7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Humphrey van Weyden, a writer, and fugitives Ruth Webster and George Leach have been given refuge aboard the sealer "Ghost," captained by the cruel Wolf Larsen. The crew mutinies against Larsen's many crimes, and though van Weyden, Ruth, and George try to escape Larsen's clutches, they find themselves drawn inexorably back to him as the "Ghost" sails toward disaster.
Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, John Garfield, Alexander Knox, Gene LockhartDrama | Insignificant |
Adventure | 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 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Jack London published The Sea-Wolf in 1904, and it has proven to be one of the author's most
popular novels for filmed adaptations. The book's Wikipedia page lists twelve (12!)
versions for movies and television, in multiple countries and languages. I haven't seen them all, but I doubt
anyone has surpassed the layered complexity of the title character's portrayal by Edward G.
Robinson in Warner's 1941 film of the same name (but without the hyphen).
The Sea Wolf represented an attempt by Warner to capitalize on the success of the previous
year's Errol Flynn vehicle, The Sea Hawk, which was also directed
by the reliable Michael Curtiz, though the later film was anything but a swashbuckling adventure. Indeed, the screenplay by
Robert Rossen (future writer/director of The Hustler)
jettisoned entire sections of the novel's plot, the better to focus on Wolf Larsen, the tyrannical ship captain whom Rossen saw as a
variation of the fascist dictators then subjugating the European continent. The Sea Wolf has some
effective action set pieces and was nominated for an Oscar for its visual effects, but audiences
expecting a thrill ride were disappointed (though the film was a box office success).
The effects technology may have dated, but Robinson's memorable portrayal has not, and over
time it has emerged as the film's defining quality. Unfortunately, fans have had to make do with
a truncated version, after Jack Warner had the film cut down by some fourteen minutes for its
1947 re-release, which was a common practice in that era. In another common practice, the
negative of the cut scenes was not preserved, and until recently it was believed that the only
complete version of the The Sea Wolf was a 16mm print originally owned by co-star John Garfield.
However, in one of those serendipitous discoveries that encourages lovers of classic cinema
never to lose hope, a 35mm element of the film's full-length version recently emerged from the nitrate archives of
the Museum of Modern Art. That element is the source for a superb new Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.
The Sea Wolf was shot by Sol Polito, who had also teamed with director Curtiz on The Sea Hawk
and who would be Oscar-nominated for his work the same year on Sergeant
York. Polito's work on this film has rarely been seen in its entirety since 1947, when The Sea Wolf was cut by
fourteen minutes for re-release, and the deleted portions of the negative were destroyed. Warner
Brothers has spent years searching for an element of sufficient quality to restore the film to its
full 100-minute length, but for a long time it was believed that the only surviving copy of the
complete film was a 16mm print donated to New York University by the family of John Garfield.
Experiments with combining 16mm and 35mm footage were attempted, with results that did not
meet the high standards set by the Warner Archive Collection.
But one day, WAC noticed that it had two separate entries for The Sea Wolf in the nitrate storage facility for New York's Museum of
Modern Art, and one of the listings did not include a running time. When this second element was retrieved and inspected, it turned out to be a
fine-grain master positive made in 1941 before the film was cut for re-release. Warner's Motion Picture Imaging facility
proceeded to scan MOMA's fine-grain, and as per current Warner policy when dealing with the
best surviving source, the scan was performed at 4K. MPI then undertook extensive color
correction, followed by WAC's customary cleaning to remove dirt, scratches and age-related
deterioration. The resulting 4K master has been used both to create this new Blu-ray and to
generate preservation elements on high-grade contemporary stock, so that the complete Sea Wolf
can now be safely lodged in Warner's library.
WAC's 1080p, AVC-encoded disc is yet another worthy addition to its growing collection of
black-and-white classics on Blu-ray. The solid blacks and precise delineation of grays showcase
Polito's noir-ish lighting, which helps make the Ghost a self-contained, otherworldly
environment worthy of its name (and also helps sell the illusion that it's far away on the high
seas, instead of floating in a tank in Hollywood). Sharpness and detail are perhaps somewhat
less than might be derived from an original camera negative, but they are nevertheless
impressive, especially given the copious fog that hangs over much of the film, even in its early
San Francisco scenes. Opticals reflect the softening typical of that process, but they are few in
number. The film's grain pattern has been naturally and finely resolved, and WAC has mastered
The Sea Wolf at its usual high average bitrate, here just under 35 Mbps.
The Sea Wolf's original mono track has been taken from the newly discovered fine-grain master positive, thoroughly cleaned of clicks, pops and noise, and encoded on Blu-ray in lossless DTS-HD MA. I have been told that the track was also EQ'd to enhance the stirring score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, another veteran of The Sea Hawk and an Oscar winner for The Adventures of Robin Hood. The dialogue is clearly rendered, and the effects have solid impact for their era; the early sequence of ships colliding at sea is particularly effective.
It's hard to believe, when you look over Edward G. Robinson's résumé of masterly
performances, that not only didn't he win any Oscars, but he was never even nominated. (The
Academy did award him an honorary statue in 1973, which, in a sad irony, had to be accepted by
his widow, because the actor died just a few months before the ceremony.) Robinson had a
genius for bringing villains to life, and it would be years before the Academy acknowledged the
artistry required to make even the most repellent evildoer a credible human presence (which, of
course, makes them even more frightening). Wolf Larsen ranks with such memorable Robinson
creations as Little Caesar's Rico and Key Largo's Johnny Rocco. They're all loathsome
men—and you can't take your eyes off them. In WAC's new Blu-ray of The Sea Wolf, Larsen
gets his full due. Highly recommended.
1962
1948
Warner Archive Collection
1943
Warner Archive Collection
1944
1952
1956
Warner Archive Collection
1955
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1941
1937
1947
1950
1951
1970
Warner Archive Collection
1940
1945
1954
I Became a Criminal / Kino Classics Presents
1947
1997
1987
1968