Reap the Wild Wind Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.5

Reap the Wild Wind Blu-ray Movie Review

A mediocre adventure film that fails to muster much enthusiasm

Reap the Wild Wind is an adventure which occurs around the high sea and the turbulent winds which place sailors and captains in great danger. The film is produced by its director Cecil B. DeMille with associate producer William H. Pine (Seven Were Saved, Captain China). The story was inspired by a Saturday evening post story which was written by Thelma Strabel. Featuring a cast that includes the legendary Hollywood icon John Wayne (in one of his non-western role) and the gorgeous Paulette Goddard, the film mixes drama with adventure.

Loxi Claiborne (Paulette Goddard) is a beautiful and energetic young woman who spends her time working in a ship salvaging business that is altogether booming. When a torrential downpour at the high sea damages a ship and leaves Captain Jack Stuart (John Wayne) recuperating from the “wild wind” it appears as though Loxi starts to fall head-over-heels for the charming Cap' from the sea.

Things heat up considerably when Loxi starts to form a love-triangle (somewhat accidentally) with Stephen Tolliver (Ray Milland), who runs the ship business that Jack is involved in. As the storyline progresses, the turbulent events which led to the shipwreck at the beginning of the film lead Captain Jack Stuart to the defendant's stand in a court battle concerning his skills as a leader at sea.

There are some effective and appreciable production qualities which enhance the filmmaking on many levels. There's the effective music score which was composed by Victor Young (The Quiet Man, The Light of Western Stars) and the lush cinematography by Victor Milner (The Love Parade, Cleopatra) and William V. Skall (Rope, Joan of Arc). The film's technicolor visuals are often impressive and the production design efforts are detailed throughout. The visual aesthetic simply works.

If only the filmmaking was as beautiful...

The film also utilized a wide range of beautiful costume designs by Natalie Visart (Meet John Doe, The Story of Dr. Wassell) which showcase the many actresses in the film dressed in beautiful gowns: from the texture of the fabric to the beautiful colors on display, these costume designs are first-rate through-and-through. If there was one aspect of the filmmaking that truly seemed remarkable it was these high quality designs. A quality effort.

Unfortunately, Reap the Wild Wind is more than just its production aesthetics. The editing by Anne Bauchens (North West Mounted Police, The Greatest Show on Earth) leaves a lot to be desired. It absolutely runs far longer than it should (with a middle that drags) and it takes too long for the conclusion and it's action-adventure setting to be reached.

The screenplay written by Alan Le May (The Searchers, The Sundowners), Charles Bennett (Foreign Correspondent, The 39 Steps) , and Jesse Lasky Jr. (Rescue 8, Steel Against the Sky) is a prime example of what its like to have too many cooks in one kitchen. The film shambles around with terrible writing and cookie-cutter characters that don't leave a lasting impression. There is never a moment where the film felt cohesive with regards to structure or plot.

Cecil B. DeMille (The Ten Commandments, The Greatest Show on Earth) directs the film with as much enthusiasm as possible but the mundane story never lifts off the ground. The film drags on far longer than it should. If the poster art promised high adventure and sea-monsters, audiences barely get to experience it: those moments are brief and far between. An uneven and dull disappointment.

Reap the Wild Wind Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Reap the Wild Wind arrives on Blu-ray for the first time in North America from distributor Kino Lorber with a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition presentation in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37:1 full frame. The transfer features pillar-boxed opening credits but the main film does not feature black bars at the top and bottom of the image. The presentation of the film is a bit of a mixed bag.

Color reproduction on this film scan seems to be quite excellent for the most part and the encode showcases the technicolor photography well. The image appears naturally filmic with grain intact. On the downside, this appears to be an older scan of the film and it has less restorative work done to the presentation. The transfer frequently has particles of dust and thin scratches which appear on the print and are a minor distraction from the viewing experience. One can't help but wish this had a more impressive restoration.

Reap the Wild Wind Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The audio on this release is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio mono. The soundtrack is reasonably impressive with excellent clarity throughout the presentation. Despite the age of the source material, fidelity is reasonable considering the limitations. Dialogue reproduction is exceptional. The music score can sound a little thin and less pronounced than desired but is never scratchy or distracting with hiss, pops, and other detrimental audio defects. A reasonable sound presentation which benefits from the lossless mix. Optional English subtitles are provided.

Reap the Wild Wind Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Animated Image Gallery (16:25) presents high-resolution still photographs which are assembled from the production and which display behind-the-scenes materials, actor/actress portfolios, marketing materials, and much more. These are largely black and white stills (with the exception being poster artwork). Each photograph included in the gallery was scanned with impressive clarity and detail. The images included in the gallery look superb and give a great glimpse at the production of the film.

Unfortunately, there are some downsides to the image gallery as it lacks a chapter skip option (as is found on many image collections included on disc). Without the chapter skip option viewers have to either watch the photographs unfold at the pace designated by the encoded-video or fast-forward through to go at one's desired pace. There is also no music accompanying the photographs which makes the experience far less enticing.

Reap the Wild Wind Trailer (SD, 2:17)

Trailers promoting other Kino Lorber releases: The Spoilers (SD, 1:48), Pittsburgh (SD, 2:05), Legend of the Lost (SD, 3:43), Brannigan (HD, 2:23), Panic in Year Zero (SD, 2:24), The Premature Burial (SD, 2:32), X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes (HD, 2:20)

Reap the Wild Wind Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Reap the Wild Wind is a ho-hum adventure of the high seas which greatly misses the mark. The filmmaking flounders around without aim or purpose and regularly diverts into territories that are a downright bore. B-Movie fans looking for some giant squid action won't find any until the last 10 minutes. While the film has plenty of beautiful actresses, a cute dog, and occasionally interesting moments, the end result feels like a chore. An easy pass.