Road to Bali Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

Road to Bali Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf July 5, 2017

Taking an extended break from collaboration after 1947’s “Road to Rio,” Bob Hope and Bing Crosby return to franchise duty with 1952’s “Road to Bali,” which marks a Technicolor debut for the series. Director Hal Walker takes the visual challenge seriously, working to pack in as many dazzling views as possible for the sixth installment of the comedy travelogue, giving his stars a brighter big screen playground to work with. “Road to Bali” also introduces a more manic approach to humor, with the production working in gags whenever they possibly can, turning what was once simple jesting into an occasionally bizarre farce that’s guided by well-rehearsed shenanigans from Hope and Crosby.

Bob Hope is Harold and Big Crosby is George in “Road to Bali,” portraying two serial womanizers hightailing it out of Australia, finding their way into deep-sea diving duties for an Indonesian prince, falling for Princess Lala (Dorothy Lamour) in the process. As with all the “Road” films, the story isn’t treasured, with “Road to Bali” more determined than ever to become a Looney Tunes-style production, dealing heavily with sight gags, fantasy encounters (including dancing women lured out of a basket), and extended audience participation, with Hope and Crosby often breaking the fourth wall to encourage popcorn breaks and comment on the action. It’s a wild effort, gradually doing away with structure to concentrate on timing, handled with complete professionalism by the two stars.

Road to Bali Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.33:1 aspect ratio) presentation offers the "Road" movies a new frontier with Technicolor, and hues are preserved during the viewing experience. While make-up and costuming are exaggerated a bit to play up the cartoon aspects of the production, it looks appealing, also delivering bright greenery and set decoration. Native costuming bursts with reds and golds. Detail handles well, inspecting fibrous outfits and character reactions, keeping comedy as clear as possible with period cinematography. HD sharpness also helps to identify the artificiality of the production, which uses extensive studio time, showcasing flat backgrounds. Delineation is satisfactory, though the feature rarely finds ways to challenge it. Source is clean.

Road to Bali Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Unlike "Road to Rio," "Road to Bali" sounds fresher, giving the 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix something to work with as it balances the needs of jesting and the power of music. Soundtrack selections are appealing, with loud vocals and decent instrumentation, creating the intended performance mood. Dialogue exchanges are clear and quick, preserving comedic timing and subtleties. Sound effects are relatively well balanced, but the climatic volcano blast pushes chaos to distortive extremes.

Road to Bali Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features film historians Michael Schlesinger and Mark Evanier.

• A Theatrical Trailer has not been included.

Road to Bali Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Road to Bali" offers surprises in the form of celebrity cameos, including Humphrey Bogart, who appears in footage from "The African Queen." And there's plenty of music to keep Crosby busy, keeping up his end of the franchise deal with a few solo numbers. But comedy is a focal point of "Road to Bali," and it's certainly funny, just a tad more crazed than its predecessors, working up a sweat to appear effortlessly wild.