7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Foreign | 100% |
War | 38% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.36:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Libya is much in the news these days, what with the recent tragic attack which killed four Americans. Suddenly names like Tripoli and Benghazi are commonplace, even if many Americans frankly probably wouldn’t be able to locate Libya on a map if they were asked to. For decades Libya for most Westerners was probably little more than “that place Ghaddafi was the dictator”. But in World War II Libya was often front page news, especially in one of the early decisive battles for the port city of Tobruk in 1941, but on and off again throughout the duration of the conflict (something that was “immortalized” more or less in the fitfully entertaining 1967 Arthur Hiller film Tobruk). The German forces had routed North Africa and the battles to displace them were long, dangerous and often hampered by logistical difficulties that helped redefine some aspects of modern warfare. (My late father was a Battalion Commander under Patton and fought the North African campaign and frequently joked that he was still shaking sand out of his shoes decades later.) The Libyan desert may not have seen the massive battles that, say, Morocco did, but skirmishes abounded and one of them sets up the major plot device of the 1960 French film Taxi for Tobruk (Un Taxi pour Tobrouk). As the credits introduce us to the major players in the film, we get a little back story on all of them, but once the credits have finished, we segue forward almost a year to a German outpost in Libya where French commandoes are about to attack. They succeed in blowing up the installation, but in the resulting firefight they’re left without transportation, stranded literally in the middle of nowhere. The rest of the film becomes their “road trip” (without any real roads, needless to say) to get to a safe haven, with several unexpected twists and turns (and dunes) along the way.
Taxi for Tobruk is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.36:1. The fact that this is a slightly different aspect ratio only confirms my hunch that this is not the same transfer as the one reviewed by my colleague Dr. Svet Atanasov here. This is certainly one of the sharpest looking black and white features yet offered by Olive, one which has near impeccable contrast, making this film, which is awash in shades of white, bristle with great detail and clarity. The film has its share of opticals, especially with long shots coming in and out of fades, and those do show a rather large amount of added grain (as should be expected), but overall this is a remarkably clear and brilliant transfer. The film's close-ups offer abundant fine detail, and the few dark scenes (notably the opening battle sequence which takes place at night) feature excellent shadow detail.
Taxi for Tobruk features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track that shows its age but is relatively robust, all things considered. The opening battle sequence reveals a perhaps surprisingly full low frequency range, with some very forceful explosions that help create some sonic energy. The bulk of the rest of the film is then filled mostly with dialogue and the barren sounds of the desert, which frequently include wind whipping through the sands. There are some very minor synch problems a time or two which I assume have been with the film from its theatrical exhibition and are probably traceable to post-looping issues. Fidelity is fine, if not overwhelming, and while dynamic range is subdued simply due to the nature of the film, when something bombastic happens, it's rather well rendered on this lossless track.
Taxi for Tobruk has rather strangely been an underappreciated gem in the many decades since its release. It is certainly head and shoulders above a glut of other well meaning war films, and its rather brilliant handling of the interrelationships between these five characters is quite unique and at times incredibly forceful. Rarely has dialogue so expertly toed the line between humor and aggression, and there are several wonderful barbs that are thrown as the quintet moves through the endless Libyan desert. If you've never seen Taxi for Tobruk, you're in for a real treat. If you have seen it, you know what's in store but will still be delighted by this Blu-ray's excellent video quality and very good audio. Highly recommended.
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