One Million Years B.C. Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

One Million Years B.C. Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 22, 2017

Don Chaffey's "One Million Years B.C." (1966) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the disc inlcude original promotional materials for the film; new video interview with actress Martine Beswick; new video interview with Raquel Welch; and original Ray Harryhausen stills, storyboards, sketches, and artwork. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

StudioCanal's recent Blu-ray release of Don Chaffey's One Million Years B.C. contains only the longer International Version of the film. It is sourced from the same 4K restoration that was completed by Fox in the United States, where Kino Video release the film on Blu-ray. For a complete analysis of the film, please see our review of the U.S. release.

One Million Years B.C. Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Don Chaffey's One Million Years B.C. arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

The release contains the longer International Version of the film, which has been recently restored in 4K. My understanding is that the master was prepared by Fox, but this release does not have the shorter U.S. Version of the film which is inlcuded on the U.S. release (the UK and U.S. releases have the film framed in 1.67:1 and 1.85:1). Depth and clarity remain excellent throughout the entire film; the only minor density fluctuations that you are likely to spot occur before and during transitions. Density is excellent as well, and the larger your screen is, the easier it will be for you to spot and appreciate the many benefits that the high-quality scanning has delivered. One of these is the the outstanding grain retention and the manner in which it is resolved. Color are healthy. However, the color grading is the only area of the presentation where I believe that some of the choices that were made are actually problematic. The entire film favors a range of warm yellow/green nuances that routinely seem to overwhelm other primaries and nuances, with blue/blue nuances in particular frequently being impacted. You can see the type of inconsistencies if you compare screencaptures #1, 7 and 8. Elsewhere whites/white nuances are also impacted, though some tend to recover fairly well. Ultimately, I do not find the color grading to be as seriously disappointing as for example the color grading on Fox's recent 4K restoration of Boy on a Dolphin, but there are obvious issues that should have been avoided. My score is 3.75/5.00. (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).

One Million Years B.C. Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English: LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless audio is great. Clarity, depth, and balance are consistently excellent and there isn't even a whiff of the type of deteriorations that many of these films are plagued with. I would also like to mention that the music score now effortlessly enhances various segments from the film.

One Million Years B.C. Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Stills Gallery - a collection of original promotional materials for One Million Years B.C.. (poster/black-and-white stills/lobby cards).

• Stills/Storyboards/Artwork - a collection of original Ray Harryhausen stills, storyboards, sketches, and artwork. (5 min).

• Interview with Martine Beswick - in this brand new video interview, actress Martine Beswick recalls how she was cast for the role of Nupondi, and discusses the shooting of One Million Years B.C., her relationship with Raquel Welch as well the filming of the famous fight sequence, John Richardson's performance, etc. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Interview with Raquel Welch - in this brand new video interview, Raquel Welch recalls an interesting conversation with Darryl F. Zanuck's son, Dick, and how she was persuaded to play Loana, and discusses the costumes she had to wear during the filming of One Million Years B.C. on the Canary Islands, the special effects in the film, her relationship with Martine Beswick, and the film's instant success. In English, not subtitled. (13 min).

One Million Years B.C. Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I wanted to take a look at this recent release of One Million Years B.C. which has been restored in 4K, and to be honest I have mixed feelings about it. The 4K scan is excellent, but I find the color grading to be very inconsistent. Unlike the U.S. release which also has the shorter U.S. Version of the film, StudioCanal's release has only the longer International Version which is in fact superior. This release also has some exclusive bonus features.