Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Morocco Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 21, 2019

Josef von Sternberg's "Morocco" (1930) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the disc include new introduction by Nicholas von Sternberg; new audio commentary by critics Sam Deighan and Kat Ellinger; production stills; and more. The release also arrives with a 120-page book featuring new essay by Pamela Hutchinson, archival interviews and articles, an overview of contemporary critical responses, film credits and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The famous sequence in which Marlene Dietrich’s character kisses another woman who has been enjoying her performance with her partner in the smoky nightclub survived by a whisker. It was the 1930s and some very powerful people apparently thought that it was too risky for the big screen, so Dietrich did some extra work to save it. It is not the groundbreaking sequence that some critics have argued it is, but it has a purpose and without it the film unquestionably would have turned out differently.

The beautiful vaudeville singer Amy Jolly (Dietrich) arrives in exotic Morocco to try her luck in a nightclub that has become the favorite spot of the soldiers from the French Legion. On the night when she makes her first appearance in the club, Amy encounters the handsome legionnaire Tom Brown (Gary Cooper), and even though she immediately realizes that he is a womanizer becomes attracted to him. She then flirts with him and he promptly finds the way to her new home.

The singer also attracts the attention of the aging aristocrat Monsieur La Bessiere (Adolphe Menjou), who is a bachelor and has been dreaming of meeting a sophisticate European beauty to settle down with. So while Amy begins to fall in love with the handsome legionnaire, La Bessiere showers her with expensive gifts and eventually declares that he wishes to marry her. The marriage will provide Amy the financial security that so many women desire, La Bessiere bluntly explains, and together they can travel the world and everything that it has to offer. Soon after, the legionnaire gets in trouble with a captain whose wife he has been secretly seeing him, and after he is sent on a dangerous mission Amy marries La Bessiere. For a while she enjoys her new life of luxury, but when news reaches the town that the legionnaire’s unit was nearly wiped out in battle she decides to find out whether he was able to escape. While looking for her former lover, Amy realizes that can’t grow older with La Bessiere.

Morocco introduced Dietrich to American audiences and was her first Hollywood project with Josef von Sternberg. The film also earned the legendary actress her one and only Oscar nomination.

Dietrich already looks like a Hollywood star while trying to decide whether to follow her heart or choose financial security, but the story of her adventurous singer is quite predictable. It is why the little things that she does -- like the ‘spontaneous’ kiss in the club -- are so significant, as they essentially become the primary reason to see the film.

The film has a lovely exotic vibe as well, though von Sternberg and his crew never left the West Coast. Indeed, all of the Moroccan footage, including the desert battles, was shot on location in California and Arizona.

*This home video release of Morocco is sourced from a brand new 2K master that was struck from a 35mm safety fine-grain held by the UCLA Film & Television Archive.

Morocco Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.19:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Josef von Sternberg's Morocco arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

This release is sourced from the same 2K restoration that Criterion used to produce the North American release of the film. Needless to say, the exact same source limitations are retained. For example, the same clarity and depth inconsistencies emerge, plus in darker areas delineation again tends to struggle a bit. On the other hand, there is decent to good fluidity on display, and in many cases there are surprisingly nice ranges of nuances. I think that the restoration work that was done basically strengthens many of these nuances, while elsewhere it minimizes age-related issues without affecting the integrity of the image. In other words, it is a balancing act, and, given the existing source limitations, I think that the end result is very convincing. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Morocco Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The same limitations and fluctuations that I discussed in our review of the Criterion release of Morocco are present here as well. The audio can be quite 'thin' at times, with sporadic 'flat' spots in the upper frequencies as well. However, you should keep in mind that recording equipment that was used during the production of Morocco was in some ways quite primitive, so what may seem like an obvious issue is usually a native source limitation. There is one particular sequence early into the film where background hiss also makes its presence felt, but after going over it a couple of times my opinion is that the hiss also appears to be a byproduct of the recording audio. The dialog is stable and easy to follow.

Morocco Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Luc Radio Theatre: The Legionnaire and the Lady - presented here is a vintage radio adaptation of Morocco which was presented by Lux Radio Theatre on June 1, 1936. In English, not subtitled. (60 min).

• The Art of Josef von Sternberg - in this new program, Nicholas von Sternberg discusses his father's background, fascination with art and painting, as well as the management of light in his films. In English, not subtitled. (10 min).

• Introduction - in this new filmed introduction, Nicholas von Sternberg introduces Morocco and comments on the costumes and lighting in the film. In English, not subtitled. (10 min).

• Commentary - presented here is a new audio commentary by critics Sam Deighan and Kat Ellinger.

• Gallery - a collection of production stills.

• Booklet - limited edition exclusive 120-page book with a new essay by Pamela Hutchinson, archival interviews and articles, an overview of contemporary critical responses, film credits and more.

Morocco Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you compare the first films that various European actors made in Hollywood during its early days you will quickly realize that Marlene Dietrich's arrival was amongst the most impressive. Obviously, her previous working experience with Josef von Sternberg certainly helped, but Morocco makes it quite clear that she did not have to undergo a sizeable transformation to have the proper star appearance. So, the Oscar nomination that she earned for her American debut is anything but surprising. (On the other hand, the fact that Dietrich never won an Oscar Award even though she appeared in plenty of better films is quite shocking). This release of Morocco is sourced from the recent 2K restoration of the film that Criterion introduced in North America, but has a few different extras. It is included in this six-disc box set. RECOMMENDED.