Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

None But the Brave Blu-ray Movie Review

Ol' Blu Eyes.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III December 13, 2019

Frank Sinatra's first and only directorial effort, 1965's None But the Brave is remembered as the very first joint film production between America and Japan. This war drama attempts to flesh out both sides of a simmering conflict, granting near-equal screen time to members of each side while respecting their native tongues and traditions. Although its screenplay is not always effective at building tension, None But the Brave remains an interesting experiment based on subject matter alone. It was almost immediately followed by the much more graphic Beach Red and John Boorman's excellent Hell in the Pacific, both of which also examine Japanese-American tension on remote Pacific islands.

In this case, the Japanese got there first: specifically, soft-spoken Lt. Kuroki (Tatsuya Mihashi, who also narrates) and his platoon of 15 soldiers, who have no outside communication or visitors. All that changes when a Japanese-American dogfight leaves Capt. Dennis Bourke (Clint Walker) and his men marooned nearby. Both sides have similar members in their respective groups and the shared objective of getting the hell off the island, with the Japanese already almost finished with a makeshift boat. Naturally, the Americans set their sights on it, which ends up being the main source of fuel for this microcosmic conflict: though it's painfully obvious that working together is the smarter option, that's not going to happen right away. But a few glimmers of hope subdue the friction, like trading fresh-caught fish for cigarettes and the necessary amputation of a Japanese soldier's leg by ill-equipped American doctor Francis (Sinatra).

Oddly enough, the latter scenario -- a brutally effective scene in its own right, to be fair -- accidentally serves as an early climax to this 105-minute drama. It not only marks a major turning point in their conflict, but builds a strong amount of tension in short order. Unfortunately, None But the Brave doesn't capitalize on this momentum and mostly spins its wheels for the last 30 minutes, even resorting to a few ill-timed flashbacks to establish character backstories that, quite frankly, feel out of place and unnecessary. Aside from that, there are a few other roadblocks: the largely static camera shots aren't visually interesting (even though the Hawaiian landscapes are beautiful), many of the supporting characters are underwritten, and Tommy Sands' performance as 2nd Lt. Blair is just awful. Things got worse for the singer-turned-actor after the film's release, though: he divorced Sinatra's daughter Nancy a few months later, and neither of his former careers recovered. (He did move to Hawaii, so don't feel too bad for the guy.)

Despite these problems, None But the Brave still has its moments and, if nothing else, its dual-nation pedigree is admirable. The film really does make a strong attempt to complete its diplomatic objective, even presenting the title credits -- and Warner Bros.' logo, screenshot #14 -- in both languages, while all Japanese dialogue is subtitled. (The lone outlier is Lt. Kuroki, who narrates in somewhat broken English but is presented as a character fluent in both languages.) All told, it's a historically important but only somewhat effective production from start to finish, but I'd still encourage newcomers to give this one a shot. Die-hard fans, however, are the main target for Warner Archive's new Blu-ray, which offers a terrific A/V presentation that easily outpaces their parent company's 2008 DVD.

None But the Brave Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shot in Panavision on location in Hawaii, None But the Brave offers more than its fair share of lush, green landscapes. Although well-lit and nicely framed, the cinematography by Harold Lipstein is unusually static for a film of this type, with a majority of the visual interest coming from nature itself and not creative techniques. Regardless, WAC's new 1080p transfer offers a stable presentation of its source material, which is likely a recent 2K scan of the interpositive. Colors appear accurate with lots of greens and earth tones, while occasional primaries pop nicely with no obvious signs of bleeding or over-saturation. Film grain is somewhat subtle at times but still evident from start to finish; it's clear that no flagrant noise reduction has been added. Textures and overall image detail are very strong, although a handful of scenes exhibit a slight drop in quality -- this may very well be from climate-related issues during production, but I cannot be completely sure. Regardless, Warner Archive's Blu-ray largely offers a top-tier presentation and one that's much tighter than their parent company's 2008 DVD; for that alone, die-hard fans will find it worth picking up.

None But the Brave Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Although the DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track shows its age in spots, Warner Archive's Blu-ray at least offers a faithful representation of its one-channel source material. Nonetheless, there's not a great deal of depth here: the occasional action scenes (gunfire, explosions, fly-overs) can't help but sound a little cramped, but dialogue is prominent and that comes through cleanly. Likewise, the original score by John Williams -- yes, that John Williams -- doesn't offer a lot of dynamic range but sounds reasonably strong. No obvious signs of damage or sync issues were detected.

Optional English subtitles are included in two flavors: full English (SDH) for English and Japanese dialogue, as well as a second track for Japanese translation only. (The only forced subtitle translates a Japanese sign on the island.) Although formatted in ugly ALL CAPS, the player-generated subtitles are at least placed within the 2.35:1 frame.

None But the Brave Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

None But the Brave is packaged in a standard keepcase with poster-themed cover art that's not particularly attractive, but at least does a good job of conveying the film's dual perspectives.

• Theatrical Trailer (4:22) - This ridiculously long trailer -- longer than some behind-the-scenes featurettes -- is presented in cropped 1.78:1 format and looks to be in rough but watchable condition. Plenty of spoilers are here, but there's some interesting on-set footage and even a few introductory words from director/star Frank Sinatra. This one's also available on Warner Archive's official YouTube channel if you haven't seen it yet.

None But the Brave Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Although it was clearly supplanted by John Boorman's Hell in the Pacific just three years later, Frank Sinatra's lone directorial effort None But the Brave secures a place in cinematic history just for being the first joint film production between Japan and America. While this makes it sound more like a stepping stone than an actual landmark, it's still very much worth watching -- and owning, but moreso if you're an established fan. Warner Archive's Blu-ray offers a unsurprisingly solid A/V presentation, though its bonus features are extremely lean.