6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Physicist leads a small team of commandos into Norway during World War II to destroy a secret laboratory.
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Richard Harris (I), Ulla Jacobsson, Michael Redgrave, David WestonWar | 100% |
History | 45% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.36:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
There are several World War II films dedicated to stories centered on Allied commandos who infiltrate enemy territory in order to destroy a big, bad, they'll-win-the-war-with-this something-or-another. The Guns of Navarone is probably the most widely known of them all, but The Heroes of Telemark isn't far behind. Director Anthony Mann's (El Cid) 1965 picture was the last feature he would direct before his passing in 1967. As with so many pictures of its era, Telemark features an all-star cast which includes Richard Harris and Kirk Douglas. The film is based on a pair of novels: 1954's Skis Against the Atom by Knut Haukelid and 1962's But for These Men by John Drummond. The story had previously been made into a film, 1948's Kampen om tungtvannet.
For its Blu-ray release of The Heroes of Telemark, Sony has chosen to feature the film on a pressed MOD (Manufactured on Demand) disc. The image is not in immaculate condition, but it's also very watchable and generally pleasing within the constraints of an older title that has not received a through restoration. Picture imperfections include, primarily, splotches and speckling which carry through much of the film but do not appear in every scene. Additionally, edge haloing appears intermittently while smudges, vertical lines, and stray fibers make infrequent intrusions. Despite these drawbacks, the image is in fairly good shape otherwise, offering an organically filmic presentation that maintains a generally light grain structure that accentuates the image's best textural qualities, which include nicely defined facial features, detailed clothing (whether worn winter attire such as jackets and knitted gloves and sweaters or crisp Nazi military uniforms), snowy terrain, building façades, or close-ups that reveal fine object characteristics, such as seen on a wristwatch or weapons. Colors are favorable but not particularly noteworthy. Colors present with fair saturation and stability, including large screen-covering swaths of white snow. Clothing colors, a large fiery explosion at film's end, natural greens, and the like don't appear excessively faded or dull. Black levels are fair, only raised a bit here and there. This image is imperfect to be sure but fairly satisfying and very watchable on the whole.
The included two-channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack offers nothing of note beyond serviceably conveying the film's sonic needs. Most everything pushes towards a center-imaged position, which is good for dialogue, disappointing for music and effects, such as gusty blowing winds at the 28-30 minute mark that just sort of stagnantly hover in that center imaged area rather than, at the very least, spread along the front for a more immersive experience. Musical fidelity is fair at best, a little muddled and worse for age. The lack of wider spacing is a disappointment with the failure to more thoroughly engage the stage and support the movie's more dramatic and action scenes. The finale is as wide as it goes, with various sounds of chaos -- a shrieking alarm, screaming survivors of an explosion, falling and rolling cargo -- managing some much-needed spread. Action struggles to find depth. There's decent punch to canon fire and explosions in chapter 10 as the Nazis shell a town in a fairly long, intense, and frightening salvo. Gunfire finds modest pop and depth. The track's reserved, center-imaged nature is not a determent to the film; the audio presentation is simply not in the same league with more modern and refined soundtracks.
This Blu-ray release of The Heroes of Telemark contains no supplemental content. The main menu only has options for "Play Movie" and "Subtitles." No DVD or digital copies are included. This release does not ship with a slipcover.
The Heroes of Telemark is a perfectly serviceable picture within the larger World War II filmography. But it doesn't star, doesn't necessarily stand out beyond a few choice plusses like locations and several impressively executed scenes, including a chase scene partway through in which the heroes find themselves skiing away from the enemy, bullets hurtling towards them, with seemingly no escape in sight. The film is largely procedural in nature, though, in core plot mechanics and character details. Sony's featureless MOD Blu-ray delivers aged but very watchable 1080p video and an adequate two-channel lossless soundtrack. Worth a look.
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