7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A straitlaced Soviet agent is seduced by Paris and a high-stepping film producer.
Starring: Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Janis Paige, Peter Lorre, George TobiasRomance | 100% |
Musical | 91% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Imagine the reaction today if a major studio announced that it was remaking Ninotchka as a
musical. The internet would erupt with derisive howls about Hollywood's creative bankruptcy.
The fact that many of the howlers might never have seen Ernst Lubitsch's 1939 classic wouldn't
lessen their fury. On contemporary movie forums, the inherent evil of remakes has achieved the
status of a categorical imperative.
Fortunately for musical fans, that wasn't the case in 1955, when a storied creative team including
playwright George S. Kaufmann and songwriter Cole Porter adapted Ninotchka into a successful
Broadway musical entitled Silk Stockings. Nor was it the case when legendary MGM producer
Arthur Freed chose to adapt Silk Stockings for the screen as the first venture of his newly formed
independent production company. The result reunited The Band Wagon co-stars Fred Astaire and
Cyd Charisse in a fluffy but elegantly staged production overseen by director Rouben
Mamoulian, in what would turn out to be the director's final film. (He was subsequently fired
from both Porgy and Bess and Cleopatra.)
Silk Stockings may not have the fizzy comic sparkle
of Lubitsch's original with Greta Garbo—few films do—but it retains its own charm, thanks in
no small part to the familiar chemistry between its two leads and the witty score by Porter, whom
Astaire persuaded to write two more songs for the film, despite the composer's longstanding
antipathy to revisiting old projects.
Director Rouben Moumalian famously hated the Cinemascope format, calling it "the worst shape
ever devised", but as Cole Porter's lyrics suggest, the wide frame was an essential element in the
studios' efforts to lure 1950s audiences away from their TV screens and back to the movies. Silk
Stockings' widescreen images were captured by Robert J. Bronner (Jailhouse Rock). Previous
video transfers for DVD and HD broadcast have been derived from an interpositive that the
Warner Archive Collection examined and found inadequate for Blu-ray. Accordingly, WAC
commissioned a fresh scan of the film's original camera negative, a demanding effort due to both
the age of the element and the fragile nature of Eastmancolor stock from that era. As per
Warner's current policy when dealing with an OCN, the negative was scanned at 4K.
Now, before anyone gets too excited about a 4K scan of the negative, there are inherent
limitations to the source that WAC has been unable to overcome. First of all, early anamorphic
lenses were notorious for softening the image, and that phenomenon is in full evidence on
WAC's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray of Silk Stockings. Even in closeups, the image is
disappointingly soft. Anyone expecting the kind of sharply detailed photography that appears in,
e.g., The Unsinkable
Molly Brown, which was shot seven years later, will be disappointed. But
the transfer of Silk Stockings labors under the additional burden that the film was shot on a
problematic Eastmancolor stock used from 1956 through (roughly) 1959 that suffers from a form of
deterioration called "yellow layer collapse". This degeneration adversely affects both color and
grain texture. Extensive digital color correction has (mostly) addressed the former on this
transfer, and indeed color is the Blu-ray's chief virtue. Janis Paige's assertive costumes shine
brightly, as befits her brassy character. The subtler hues of Cyd Charisse's wardrobe are equally
well represented, as are the many shades of blue that dominate Astaire's look. Black levels,
however, are somewhat erratic; tuxedos that are black in one shot turn blue in another.
The disc's weak point is the accentuated grain pattern caused by "yellow layer collapse", with the
coarseness of the grain amplifying the perception of softness and lack of detail. While WAC is to
be commended for resisting the temptation to apply digital sharpening and grain reduction in an
effort to compensate for the source's limitations, there is no getting around the fact that the Blu-ray's image is disappointingly bland. Without an
independent assessment of the negative, it is
impossible to say whether a superior image could be achieved. I have been told that the effects of
"yellow layer collapse" can be substantially rectified in the digital domain, but only at a cost that
would far exceed the budget typically afforded to WAC for its Blu-ray transfers.
A singular oddity occurs at approximately 1:10:05, where Cyd Charisse is exiting the elevator to
the hotel lobby. After several frames, all of the color values shift noticeably (compare
screenshots 30 and 31). I have been advised that this discontinuity results from a flawed and
faded optical, but I find it hard to excuse the colorist for leaving it uncorrected, given the
capabilities of modern digital tools.
WAC has mastered Silk Stockings at the company's usual target average bitrate of 35 Mbps, with
a capable encode. Unfortunately, the best encoding in the world can't compensate for the
limitations of the source. My video score attempts to balance the results achieved against the
challenges of the material. Silk Stockings doesn't look bad; it just doesn't look very good.
WAC's recent efforts have set such a high benchmark that anything subpar stands out noticeably.
Silk Stockings' original stereo soundtrack was remixed in 5.1 for DVD, and that same mix is presented here in lossless DTS-HD MA. As one might expect, given the source, stereo separation is strongly defined, spreading the instruments of the unseen orchestra across the front of the room. The rear channels have been used conservatively, e.g., to add a humorous echo to the title phrase in the song "Stereophonic Sound". Singing has the artificial character of pre-recorded performances dubbed into the mix, but this quality is inherent to the source. Fidelity is excellent, and dynamic range is good. Incidental scoring was provided by a Conrad Salinger (The Band Wagon), who, despite what IMDb claims, is prominently credited.
The extras have been ported over from Warner's 2003 DVD of Silk Stockings. The trailer and the
two shorts have been remastered in 1080p.
MGM would continue to produce musicals after Silk Stockings, but it and Funny Face (released the same year and also starring Astaire) are among the last to represent the Dream Machine's
classic style. The Blu-ray image is less than optimal, but the film will probably never look better.
Buyer's choice.
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Warner Archive Collection
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Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
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Warner Archive Collection
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