Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

The 12th Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson April 20, 2020

The extraordinary and miraculous journey of Norwegian saboteur Jan Baalsrud has been told cinematically before in Ni liv (Nine Lives, 1957), which was not only nominated for Best Foreign Language Film but later polled by Norwegian TV audiences as the greatest Norwegian movie ever made. Written and directed by journalist-turned filmmaker Arne Skouen, Nine Lives told a taut and fast-paced story of Baalsrud's arduous trek across the Arctic plains as he tries to dodge his Nazi pursuers and reach neutral Sweden. It was adapted by Skouen from David Armine Howarth's 1955 book, We Die Alone. Baalsrud personally supervised the production.

After several years of research into Baalsrud's story, authors Astrid Karlsen Scott and Tore Haug published their book Defiant Courage: Norway's Longest WWII Escape; a True Story in 2000. (It was later slightly re-titled and twice reissued in paperback as Defiant Courage: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance by Skyhorse Publishing.) Dutch filmmaker Harald Zwart also became interested and bought the film rights from the authors in 2004. Co-author Haug has written on social media that The 12th Man (2017) isn't a remake of Nine Lives and I'd agree. It's apparent to me that Zwart and screenwriter Petter Skavlan (who's credited as the pseudonymous Alex Boe) studied Nine Lives closely as the narrative trajectory of Baalsrud's trek is similar across both films.

Do these two really know who the other is?

In Norway during the spring of 1943, Jan Baalsrud (Thomas Gullestad) and eleven other saboteurs sent from the Shetland Islands (where they were trained as commandos) embark on the mission, Operation Martin Red, which is designed to detonate a German airbase and secure fortification for Festung Norwegen (Fortress Norway). Unfortunately for Baalsrud and his comrades, an informant has infiltrated them and reported back to the Germans. The oppositions exchange heavy machine-gun fire but the Norwegians are outgunned. Several are killed and others are captured. Baalsrud manages to escape but as he advances into the forest, part of his left toe is shot off, giving him gangrene. His only recourse to shield himself is to jump into an icy fjord that is at subzero temperature. Most of the Germans predict that he'll freeze to death but not Gestapo Commander Kurt Stage (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), who even goes into the fjord and times himself with a pocket watch to see how long he can stay in. (He forces captives to do the same.) Somehow, Baalsrud stays alive but he must move quickly and seek temporary refuge where those are who are willing to shelter him. The benevolent Gronvolls, particularly siblings Gudrun (Marie Blokhus) and Marius (Mads Sjogard Pettersen), give him several safe heavens including a makeshift snow fort high up in the plains! Will Baalsrud advance past the Swedish border before Stage and the Nazis catches up to him?

The 12th Man is kind of an expanded version of Nine Lives except that it was photographed in color and CinemaScope. Nine Lives is terrific in its own right and the more accessible of the two due to its brisk pace, tight editing, and experimental effects. Skouen's film employs some very long superimpositions, optical effects, and something resembling a fisheye lens that make it seem fresh when watching it today. Zwart's film is more conventional but no less gripping or suspenseful. Thomas Gullestad delivers an awe-inspiring performance and the audience watches him battle hypothermia and countless other ailments as he desperately tries to win his "freedom." Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who also executive-produced The 12th Man, is the cold-stoned officer with a scar running down his cheek. He's never lost a fugitive and Baalsrud becomes his personal obsession. The 12th Man is unrelentingly grim and unsparing in every detail but also a captivating and breathtaking experience of a survivor's most daunting adventures.

The 12th Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The 12th Man has been released on Blu-ray in the Scandinavian countries, Germany, and most recently in France. In conjunction with IFC Midnight, Shout! Factory has put out Zwart's ninth feature on a BD-50 using the MPEG-4 AVC encode. (My screener came with a slipcover.) The picture appears in its original theatrical aspect ratio of about 2.40:1. The image is free of compressional artifacts and source defects. Colors are muted and drained. Cinematographer Geir Hartly Andreassen uses little artificial light and we sometimes get to see bright winter light cascade through windows (see Screenshot #s 8 and 20). Cold and pallid tones dominate the palette. Andreassen often employs semi-sharp focus for one half of the frame and softer, shallow focus for the other half. The viewer should note his artful use of the rack focus where one area becomes blurry and the other sharper. The total bitrate for the full disc reaches 43.38 Mbps.

In a nice departure from their normal twelve scene selections, Shout! has provided twenty to accompany the 135-minute feature.

The 12th Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shout! supplies a total of four lossless audio tracks: the original Norwegian/German 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio Surround (24-bit), a downsampled Norwegian/German 2.0 DTS HD Master Audio Stereo (24-bit), as well as a dubbed English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio (24-bit) and a downconverted English DTS HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo (24-bit). I listened to the uncompressed 5.1 mixes. All tracks feature some English in the opening reel but the picture is mostly spoken in Norwegian and Swedish dialect. I listened to the dubbed track in full and while not a poor dub, it's only mediocre in terms of sounding authentic. I prefer the original uncompressed mix which makes active use of the surround channels when bullets are spewing from machine guns and Christophe Beck's orchestral score is amplified during the most thrilling moments.

The New York Film Critics Circle were shown a DI print of The 12th Man with yellow subtitles but Shout!'s disc has white subs that are optional. See frame grabs numbered 19 and 20. (The UK DVD from Signature Entertainment has compulsory subtitles that can't be switched off.)

The 12th Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Original Trailer (1:52, 1080p) - Shout!'s official trailer of The 12th Man presented in anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen with the original dialogue and subtitled in English.

A couple of bonus trailers precede the menu but can't be clicked or accessed individually there.

The 12th Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The 12th Man is a stunning adventure epic and tribute to the indomitable spirit and courage of Jan Baalsrud. I'd very much like to see its predecessor, Nine Lives (1957), given a full restoration by Criterion, Eureka, or Arrow. (The Nordisk Film R2 PAL DVD, which comes with optional English subtitles, has decent resolution and sharpness when upscaled but a panoply of age-related artifacts scattered sporadically throughout the transfer.) I'd also like to see the UK documentary miniseries, The Man with Nine Lives: The Baalsrud Story (2014), reach high-def. Shout! Factory delivers a rock-solid transfer and four audio options but extras are zilch except the trailer. STRONGLY RECOMMENDED and a MUST OWN for Jonathan Rhys Meyers fans, too!