7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Quasimodo, the mocked and vilified bellringer of Notre Dame, rescues the gypsy Esmeralda from hanging, sweeping all of Paris into a fight for justice.
Starring: Charles Laughton, Cedric Hardwicke, Thomas Mitchell (I), Maureen O'Hara, Edmond O'BrienRomance | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
German: Dolby Digital Mono
English SDH, French, German SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Victor Hugo's 1831 novel about the deformed bell-ringer who lives in the tower of Notre Dame Cathedral has been adapted for film and television over a dozen times, including the 1996 animated feature by Disney, but two versions remain iconic. The first is the 1923 silent classic starring Lon Chaney, the "man of a thousand faces". The second, and arguably more famous, is the remake released in 1939 by RKO Radio Pictures, which aspired to outdo Chaney's version in every respect, not just with sound but also with scale. To play the grotesque title character, whose name, Quasimodo, is familiar even to people who have never seen any of the films, Charles Laughton endured hours of daily makeup and wore layers of latex and other paraphernalia during one of the hottest summers then recorded to create an enduring image of unimaginable suffering. His efforts were rewarded with stellar reviews and equally impressive box office. With a budget of over $1.8 million—an enormous sum at the time—the 1939 Hunchback was one of the most expensive films from RKO to date. (Citizen Kane, released by the studio two years later, cost less than half as much.) The production recreated 15th Century Paris on RKO's ranch in the San Fernando Valley. Its simulation of the famous cathedral stood 190 feet tall, complete with gargoyles and stained glass windows. Hundreds of extras were recruited to populate the streets, and producer Pandro S. Berman, for whom Hunchback was a passion project, recruited director William Dieterle (The Life of Emile Zola), because of his renowned ability to sculpt crowds for the camera. At Charles Laughton's insistence, RKO borrowed British makeup expert Perc Westmore from Warner to oversee the hunchback makeup. Warner, which now owns the RKO library, is releasing The Hunchback of Notre Dame on Blu-ray both singly and as part of The Golden Year Collection—1939. While the negatives for many RKO films have been lost, Hunchback is one for which the original camera negative exists. Warner's MPI facility has performed a new scan, with stunning results.
Venerable cinematographer Joseph H. August shot The Hunchback of Notre Dame in the same year that he also shot Gunga Din for RKO. Warner's MPI facility has created a new transfer for this release, using the original nitrate camera negative. I have been advised that several portions of the negative had deteriorated past the point where restoration was possible, and for those sections of the film, a second-generation source (probably a fine-grain master positive) was used. However, specific scenes were not identified, and it certainly was not obvious in viewing that any particular scene or shot suffered a falloff in quality. The 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray is the jewel in the crown of the new titles issued by Warner for The Golden Year Collection— 1939. The detail of the lavish Paris re-creation is superb, as is that of the numerous crowd scenes, whether the mass of extras are seen in long shots from the top of the Notre Dame Cathedral tower or at closer range on the street or in the huge set that serves as the beggars' headquarters. The chaos of the scene in which the beggars storm the cathedral has never been more clearly reproduced, even with the effects, some of them created optically, required to show Quasimodo's repelling of the crowd. The elaborate Festival of Fools where Esmeralda dances and Quasimodo is "crowned" are stunning in their clarity, and the night scenes where Quasimodo chases Esmeralda through the streets of Paris feature deep blacks and precise shadows. Contrast and delineations of gray are excellent throughout. The grain pattern is fine, natural and film-like. Of the new 1939 titles, this is the only one that Warner has mastered on a BD-50, and the average bitrate of 32.90 Mbps reflects the availability of greater space, as well as the willingness to use it. This is the approach usually taken by the Warner Archive Collection, and one can only hope that it is a sign of things to come, because the results are excellent.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame's original mono soundtrack is encoded as lossless DTS-HD MA 1.0, and it's very good. The sounds of Paris street life, the printer's shop, the halls of justice, the beggars' convention, Quasimodo's hideous public whipping and, most important, the clang of his sonorous "friends", the bells in the tower, are effectively reproduced, even if the dynamic range doesn't have the breadth of a contemporary recording. Alfred Newman's classical score lends a kind of melodramatic dignity to the proceedings.
Warner released The Hunchback of Notre Dame on DVD in 1997 with a behind-the-scenes documentary, an interview with Maureen O'Hara and a trailer. The interview and trailer have been included on Blu-ray but not the documentary. Instead, there is a vintage Warner cartoon and an MGM short, both from 1939.
RKO issued The Hunchback of Notre Dame as a year-end holiday release but received complaints from patrons at Radio City Music Hall that it was a horror film, not a family picture. The reaction is understandable for the times, but by any standard, Hunchback does not belong in the horror genre. Quasimodo may be a sad and pitiful outcast like Frankenstein's monster, but he never poses any danger to anyone. The dangers come from other people, who cannot see past Quasimodo's distorted exterior to the childlike innocence within, as Esmeralda eventually does. Charles Laughton's ability to project that quality throughout every inch of his frame, even shrouded in specialty makeup appliances, is a triumph of screen acting and one of the many reasons why the 1939 Hunchback remains a classic. Highly recommended.
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