Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

Sangaree 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 12, 2018

Sangaree was the first 3-D production from Paramount and the first 3-D film to release in technicolor, a double milestone, of several of note, actually, for a picture that released in 1953 and is now, six-and-a-half decades later, another milestone release for the 3-D Film Archive. The company's restoration is as much a highlight of the Blu-ray release as is the movie itself, the latter of which is a fine tale of post-Reovultionary War romance and drama and the former of which is a delight in both flat 2-D and immersive 3-D Blu-ray. As with most of the Archive's releases, the website is home to a comprehensive essay, this one written by Hillary Hess, that surveys the movie proper, digs into its technical construction, and reveals the painstaking restoration work that has brought it back from the brink for this Blu-ray release. It's a lengthy but enlightening, entertaining, and rewarding read that extends one's appreciation for the film and the restoration far beyond the scope of this review, which is meant to highlight the restoration's credentials rather than spell them out in exacting detail.

The Revolutionary War may be over, but Dr. Carlos Morales (Fernando Lamas) is about to fight several of the greatest battles of his life. The great General Victory Darby (Lester Matthews) bequeaths his estate, Sangaree, to a reluctant Morales -- with his son Roy's (Tom Drake) full support -- who is tasked with freeing Sangaree's servants and slaves. Morales finds himself pitted against the general's angry daughter Nancy (Arlene Dahl) who would rather maintain the family's controlling interest in the estate. The two do share a mutual attraction, but matters are complicated when one of Carlos' old flames, Martha (Patricia Medina), who is Roy's wife, makes an appearance. But Carlos' troubles are only beginning, He finds himself the subject of a legal inquiry over the will, battles for a position as a medical officer, and finds himself mixed up in a conspiracy involving pirates and a dangerous plague.

The story is multifaceted, following Carlos reluctantly taking on a large responsibility for a dear friend only to land in trouble on several fronts: legal challenges, betrayal, plague, piracy...it’s a busy time for the heartthrob whose life is certainly never dull at any point throughout the film. Fernando Lamas, portraying the character as originally penned in the novel of the same name written by Frank G. Slaughter and published in 1948, tackles each challenge befitting a man of his confidence and stature. It's not an easy road; the tentacles of trouble wrap themselves tightly around him for the duration but Lamas proves more than capable of guiding his character through the various difficulties with an unwavering charisma and command on the screen. The film is beautifully produced, resplendently decorated and convincingly authentic. The story and performances certainly carry the film more than set dressing, but it's a positive complimentary component in making Sangaree an enjoyably complete film of love, betrayal, intrigue, and action.

Sangaree 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: the 2-D image was reviewed on an LG OLED65C7P while the 3-D content was reviewed on a Sony XBR65Z9D.

Sangaree's 3-D presentation proves a winner from the outset. The film's first lengthy sequence takes place inside a bedroom, where the general lays dying and requests that Morales take ownership of Sangaree. The entire set piece appears organically dimensional, with obvious shape to characters and objects like the bed or the semicircular chair in which Morales sits to eventually sign the documents. There's an appreciable sense of room and separation between characters and elements in the room, with the small writing desk, the object nearest to the camera in side shots, actually appearing shapely and proportionate to the rest of the room as the closest object to the viewer. As perspectives change to several different shots, various elements stick out, such as the sense of width about the bed and the placement of the bedposts relative to the camera and to one another. Such distinguishing environmental characteristics are with the movie for the duration. There's always a very natural, and impressively so, feel for space and separation, measurable length, and definable area between elements. For the purposes of this review, the 2-D version was watched in its entirety, followed by the 3-D on a different screen, and with the story fresh in the mind it was fun to largely set it aside in favor of exploring all of the favorable examples of dimensionality, down to even the space between Martha's thick curls or to get a lay of the land whether in relatively close quarters or more open locations, including ballrooms or courtrooms. Or, it's a joy to simply take note of the distinctive spacing between characters, even if they're practically rubbing elbows. The image largely leaves behind any gimmicky 3-D moments; a knife is thrown towards the screen at the 1:24:35 mark, which is really the only flinching moment in the movie.

While there aren't as many hugely impressive one-off moments of extreme pop-out or jaw-dropping depth as seen in the cream of the crop of the 3-D Film Archive releases (think Cease Fire or The Maze) there's plenty to enjoy here in what is a more relaxed and very agreeable overall image that serves the purpose of expanding the screen but rarely does anything to really draw one's full attention away from the story (unless one is watching with the intent of analyzing 3-D structure instead). But even with a few hardware-induced crosstalk interferences (as seen on the review Sony XBR65Z9D display) and taking into account the lessened intensity of pops and speckles (see below in the 2-D review), Sangaree delivers one of the most refined and resplendent 3-D presentations yet. The sense of exacting space and distance is hard to beat.

For those who wish to watch in 2-D, or cannot play back the 3-D presentation, Kino and 3-D Film Archive present the film with its righty eye OCN source, and the results are just as impressive as one would imagine. Colors are wonderful, bright and bold and a joy in practically every scene. Right from the outset, Carlos' light blue coat reveals impressive depth and saturation, as well as fine transitional nuance where light fading (on the garment, not the print) and small bits of dirt, notably up around the shoulders, give it an impressively realistic appearance. Martha's resplendently poofy pink dress seen upon her introductory sequence is a visual delight that's not only agreeably vibrant but sees her stand apart from the less dynamic attire around her and from the more neutral surrounding furnishings. Dahl's red hair dazzles and her blue eyes sparkle. The camera falls in love with her in every shot, and likewise finds favor with the shirtless Fernando Lamas, on whom viewers will note fine skin textures and strong muscular definition. In fact, textures are firm and complex in nearly every shot. Period clothes, made of fairly dense materials, reveal impressive complexities at even medium distance. Ornate furnishings, intricate facial features, and natural and manmade locales maintain excellent, often tactile definition throughout. The image is very filmic; grain is even and complimentary with only modest spikes in intensity.

The restoration work is beautiful, and it's a shame to nitpick, but there are a few notable imperfections, which are most apparent in 2-D. Slight title wobble, mild but somewhat steady speckling, a few instance of soft flicker, and a few scenes of less than precise coloring, most of which accompany fades and transitional shots, can be seen throughout. But in the grand scheme of things it's like complaining about a few microscopic flaws on an otherwise perfect diamond. 3-D film archive spent five months on the restoration project -- two more than average -- and it shows. All things considered, this is a gem, in 3-D for sure and the 2-D version is no slouch, either.

Sangaree 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The included DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack delivers the film's limited mono components well enough. Dynamic range is unsurprisingly minimal and spacing is tight with the presentation focused towards the center. Musical clarity is certainly not within today's standards of excellence, but even with a modestly crunchy and scrunched sound, the essentials are conveyed well enough. Core dialogue is suitably clear with a front-center push.

Sangaree 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Sangaree's Blu-ray 3-D release features a pair of trailers, a restoration demo in 3-D, and a vintage radio presentation of Sangaree.

• Sangaree 3-D Tagged Trailer (1080p, 2:42): An advertisement for the film in 3-D that plays in 2-D only.
• Sangaree 2-D Trailer (1080p, 2:18).
• Restoration Demo (in 3-D) (1080p, 5:36): A treasure trove of text-based film history that explores the process of bringing Sangaree to life in three dimensions, covering the film's impressive list of "firsts," including a test screening shown in 2-D only. The piece also looks at negative deterioration, including separated left-right parallel film images, and clips featuring stereoscopic (Greg Kintz) and color (Kintz and Jack Theakston) corrected and cleaned (Thad Komorowski) film. The supplement is accessible to both 3-D and 2-D viewers, though 2-D viewers will only see the left eye IP source. Needless to say, in both 2-D and 3-D, the restoration results are startling. The supplement shows both full-screen highlights that transition from original to restored as well as one scene in split screen. Though relatively short, the opportunity to view the original elements against the restored presentation is a joy; it's impossible not watch the supplement, and subsequently the movie, in awe.
• Lux Radio Theater Presentation of Sangaree (1080p, 55:52): A Hollywood Radio Theater broadcast of Sangaree, starring Arlene Dahl and Cesar Romero, playing the part Fernando Lamas mans in the feature film. Producer Irving Cummings introduces and sets the scene as the program begins. For the duration, an image appears on the screen with photos of Dahl and Romero as well as select text and a cartoon depiction of a crowd gathered outside of the Lux Radio Theater.

Sangaree 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sangaree is a film of many firsts, leaving several fingerprints on and footnotes in film history. The film proper is a fun little escape, resplendently set and costumed and well acted. The 3-D restoration is a joy and the included supplements, particularly the comparative piece between the original elements and restored image, as well as the Lux Radio Theater telling of the story, are treats. Very highly recommended.