Tap Roots Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Tap Roots Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 1, 2021

Director George Marshall's (How the West Was Won) Tap Roots plays like a watered down take on Gone with the Wind. The film follows a family's falling fortunes as war drums sound, not only portending disaster for the world around it but within the family's house, too, a house which might not be so strongly rooted as it was once believed to be. As tragedy befalls the house, the family's test of endurance will be its ability to merely survive both external pressures and internal disasters of its own making. The film may lack narrative novelty but it's an effective portrait of the ties that bind a family together but also the bonds which hinder its growth, both of which are put to the test through extreme trials and tribulations.

The famous Dabney family of Lebanon, Mississippi rules its own territory independent of any external influence. The family takes pride in its fierce independence and the power it wields in its sphere of influence. But the world around the family is on the brink of war. Talk of secession has the family rightly worried about how a changing external landscape might alter its own internal equilibrium. Dabney family patriarch Sam (Russell Simpson) urges the family not to take sides in hopes of maintaining family strength and unity in order to better withstand the external pressures that are sure to tear the world outside its borders apart.

When Sam passes away, the family’s fortunes appear to take a downward swing. Abraham Lincoln is elected president, all but ensuring that war is coming sooner rather than later. Morna Dabney (Susan Hayward), in love with Army officer Clay MacIvor (Whitfield Connor), finds herself torn between her family’s neutral position and his declaration of allegiance to the Confederate Army. Clay is eventually recruited to lead a siege against the neutral Dabney territory. When tragedy befalls Morna, leaving her paralyzed, Clay gains the affections of Moran’s sister Aven (Julie London). Meanwhile, local newspaperman Keith Alexander (Van Hefflin) allies himself with the Danbney family in order to gain Morna’s favor and, perhaps, her hand.

Tap Roots is not shy about twisting and turning and reversing fortunes and circumstances in what is a merry-go-round of romance and rebellion. It's a story that aims to find deep roots in character, history, and drama but plays with a crude superficiality that is perhaps a bit too big for its britches. Still, the film finds just enough main character and story intimacy even amidst its much larger, sprawling narrative. It would benefit from a wider berth and more attention given to some of its secondary characters which are vital to the plot yet somehow all but discarded later in the film, at least in terms of any meaningful, plot shaking maneuverings. It's not as satisfying as it might have been with a greater allowance for runtime, for breathing room, with a script more capable of building all of the pieces to full satisfaction, but as a simple snapshot of a family in crisis it's not a bad experience by any means. Performances lack excellence but are well capable of building essentials. Production design satisfies and the action scenes are suitable if not smaller in scope and scale than the film demands.

Tap Roots summarizes its title and purpose in the closing monologue, ironically, perhaps, given by family outsider Keith Alexander. The Dabney family’s roots run deeper than anything above ground. No tragedy or destruction at the surface level can destroy the root, he says. The family may have been torn apart by war, but war cannot tear down the essential structure. It will continue to grow, to flourish, to once again dominate the world in which it exists. It’s a simple idea stating the lasting power of blood and kinship and human determination to see through even the most trying of times, the most difficult of circumstances, and the seemingly hopeless prospects for tomorrow. But the roots will only grow stronger, deeper, more resilient and able to withstand anything that might lessen the superficial majesty but only reinforce the true strength that remains within.

Tap Roots Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Universal presents Tap Roots on Blu-ray with a 1080p transfer framed at the original 4x3 aspect ratio, placing vertical "black bars" on either side of the modern 1.78:1 display. The picture, touted as "digitally remastered and fully restored from high resolution 35mm original film elements," does indeed look rather nice. Grain is not so organic in presentation structure as to absolutely dazzle viewers but there's no mistaking the inherently pleasing and structurally steadfast film-quality appearance. There are certainly no signs of extreme digital foul play at work here, no obvious dumbing down of the image for the sake of "lessening" or "removing" grain. On the contrary, details are very pleasant at the core, capturing essential skin textures with impressive command and rendering clothes and complex interior furnishings with excellent clarity and textural faithfulness. Colors are fully robust and extraordinarily well saturated. Bright natural greens, popping red lipstick, and all variety of color output excellence is in evidence from start to finish. Even low light rainy scenes are complimented with solid black levels and quality color reproduction even in less-than-ideal lighting. Compression issues are not absent but are not not at all troubling. The print is in fine shape; the odd speckle and pop remain but, again, nothing to distract from what is, on the whole, a very satisfying Blu-ray image from Universal.

Tap Roots Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Tap Roots features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. There is a harshness and hard-edge to the opening music. It is certainly wanting for finer fidelity and clarity but it appears faithful to the original elements. This observation holds for music throughout the film and, indeed, in most every sound element the track has to offer. Even smaller sound elements, like ruffling petticoats, lack fluid audio grace and natural detail, sounding more crunchy and unkempt instead. The track's more intense audio elements are likewise not managed particularly well. There is but acceptable definition to rainfall and gunfire (mixed together at the 80-minute mark) and the battle scene to close the film, with large music and incessant gunfire, splashing water, and all sorts of chaos filtering through the stage, is likewise wanting for improved fidelity and accuracy. However, the track appears essentially true to the film's sound design, which of course is lacking the big budget polish that would be found in a movie of more recent vintage. Dialogue is at least clear and images well to the center stage area.

Tap Roots Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Tap Roots contains no supplemental content. There is no "top menu" screen. Pressing that remote button simply restarts the film from the beginning. The "pop up" menu screen only offers crude options for toggling the included English SDH subtitles on and off. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

Tap Roots Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tap Roots is an easily digestible yarn that may be unable to stand on its own outside the large shadow cast by Gone with the Wind, but it's a capably made and performed film with a message on strength even in trial and the lasting bonds of family even when it's all been but torn apart. The film is home to several good performances but the picture needs more opportunity to build on its characters and content than it is afforded here. Universal's featureless Blu-ray does delivers solid video and capable audio. Recommended.