The Bounty Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

The Bounty Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 9, 2019

You really can’t go wrong no matter which big screen version of “history” you decide to watch with regard to a certain fracas on a certain breadfruit laden ship back in the 18th century. 1935’s Mutiny on the Bounty has the undeniable star power of Clark Gable and (especially) Charles Laughton, 1962’s Mutiny on the Bounty has towering production values, including jaw dropping cinematography and one of Bronislau Kaper’s most epic scores, and 1984’s The Bounty has what is arguably the most “factual” account of what actually happened among the three.

For my thoughts on the film, please see our The Bounty Blu-ray review of the first Blu-ray release.

The Bounty Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Bounty is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber's Studio Classics imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.34:1. For all intents and purposes, I really saw no major differences between this presentation and the one I assessed in our previously published The Bounty Blu-ray review. A cursory comparison of screenshots between the two (as always I've tried to come close to duplicating at least some of the screenshots expressly to facilitate comparisons) shows the palette looking very similar (I'd say close to identical) and detail level differences are also indistinguishable (to my eyes, anyway). There may be a very slight difference in brightness, with the Kino Lorber looking just a tad darker, but it's very minimal difference in my estimation. The Kino Lorber compression may arguably not be quite as consistent, as there are occasional admittedly minor grain resolution issues that aren't quite as prevalent on the earlier release. This is probably another film from the MGM catalog that could benefit from a "new, improved" scan, but within the context of the sometimes spotty MGM catalog releases on Blu-ray, this is above average.

The Bounty Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with the video element, I'd personally be hard pressed to detail any major differences between the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio on this release and the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on the earlier release. As with the first Blu-ray outing, there's consistent immersion courtesy of a wealth of ambient environmental effects, and Vangelis' kind of oddly anachronistic score also reverberates with some authority. Dialogue is always rendered cleanly and clearly on this problem free track.

The Bounty Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This release omits the isolated score track, but repeats the commentary tracks and trailer from the first release. The back cover lists an image gallery, but I sure couldn't find one on the disc:

• Audio Commentaries:

  With Director Roger Donaldson, Producer Bernard Williams and Production Designer John Graysmark. This is an interesting commentary that focuses on technical aspects like the shoot and recreating the historical milieu of the era.

  
  

  With Historical Consultant Stephen Walters. This is a "must listen" for those with an abiding interest in the actual real life history of HMS Bounty and the fateful mutiny.



• Original Theatrical Trailer (480p; 2:08)


• Image Gallery

Trailers for other Kino Lorber releases are also included.

The Bounty Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One of the nice things about licensing deals is they typically have an end date, which means "limited editions" can suddenly be "un-limited" again, as is the case with this new Kino Lorber release of The Bounty. I personally didn't find any huge differences in the technical presentation between this version and the one I reviewed years ago, and while there's no isolated score track on this release, there's also no "limited edition" pricing. Recommended.