7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A platoon of special ops are tasked to parachute into the remote Burmese jungle and destroy a strategic Japanese radar station, but getting out isn't as easy.
Starring: Errol Flynn, James Brown (II), William Prince, George Tobias, Henry HullWar | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Raoul Walsh's well-crafted WWII historical drama Objective, Burma! takes its inspiration from Merrill's Marauders (not to be confused with the 1962 film of the same name, coincidentally released by Warner Archive back in 2019), a special ops unit who, just one year prior to the film's release, ventured into Burma on a mission to stop Japanese forces who invaded the small country in 1942. The fictional task at hand in Objective, Burma! is the destruction of a camouflaged Japanese Army radar station whose purpose is to detect aircraft en route to China; once it's gone, Allied forces should be able to easily regain control. Led by rough and rugged Captain Nelson (Errol Flynn, naturally), his diverse 36-man team includes two South Asian guides, a Chinese Army Captain, and even a war correspondent who's hoping to bring the realism of war to hungry readers. (That, and plot exposition.) And while their destruction of said radar station turns out to be a little easier than expected, it's getting out of Burma that proves to be the real challenge.
Objective, Burma!'s main Achilles' heel is a rather big one, but hardly surprising given the film's release year: it's a hard-nosed propaganda piece that sports a staunch us vs. them mentality and undoubtedly led to plenty of young hopefuls signing up for active duty to fight. (A notorious "Kill 'em all!" sentiment by Henry Hull -- not to mention the coda, which likewise implies that "peace will never arrive until the Japanese are totally destroyed", is especially awful.) A week after its theatrical release, it was even banned in the UK after protests from British veterans groups who didn't appreciate its single-handed American heroics. But this is clearly still a effective piece of moviemaking with very solid fundamentals, a great cast, and plenty of memorable moments -- that climactic nighttime battle has suspense for days. And while it certainly isn't perfect and does run at least 20 minutes too long, Objective, Burma! has a lot going for it and remains a true genre highlight in a rather crowded decade for war-fueled entertainment.
Released on DVD twice during the last two decades, the third time's the charm for Objective, Burma!: this Blu-ray package from Warner
Archive Collection is every bit as good as their typically outstanding catalog titles, offering yet another top-tier 1080p transfer and lossless audio
that preserves the film's original one-channel mix. (Although the carryover bonus features are nothing special, they're at least interesting from a
historical perspective.) All things considered, it's a solid disc that die-hard fans will certainly enjoy and newcomers should check out too.
Keeping in line with their ever-growing collection of perfect and near-perfect scores, this brand-new 1080p transfer of Objective, Burma! is outstanding and represents a giant leap beyond previous Region 1/A home video editions, the last two being a 2003 "snapper case" DVD by Warner Bros. and a 2013 DVD by Warner Archive themselves. Gone are the persistent judder, dirt, and faded black levels of previous transfers, revealing a very rich and film-like image with plenty of grain, incredibly strong textures, and much-improved depth that greatly highlights James Wong Howe's excellent black-and-white cinematography. Even the opening and closing text looks razor-sharp. The only exceptions, of course, are a few early clips of stock footage (these return intermittently as the film unfolds) and the climactic nighttime battle, which was obviously shot under very low natural light but still comes through clearly at the right moments. (A few missing frames and jumpy cuts are also present, although it's difficult to tell if it's part of said stock footage or the film proper.) Since most, if not all, of these items are source material issues -- or deliberate stylistic choices, in some cases -- their shortcomings are completely understandable, and they still look much better in comparison to their earlier home video equivalents. At the risk of repeating myself, this is simply another home run that checks all the boxes for a top-tier catalog release: a careful restoration, no contrast boosting or heavy noise reduction, and great disc authoring, all of which adds up to another Blu-ray that will absolutely thrill purists of classic cinema.
There's less to say about the DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track, but only due to format limitations. Obviously more recent war films have spoiled us with bombastic soundscapes that use six or more channels to creative a fully enveloping, immersive atmosphere punctuating every gunshot and explosion. And while that obviously isn't the case with this rather modest one-channel mix, Objective, Burma! serves up a few sonic surprises that exceed the typically narrow sound field and thin dynamic range usually associated with older films. Dialogue and background details are quite well-defined and employ a decent amount of space in the front, while sporadic bursts of action -- none more so than the plane takeoff, battlefield chaos, and the buzzing atmosphere of dense jungle life -- are reasonably powerful without sounding tinny or shrill in the high end, although portions of Franz Waxman's original score do sound a bit strained in that respect. Dialogue is mostly clean and clear, save for a few dodgy moments that likely weren't smoothed over with ADR. Overall, though, it's a faithful and largely satisfying port of the original mix and that's good enough for me.
Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature, but sadly none of the extras. It's especially annoying since Warner Bros.' original DVD release, which the bonus features were sourced from, had them.
This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with statuesque one-sheet poster artwork and no inserts. The on-board features are limited to DVD-era carryovers but are still worth a once-over.
Raoul Walsh's Objective, Burma! is an obvious propaganda piece that's nonetheless well-acted, entertaining, and provided audiences at that time with a reasonably realistic depiction of life behind enemy lines. (It's also loosely based on similar events later seen in Warner Bros.' Merrill's Marauders, and a better piece of cinema too.) Beautifully shot and featuring a fine ensemble cast, this underrated war drama is still worth watching for die-hard fans and newcomers too. As usual, Warner Archive gives it top-tier A/V treatment, pairing a rock-solid 1080p transfer with lossless audio and a few carryover DVD extras. A solid package from top to bottom, Objective, Burma! comes firmly Recommended.
Warner Archive Collection
1962
1959
1970
1967
1968
1942
Unrated Director's Cut
2005
1966
1977
2002
1976
1954
1942
1952
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1969
The Great Spy Mission / Warner Archive Collection
1965
1958
1949
1968