Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

The World, the Flesh and the Devil Blu-ray Movie Review

Day 0.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III November 26, 2019

Almost every "last man on Earth" film I've seen has disappointed me, and usually for the same reason: other people eventually show up. I Am Legend and its predecessor The Omega Man both drop in quality after Robert Neville meets two different "families", while the New Zealand production The Quiet Earth devolves into a boring love triangle. One of the earliest examples in this genre is The World, the Flesh and the Devil: written and directed by Ranald MacDougall, it shares both negative elements of those other three films. Fortunately, it shares the positive ones as well...and also carries high production values that clearly influenced dozens of films and TV shows in the ever-growing genre.

This one starts off simple enough: inspector Ralph Burton (Harry Belafonte, still in the early stages of his prolific acting and music careers) barely lives through a horrific coal mine collapse in central Pennsylvania, but his hopes diminish after rescue attempts eventually stop. Determined to dig his way out, Ralph emerges to find abandoned city streets and few clues as to what happened. He soon discovers that a weaponized radioactive cloud wiped out the global population, but Harry's convinced that survivors exist. So he goes to the biggest nearby city (Manhattan), holes up in a swanky apartment newly rewired for electricity, and sends out daily radio broadcasts in search of a response.

It's a decent enough life for resourceful Harry, but loneliness still creeps in: soon enough, he's talking to mannequins and even brings home a few for roommates. It's right around this time that Harry gets a real visitor: 21-year-old Sarah Crandall (Inger Stevens). who's been secretly tailing him for weeks. Theirs is a complicated relationship: Sarah thinks Harry's nice enough, but he keeps his distance because of skin color. A mutual attraction is obvious...but what this film posits is that eliminating outside influence doesn't immediately erase old scars. The divide is amplified by another man, Ben Thecker (Mel Ferrer), who Harry rescues after a long voyage at sea. Ben immediately takes a liking to Sarah, and his somewhat aggressive sexual advances stand in contrast with Harry's guarded behavior.

There's a potentially great film to be mined from the combination of post-apocalyptic drama and racial message movie, but The World, the Flesh and the Devil never quite fuses the line. Both halves occasionally work against one another in frustrating ways: the setup never pays off, while its second half rarely depends on the first. It's especially disappointing because the production design is great: lots of work went into creating those barren landscapes where Harry searches for new life. Soon after it arrives, we wish it hadn't. But the film certainly has its moments and works more often than not, while its clear influence makes it an important landmark for fans of the genre. Those who fall for its charms will appreciate WAC's new Blu-ray, which arrives roughly nine years after their own remastered DVD.

The World, the Flesh and the Devil Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, The World, the Flesh and the Devil makes great use of the wide canvas. Although some of its compositions aren't overly creative, almost everything is smartly framed and the desolate city landscapes are given plenty of room to breathe. Of course, the real star is WAC's excellent 1080p transfer, which is sourced from a recent 2K scan of the fine-grain master positive and yields a startling amount of image detail. Clothing and other textures are well-defined during close-ups, while plenty of depth is achieved in wide shots; perhaps the only exceptions are a few obvious matte paintings, but a lack of color probably helps maintain the illusion. Shadow details and contrast look very balanced, although a handful of scenes appear more harsh with lower levels of image detail; either they were sourced from lesser elements or perhaps optically zoomed. Noise is also more prevalent than expected during these moments, but they're mostly few and far between. The majority of The World, the Flesh and the Devil looks near-flawless in 1080p and easily outperforms WAC's earlier DVD edition by a wide margin.

The World, the Flesh and the Devil Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The sporadically-reliable IMBb lists both Mono and four-track Stereo as specs for The World, the Flesh and the Devil, and this Blu-ray's DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix sounds somewhere in-between. Echoes and other wide elements are effectively used during the film's dominant "empty street" moments, which really goes a long way towards selling its oppressive, desolate atmosphere. Dialogue is clean and crisp (again, not a lot of overlap here for obvious reasons), while Miklós Rózsa's orchestral cues are balanced nicely without fighting for attention. Low end is well-represented during a few stretches, including the opening cave-in and distant echoes during a subsequent rescue attempts. Overall, it's a surprisingly dramatic mix that should even sound great on a modest setup, although those with larger front speakers will clearly benefit the most from this disc's considerable strengths.

Optional English SDH subtitles are included during the film only (screenshot #14). Unlike most recent WAC releases, these are formatted properly -- not ALL CAPS -- and sit inside the 2.35:1 frame with no obvious sync issues.

The World, the Flesh and the Devil Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The World, the Flesh and the Devil is packaged in a standard keepcase with attractive poster-themed cover art.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:13) - This memorable trailer is presented in 2.35:1 format and is in rough but watchable condition. It's also available on Warner Archive's official YouTube channel if you haven't seen it yet.

The World, the Flesh and the Devil Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Imperfect but clearly influential, Ranald MacDougall's The World, the Flesh and the Devil remains a serviceable slice of early post-apocalyptic drama. The first act is promising and star Harry Belafonte is up to the one-man challenge...but like many films in the genre, things get less interesting once more people show up. And while the second half has its moments, the social politics feel out of place and make its ending land with a thud. But there's still a lot to like here, from its ambitious production design and scope to the knowledge that later films borrowed more than a few ideas and visual elements. WACs Blu-ray, which replaces their own 2011 DVD, offers a top-tier A/V presentation but no new bonus features. Die-hard fans should enjoy themselves, but newcomers may want to try before they buy.