6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
An American Treasury agent teams up with a Scotland Yard inspector to track down a group of thieves that are creating artificial diamonds out of sugar.
Starring: Dennis O'Keefe, Margaret Sheridan, Philip Friend, Alan Wheatley (II), Francis de WolffSci-Fi | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.64:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Blu-ray 3D
Anaglyph 3D
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Dennis O'Keefe and Montgomery Tully's "The Diamond Wizard" (1954) arrives on 2D/3D Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new program with author and film historian Mike Ballew; restoration program; vintage trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Cracking the Treasury vault
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.64:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Diamond Wizard arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
The Diamond Wizard has been fully restored by 3-D Archive, LLC. This release offers 2D and 3D versions of the film. You get two 3D viewing options: 3D polarized and 3D anaglyphic (red/cyan). 3D glasses are included with the release.
I viewed the entire film with the 3D glasses and was very pleasantly surprised to see how good the red/cyan visuals were on my system. I have a pretty big screen and the perception of three-dimensional depth was frequently rather impressive. The best looking visuals were during the daylight outdoor and indoor footage. The nighttime footage varied but this is primarily because wider ranges of shadows are not handled as convincingly as well-lit footage. Also, for very obvious reasons, you will not see the type of 3D pops that are present on Treasure of the Four Crowns. In 2D, the visuals look very good, too. Grain exposure could be slightly better, plus there are some small surface blemishes here and there, but the visuals have a very pleasing and stable organic appearance. The grayscale is convincing, though there is some room for meaningful improvements in terms of saturation. Image stability is very good. All in all, given the nature of the surviving elements, I think that this release offers a very solid technical presentation of The Diamond Wizard. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The dialog is always clear and easy to follow. However, there are areas of the film where light hiss emerges in the background and easily makes its presence felt. While never distracting, in some areas it does affect clarity and the roundness of the sound. (This means that the audio could become a bit too thin). Dynamic intensity if pretty modest, but this is a limitation of the original soundtrack for the film. There are no audio dropouts to report.
My first viewing experience with The Diamond Wizard, the first and only Golden Age 3-D film to be shot in Great Britain, occurred a few nights ago and I have to admit that I was quite surprised by the quality of the 3-D material. Considering that The Diamond Wizard was a very early 3-D project and the technology was still evolving at the time, I think that its visuals are quite wonderful. I viewed The Diamond Wizard on a pretty big screen with the special glasses that are included with Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release and had a great time with it even though its story was quite predictable. So, if you are a 3-D enthusiast, you should plan to acquire The Diamond Wizard for your collection. If you do not reside in the United States, please keep in mind that this Blu-ray release is Region-A "locked". HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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