7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
During the Alaska gold rush, a prospector sends his partner to Seattle to bring his fiancée but he returns with the hostess of the Henhouse dance hall.
Starring: John Wayne, Stewart Granger, Ernie Kovacs, Fabian, Capucine (I)Western | 100% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.36:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
French: DTS 5.1
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
German: DTS 5.1
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Japanese: DTS 5.1
English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
John Wayne is generally credited with having directed only one picture, the 1960 version of The Alamo, but according to several reports, Wayne also “lent a hand” in getting his other 1960 film, the raucous if unfocused and overlong North to Alaska, shot as well. North to Alaska had a rather troubled pre-production history, which in fact included Wayne’s involvement with The Alamo, which delayed production of this film for several months. Those delays may have at least contributed to a rather convoluted revolving door of producers, directors and co-stars, and by many accounts, there was no completed script ready when North to Alaska finally started shooting in mid 1960. The film has serious structure issues, and indeed often seems to have been cobbled together out of set pieces, with no real thought given to through line or that oft-lamented concept of character arc. What remains, therefore, is a haphazard but highly enjoyable farce that has its fair share of laughs, some nice scenery (including then “hot” French starlet Capucine), and a big, gaping void at the center of the film that may leave some viewers wondering what all the noisy fuss in the film is all about. In fact, this is a film that is virtually all MacGuffin (to purloin Alfred Hitchcock’s famous concept of a meaningless idea that sets the plot in motion) without any real substance. A lot of films take their good time getting to “happily ever after”, but North to Alaska seems positively fixated on taking as long as humanly possible, offering a veritable obstacle course of travails before John Wayne and Capucine can finally enjoy a quick clinch before the final credits roll.
North to Alaska is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.36:1. This CinemaScope feature has been sourced from elements which were either relatively pristine or have been restored to virtually damage free condition, for there are really no issues at all to be worried about in terms of age related wear and tear. While color is certainly acceptable here, it simply doesn't rise to the vivid levels that have graced other Fox films of this vintage. There's a definite tan-brown hue to a lot of the film, as can easily be seen in many of the screenshots. There are also minor density issues that cause minimal though noticeable fluctuation in color values throughout the presentation. These perhaps niggling problems aside, this transfer still boasts nice fine detail (even if Hathaway and his ace cinematographer Leon Shamroy tend to shy away from extreme close-ups) and there is certainly no sign of either aggressive denoising or digital sharpening.
North to Alaska's original theatrical four track stereo presentation is recreated rather vividly with the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0 track on this Blu-ray. The big hit theme song by Johnny Horton (who was killed in a car crash literally days before the film's release) sounds great. Fabian's somewhat lamer ballad doesn't fare quite so well from a musical perspective, but it sounds just fine. The big set pieces offer a nicely splayed soundfield that may not have the intense immersion that contemporary audiences are used to, but which offers decent ambience and occasional discrete directionality. Fidelity is fine throughout this track, offering dialogue, effects and score in a very well prioritized way and with no damage of any kind to report.
North to Alaska is often a lot of fun, but it's missing a certain spark that ignited some of Wayne's better comedically tinged outings. Part of this may simply be due to the uncertainty surrounding the film's gestational period, which evidently spilled over at least a bit into the actual shoot. But the film did huge box office in its day, and it still has a coterie of ardent fans, and those folks should certainly be thrilled by its presentation on Blu-ray. The film is marginal at best, but its technical merits are good, and even without decent supplements, for Duke fans at least it comes Recommended.
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