Secret of the Incas Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Secret of the Incas Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 6, 2023

Jerry Hopper's "Secret of the Incas" (1954) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only supplemental feature on the release is an exclusive new audio commentary by film historian Toby Roan. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

It is perfectly safe to admit that Steven Spielberg borrowed a lot from Jerry Hopper’s Secret of the Incas when he began working on Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Or was it George Lucas that did most of the borrowing? Well, it is actually irrelevant whether it was the former or the latter that did the bulk of the borrowing so long as it is acknowledged that Secret of the Incas provided a lot of ideas, concepts, and even particular events that were carefully incorporated into Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Spielberg and Lucas borrowed quite a bit from other films as well, but Secret of the Incas was their main source of visual inspiration.

Consider for instance Charlton Heston’s character, Harry Steele. He is an American opportunist making ends meet in Peru while dreaming of finding a legendary starburst worth millions of dollars. Steele has never taught archeology at a prestigious university, but he has done enough research and acquired credible evidence to conclude that the starburst is real and was forcefully removed from the Temple of the Sun where the Incas worshiped their gods. Steele wears a durable brown leather jacket and has an aged fedora to go along with it. He is a cynic but not the type that inspires his targets to detest him. When he speaks, he easily makes them appreciate the wit of his words. If he does not shave, Steele even looks like a distant relative of Indy.

How about actual thematic similarities? There are quite a few, but here’s a quick summation of the most obvious one. Soon after Steele agrees to help Elena Antonescu (Nicole Maurey), a Romanian beauty dreaming of illegally entering the United States, get rid of a communist bureaucrat from the Romanian embassy in Peru and exit the country, he ends up at the Temple of the Sun searching for the sunburst. At the right moment, a ray of light reveals to him the exact location where the sunburst is hidden. Do you recall the sequence where Indy discovers where the ark is? Of course, you do. Well, the sequence with Steele is the blueprint for it.

Then there is the tone of Secret of the Incas and the specific manner in which Hopper controls its period action. The tone is defined by Steele’s cynicism which is largely what keeps Secrets of the Incas looking fresh and its characters appear authentic. (For what it’s worth, J. Lee Thompson’s King Solomon's Mines, which is another film that has plenty in common with Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, looks incredibly dated precisely because there isn’t even a whiff of cynicism in it). The period action makes the Secret of the Incas attractive but remains realistic enough not to insult an adult viewer’s IQ. Also, most of Secret of the Incas was shot on location in Peru, so the grandiose presence of Machu Picchu and the surrounding areas has a tremendously positive effect on the action, too.

The most obvious and admittedly unavoidable flaw of Secret of the Incas is Yma Sumac’s act. It is something of a masterclass in singing proving that Sumac’s vocal range was quite simply extraordinary, but as it is staged and shot it is problematic. It feels out of sync and entirely artificial, like an odd promo piece for Sumac that had to be included because of a contractual requirement.

Ultimately, Secret of the Incas will always be sought and evaluated for its undeniable relationship to Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. This is a bit unfortunate because it is a film that would have been perfectly fine without it. Heston is really good in it, Maurey meets the expectations, and Hopper’s camera produces plenty of memorable visuals. It is not a masterpiece, but it delivers the thrills its creators expected from it.

Secret of the Incas Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Secret of the Incas arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a new 4K master that was prepared by Paramount Pictures. In case you are wondering, this is not the same master that Australian label Via Vision Entertainment worked with to produce this release in the summer of 2022. Unfortunately, the new 4K master is quite disappointing. Here's why:

Even though the film looks healthier now -- it has not been fully restored and there are still plenty of surface imperfections, such as nicks, blemishes, scratches, and even tiny cuts -- it is very awkwardly graded. As a result, not only it does not look as it should, but there are areas of it where various visuals have a problematic dynamic range. In other words, there are problematic color values and other visual anomalies. For example, the color grade essentially dials out ninety percent of the color blue, so instead of proper blue and blue nuances, there are very odd ranges of anemic yellows/light browns. In most areas, the effect is very distracting because it creates the impression that the entire film has been tinted yellow(ish). Delineation, clarity, and depth are impacted, and in quite a few areas, despite the color registration issues, the old master that was used for the Australian release produces more convincing visuals. You can see some of these issues in screencapture #3 where the dynamic range of the visual has been compromised. More examples can be seen in screencaptures #6, 10, and 21. Even the title of the film, which can be seen in screencapture #29, does not look right. (For what it's worth, very similar issues introduced by improper grading can be observed on the recent remasters of 48 Hrs. and Another 48 Hrs. On both, almost the exact same yellow tint dials out the color blue and destabilizes the dynamic range of the visuals, causing many of the same visuals to appear unnaturally flat, almost as if they have been filtered). There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Image stability is very good. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Secret of the Incas Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

In some areas, clarity and sharpness appear slightly better when compared to those of the lossless track that is included on the Australian release of Secret of the Incas. However, even though the audio is cleaner too, I could still detect light hiss trying to sneak in as well as some very minor unevenness. So, this track is superior, but it could benefit from additional restoration work.

Secret of the Incas Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by film historian Toby Roan. It is a predictably informative commentary from Mr. Roan, with plenty of terrific comments about the various locations where Jerry Hopper shot Secret of the Incas, Charlton Heston's performance and its influence on Indiana Jones, Paramount's publicity campaign for the film, Yma Sumac's act, etc. Wonderful commentary.

Secret of the Incas Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is a bit unfortunate that since the early 1980s every single discussion of Secret of the Incas has featured some words about its relationship to Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Of course, it is impossible not to link these films, but Secret of the Incas is now doomed to exist in the shadow of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Charlton Heston is really good as the cynical opportunist Harry Steele and I absolutely think that he was the original and complete cinematic model for Harrison Ford's legendary archeologist.

Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an exclusive new 4K master that was prepared at Paramount Pictures. Sadly, I have to report that this master is quite disappointing. I expected to see Secret of the Incas fully restored but it is not. On top of this, the master is very oddly graded. To be honest, I think that Australian label Via Vision Entertainment's recent release, which is sourced from an ancient master with different color registration issues, offers a much more satisfying presentation of Secret of the Incas.