Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Sullivan's Travels Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 7, 2015

Preston Sturges' "Sullivan's Travels" (1941) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; audio commentary by actor and filmmaker Terry Jones; video appreciation by writer and broadcaster Kevin Jackson; the documentary program "The Preston Sturges Stock Book"; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring new writing on the film by screwball comedy expert Peter Swaab, plus archive pieces by Geoff Brown and Preston Sturges, illustrated with original stills and poster designs. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"What do you know about garbage cans? When'd you eat your last meal out of one?"

After years of shooting comedies, influential Hollywood director John Sullivan (Joel McCrea, The Palm Beach Story, Foreign Correspondent) decides that it is time for him to make a serious film about poverty in America. But the two studio bosses that greenlight his projects are concerned – Sullivan was born rich and his success in Hollywood has made him even richer, so what does he know about poverty?

Determined to prove that he can direct serious films just as well as he does comedies, Sullivan dresses as a hobo and leaves Hollywood. In the real world, however, he is followed by a small group of studio officials and press agents who want to document every step of his fascinating journey. Realizing that the whole thing is a giant farce, not the type of illuminating experience he needs, Sullivan instructs his followers to meet him in Las Vegas in two weeks and continues his journey alone.

At a roadside diner, Sullivan meets a beautiful girl (Veronica Lake, I Married a Witch, The Blue Dahlia) who buys him breakfast and then confesses to him that she never made it in the world he left behind. Moved by her generosity and impressed by her beauty, Sullivan offers to help her get back home, but soon after he "borrows" a fancy car from a friend they end up in jail. Eventually, the fed up director reveals his true identity to the beautiful girl and she decides to join him. While exploring the real world, Sullivan and the beautiful girl fall madly in love.

Sullivan’s Travels is unquestionably Preston Sturges’ best film. It is witty, funny and poetic but also painfully honest in its dissection of America’s socio-political reality of the Great Depression era. It is also a very bold and personal film that makes it crystal clear how its creator felt about the system he was a part of.

The film is loaded with messages -- about the double standards that defined life in America, racism, and Hollywood’s obsession with profits -- but it does not overwhelm. On the contrary, it moves briskly and has a terrific sense of humor that effectively prevents one from overanalyzing the moral standards of its characters. A more serious attitude towards the rampant hypocrisy Sullivan and the girl constantly face surely would have made the film one big snooze-fest.

The script is pure gold. It is lean, witty and full of fantastic one-liners that give the film its identity. This type of brilliant writing is also the very reason why virtually all of Sturges’ films still feel remarkably fresh. (See the fantastic exchanges during the initial encounter between Sullivan and the girl in the empty diner).

The film’s visual style is equally impressive. Cinematographer John F. Seitz’s camera positioning is very precise while the framing frequently gives the film modern depth and elegance. (Pay close attention to the manner in which the camera follows Lake on the train and then compare it to the manner in which Raoul Coutard’s camera observes Jeanne Moreau after the race in Francois Truffaut’s Jules & Jim. There are more than a few rather striking similarities).

The energetic music score was composed by Oscar winning composer Leo Shuken (John Ford’s Stagecoach) and Charles Bradshaw (Sturges’ The Miracle of Morgan's Creek).

Sullivan's Travels Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.38:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"The HD master for Sullivan's Travels was created from a 35mm dupe negative by Universal Digital Services and delivered by Hollywood Classics. Additional picture and audio restoration work was carried out using a combination of software tools and techniques at Deluxe Digital - EMEA, London.

Film restoration supervisor: James White.
Film restoration for Deluxe Production: Mark Bonnici, Graham Jones, Tom Barrett, Clayton Baker.
Special Thanks: Peter Schade, NBC Universal."

The high-definition transfer has been struck from a pre-existing master and rather predictably there are some sporadic fluctuations. To be perfectly clear, there are portions of the film that look quite good, with image depth in particular being far superior when one compares the Blu-ray release with the R1 DVD release Criterion produced back in 2001 (see screencapture #2). However, it appears that Universal's master also had some built-in sharpening, and while it is easy to see that various adjustments were made to rebalance the image, light to moderate traces of the sharpening are still quite easy to see throughout the entire film (see screencaptures #13 and 15). When the most obvious traces emerge the film could look quite harsh, and halo effects are very easy to spot. Furthermore, minor scratches and some dirt are also retained. They never become overly distracting, but their presence is impossible to ignore when one views the film on a larger screen. There are also parts of the film where compression artifacts and in some cases light chroma-like effects pop up (see screencapture #7). There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Lastly, overall image stability is good. All in all, the Blu-ray release clearly represents a good upgrade in quality over the existing R1 DVD release, but it is also obvious that there is room for plenty of important improvements. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Sullivan's Travels Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Arrow Video have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The dialog is crisp and stable and the music well balanced. Some extremely light background hiss occasionally sneaks in, but it never becomes distracting. Dynamic intensity is limited, but this should not be surprising considering the age of the film. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in this review.

Sullivan's Travels Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Sullivan's Travels. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Commentary by Terry Jones - in this audio commentary, filmmaker/writer/producer and actor Terry Jones (Monty Python) discusses Preston Sturges' brilliant style (and specifically the witty dialog), the key conflicts in the film, the political overtones, etc. In English, not subtitled.

• Safeguarding Military Information - this semi-doclumentary short film was written by Preston Sturges and distributed by the War Activities Committee of the Motion Picture Industry. The film promotes the idea that military men must be on their guard at all times. It is presented courtesy of the Academy Film Archive. In English, not subtitled. (11 min).

• Kevin Jackson on Sullivan's Travels - in this video piece, writer and broadcaster Kevin Jackson analyzes Sullivan's Travels. In English, not subtitled. (22 min).

• Preston Sturges: The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer - this outstanding documentary film focuses on the life and legacy of Preston Sturges. It was written by Todd McCarthy and narrated by Fritz Weaver. In English, not subtitled. (76 min).

• The Preston Sturges Stock Company - this excellent documentary takes a closer look at the various actors Preston Sturges repeatedly used in his film. These actors eventually became known as The Preston Sturges Stock Company (George Anderson, Al Bridge, Georgia Caine, Chester Conklin, Jimmy Conlin, and William Demarest, amongst others). In English, not subtitled. (46 min).

• Booklet - illustrated booklet featuring new writing on the film by screwball comedy expert Peter Swaab, plus archive pieces by Geoff Brown and Preston Sturges, illustrated with original stills and poster designs.

• Cover - reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw.

Sullivan's Travels Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In my opinion, Sullivan's Travels is Preston Sturges' best film. It is witty, funny and poetic but also painfully honest in its dissection of America's socio-political reality of the Great Depression era. In many ways, the film's visual style also feels strikingly modern. I think that Sullivan's Travels must get the same type of treatment Sturges' The Palm Beach Story and Frank Capra's It Happened One Night received to look as good as it should, but Arrow Video's release does represent a strong upgrade in quality over previous releases of the film. RECOMMENDED.