8.2 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
When a store clerk organizes a contest to climb the outside of a tall building, circumstances force him to make the perilous climb himself.
Starring: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Bill Strother, Noah Young, Westcott ClarkeRomance | 100% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080/60i
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Music: LPCM 2.0
Music: LPCM Mono
None
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor's "Safety Last!" (1923) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an introduction to the film by Suzanne Lloyd; film critic Leonard Maltin and Harold Lloyd's archivist, director Richard Correll; three early short films; Kevin Brownlow and David Gill's documentary "Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius"; new video interview with composer and conductor Carl Davis; and more. The release also arrives with a 22-page illustrated booklet featuring Ed Park's essay "High-Flying Harold". With English intertitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Almost there...
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080i transfer, Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor's Safety Last! arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"The film is also presented at a variable frame rate of approximately 22 frames per second to conform to film historian and restorer Kevin Brownlow's presentation and the Carl Davis score that accompanies it. This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on a DTF Scanity film scanner from a 35mm nitrate print from Harold Lloyd's personal collection, made from the original negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices and warps were manually removed using MTI's DRS and Pixel Farm's PFClean, while Image Systems' Phoenix was used for small dirt, jitter, flicker, and grain management.
Transfer supervisor: Maria Palazzola.
Colorist: Sheri Eisenberg/Colorworks, Culver City, CA."
Please note that the screencaptures included with this review appear in the following order:
1. Screencaptures #1-19 are from Safety Last!
2. Screencaptures #21- 24 are from Take a Chance.
3. Screencaptures #25-28 are from Young Mr. Jazz.
4. Screencaptures #29-32 are from His Royal Slyness.
This 90-year old film looks simply terrific on Blu-ray. In fact, quite often the image depth is so impressive that one could easily argue that Safety Last! actually looks far better and healthier than a great number of '80s and '90s films that have already transitioned to Blu-ray. The panoramic shots from the second half, in particular, look quite extraordinary (see screencaptures #3, 5, and 18). On the other hand, during close-ups even very small objects are exceptionally easy to see. Furthermore, contrast and clarity remain stable. Color saturation is also very good - the blacks and grays never collapse while the whites are well balanced with them. No attempts have been made to digitally sharpen up the film. Problematic degraining corrections have not been performed either. Unsurprisingly, the film has a wonderful, very consistent organic look. Finally, the restorers have carefully removed many damage marks and debris with digital tools without affecting the integrity of the image. Some extremely small vertical lines remain (see screencapture #7), but they never become even remotely distracting during normal playback. Indeed, this is a very strong presentation of Safety Last!, which I am convinced will pleasantly surprise many of Harold Lloyd's fans.
Unlike Safety Last!, the three shorts - Take a Chance, Young Mr. Jazz, and His Royal Slyness - all come with 1080p transfers. All three films have been digitally restored. Once again, detail and image depth are very good, but some minor contrast fluctuations are also present. It is also clear that the elements used to produce the new high-definition transfers were not in terrific shape (see Young Mr. Jazz) as some wear around the edges, fading and frame skips have been inherited. However, it is very easy to see that the restorers have optimized the presentation as best as possible. Rather large portions of Take a Chance and His Royal Slyness, in particular, look quite wonderful (see screencapture #29).
(Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
Safety Last! can be viewed with two different scores. The first is Carl Davis' 1989 orchestral score (LPCM 2.0). The second is an alternate, improvised score by organist Gaylord Carter from 1969 (LPCM 1.0). The three short films included on this release arrive with Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks. Standard intertitles are included for each film.
Carl Davis' score sounds great - there is an excellent range of nuanced dynamics and depth and clarity are terrific. The sound is also consistently crisp. Gaylord Carter's score is a bit more subdued, lacking the oomph and clarity of Carl Davis' score. The overall range of nuanced dynamics is also quite limited, but this should not be surprising considering the fact that it is an improvised score recorded under completely different conditions.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks have plenty of depth. Also, clarity and dynamic intensity are surprisingly good.
No other silent film has managed to make me feel this uncomfortable - the stunts and visual effects in Safety Last! are simply extraordinary. Now that the film has been beautifully restored, some of the legendary sequences look even more impressive. Kudos to Criterion for producing this tremendous release, and let's hope that more of Harold Lloyd's films will soon be made available on Blu-ray. Buy with confidence, folks. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
1925
1928
1929
Spione
1928
1924
Ich möchte kein Mann sein
1918
1933
1941
1937
1942
1928
1923
1925
1934
Arrow Academy
1942
1928
1964
1925
En lektion i kärlek
1954
1935