especially when Les Baxter's music plays. Both tracks have some minor but noticeable distortion in that same midrange, especially noticeable when there are loud sound effects. There's a bit of other age related damage as well, but nothing that rises to the degree seen in the video presentation. Both tracks have a somewhat narrow, boxy sound but offer all elements with decent fidelity and prioritization.
It's a little funny at times to see American International attempting a "prestige" picture, especially when it becomes obvious pretty early on that they're spectacularly ill equipped to do so in a convincing manner. Lackluster special effects and a somewhat static ambience (despite the exoticism of the setting) hobble this entry, but Price is a lot of fun as an Apocalyptic minister who just happens to pilot a blimp. While not a great film by any stretch, Master of the World is relatively engaging if taken on its own small scale merits. Video quality encounters some obstacles, as does the audio quality (to a lesser degree), but the supplemental package is quite engaging. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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