The Emperor Jones Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

The Emperor Jones Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 23, 2025

Is it acceptable to question what the actual f Eugene O'Neill may have been thinking when he wrote The Emperor Jones? After all, O'Neill is one of the indisputable titans of American Arts and Letters, and in fact he had already won a Pulitzer Prize for a previous work by the time The Emperor Jones took Broadway by storm in 1920. The play is an absolute curiosity by any standard, and at least in my generation it tended to be assigned reading in "advanced" English courses in high school, where some of its now questionable language and bizarre plot mechanics were fodder for animated class discussions. There are historical antecedents for some of the underlying plot conceits of O'Neill's play, but they probably fade into the background simply due to how completely, well, gonzo O'Neill's approach to the subject matter was. That perhaps made a film adaptation a little iffy to begin with, and it's probably salient to note that it wasn't until 1933 that this version was released, albeit at least far enough into the sound era that O'Neill's piquant if slightly daffy dialogue could actually be heard. Probably unfortunately if just as probably understandably, the powers that be (and/or were) decided that marquee star Paul Robeson would need to sing in this version, and so the film, while certainly not a traditional "musical", does in fact have some sung elements.

The "simple" narrative underlying The Emperor Jones is a document of Brutus Jones (Paul Robeson) segueing from a kind of hometown hero to being a Pullman porter (then a rather luxe position for a black man) to a murderer, chain gang convict, escapee and eventual "ruler" of an island nation. It's completely bizarre even on its face value, but O'Neill also injects any number of socioeconomic, sociopolitical and what might even be termed internecine elements into his formulation, reworked in this screen version by DuBose Heyward, famously the author of the source tome that became Porgy and Bess (Heyward and his wife Dorothy are credited co-writers of the musical adaptation). The film opens up the proceedings considerably, and certainly makes use of the blandishments of the cinematic medium in the closing sequences in particular, where Jones' mental breakdown is accompanied by blue tinting. But this is almost unavoidably going to be a problematic film for some viewers, not just in its portrayal of an ultimately morally bankrupt black man, but for at least some intermittent stereotypical racial depictions and now politically incorrect language.

The Emperor Jones Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Emperor Jones is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Masters with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.36:1. This is part of Film Masters' new(ish) Archive Collection imprint, and it is the first such title I've received from this sublabel that is on an actual pressed (rather than burnt MOD) Blu-ray. That's some good news, but otherwise, this transfer shows some of the same anomalies that have afflicted previous home theater releases, all of which have had to deal with the historical fact that the film fell into public domain and has evidently never been curated especially well. This probably has at least somewhat improved contrast and marginally better detail (at least in close-ups) than the old Criterion DVD (the only previous disc version I've personally owned), but there are still the same observable moments of frame instability, nicks and scratches and the unavoidable jump cuts resulting from censoring. This version at least reintroduces the extremely evocative blue tinting for the final sequence, though that said, that color may in fact end up masking some detail levels. My score is 3.25.

The Emperor Jones Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Emperor Jones features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track which can't help but show the limitations of recording techniques of the time. That said, the track is reasonably full bodied, and Robeson's commanding voice (both speaking and singing) reverberates powerfully throughout. There's some background hiss evident as well as occasional pops and cracks. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Emperor Jones Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Tallest Tree in Our Forest (HD*; 1:24:10) is a nicely done documentary about Paul Robeson.


• Commentary with Karen Burroughs Hannsberry is accessible under the Setup Menu and is an absolutely first class listen. In my estimation the commentary is worth the price of admission alone for this disc. Conversational yet packed with info (like that the fact that the woman in screenshot 8 is a young and uncredited Moms Mabley), this is an outstanding commentary track.

Additionally the insert booklet contains a great essay by Karen Burroughs Hannsberry. Packaging features a slipcover.

The Emperor Jones Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

O'Neill was no stranger to structural innovations and certainly not shy about ripping various band-aids off of either perceived or actual wounds, but even given that understanding, The Emperor Jones is still one of the vaunted playwright's most unusual and potentially problematic pieces. There is probably marginal image improvement on this release when compared to previous home video releases, but for me the real standouts on this disc are the commentary and bonus documentary, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.