6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
During World War One an English poacher, an American adventurer and the latter's attractive young daughter, set out to destroy a German battle-cruiser which is awaiting repairs in an inlet just off Zanzibar.
Starring: Lee Marvin, Roger Moore, Barbara Parkins, Ian Holm, Reinhard KolldehoffDrama | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Lee Marvin made the perhaps unfortunate decision to star in a musical, the oft-derided but actually quite enjoyable 1969 romp Paint Your Wagon, based on a by then quite old Lerner and Loewe (My Fair Lady, Camelot, Gigi) stage outing which Alan Jay Lerner rather radically retooled for its cinema incarnation. Marvin portrayed a drunken gold prospector named Ben Rumson, and he stumbled through the film alternately shouting and fighting with various folks, as well as stopping occasionally to “sing”. Rather surprisingly, Marvin’s rendition of “Wandrin’ Star” actually charted in the United Kingdom, which may or may not be more than ample payback for any market share inequities we suffered on this side of the pond due to The British Invasion. Marvin’s career of course took a huge left turn with Cat Ballou, but unfortunately that meant that more than once in his post-Ballou filmography he was called upon to portray inebriates who, yes, stumble and fight quite a bit. Shout at the Devil finds Marvin once again rather resolutely in this rut, but at least the film has absolutely no singing “moments” for Marvin. In fact, Marvin’s character of Flynn O’Flynn could almost be thought of as Ben Rumson: The Next Generation. Like Rumson, O’Flynn is a man on the make, out to plunder the environment for a quick buck, and downing copious amounts of hooch in the process. This time the source of riches is not gold but ivory (the film includes several disturbing shots— no pun intended—of elephants being killed, though there are disclaimers both before and after the film insisting that “not one animal was harmed in the making of this motion picture”). It’s pre-World War I time frame actually ends up making the bulk of this fairly long outing ultimately turn into a combined revenge fantasy combined with a kind of The African Queen-esque adventure to find and destroy a German battleship.
Shout at the Devil is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of (appropriately) Shout! Factory's imprint Timeless Media Group with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. This is a really nice looking transfer that nonetheless raises one question for me: the image is sharp and well detailed, and colors, while perhaps just slightly skewed toward the ruddy red side of things at times, are very robust, and yet there is only very minimal, extremely fine, grain in evidence. Could this have possibly been sourced from a negative? If not, the IP utilized was in extremely good condition, for even without an abundance of grain, the image here has none of the waxiness or smeared quality one usually associates with DNR. If DNR has been employed here, it's been done rather artfully, as fine detail remains quite good, especially in close-ups. The image is stable throughout this presentation, and while some midrange and wide shots look a bit on the fuzzy side, overall this transfer is nicely sharp and precise.
Shout at the Devil features lossless DTS-HD Master Audio Mono audio (presented via DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0) which presents the film's boisterous sound mix with a good deal of verve, albeit without much depth. Dialogue is very clean and easy to hear, and the film's score (by Maurice Jarre) is exuberant and distortion free. The action sequences, which include some explosions and lots of gunfire, give this film quite a bit of dynamic range.
Shout at the Devil is too long and takes too many detours in its early going, but ultimately it's a fun, rousing ride that offers Marvin yet another chance to play a lovable drunk and Moore the opportunity to engage in his patented brand of suave action. Parkins, who for whatever reason never seemed to be able to forge much of a big screen career, is really excellent, and quite moving, as Rosa. This little remembered minor gem should be enjoyed by anyone who, armed with a little patience to get through the film's cumbersome running time, likes films tinged with a bit of history (whether accurately presented or not) in exotic locales. Recommended.
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