Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Thunder Bay Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 23, 2019

Anthony Mann's "Thunder Bay" (1953) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive new audio commentary by film historian Toby Roan and vintage trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

It will work. I guarantee it.

Antony Mann and Jimmy Stewart’s fourth collaboration, Thunder Bay, is based on an original story by John Michael Hayes , who just a few years later will go on to write the screenplays for Rear Window and To Catch a Thief. Mann shot the film in the 1.37:1 ratio, but Universal International reframed it and then promoted it as its first widescreen feature.

After the end of WW2, ex-Navy engineer Steve Martin (Stewart) and his partner Johnny Gambi (Dan Duryea) arrive in a small town somewhere in Louisiana to meet business executive Kermit MacDonald (Jay C. Flippen ) and sell him a ‘brand new’ design for an oil rig. Martin has bought inside information on MacDonald and knows that he is running out of time to deliver the profits that the board members of the company he represents want, which also means that he is running out of time to save his cushy job. They talk, MacDonald ignores the concerns of his financial advisor, and then cuts a deal with Martin. A large sum of money is then quickly transferred to a local bank and Martin and Gambi are told that they have a couple of months to build their rig and find the black gold.

At first the news about the oilmen and their big project excites the community, but when a couple of days later Martin and his crew begin dropping huge dynamite sticks in the ocean to choose a spot for the rig a lot of the fishermen become nervous. Then someone mentions that the dynamite could wipe out the rich shrimp colonies that are helping the fishermen and their families make ends meet and they decide to confront Martin. Teche Bossier (Gilbert Roland ), the most outspoken amongst them, then delivers their message. When Martin rejects it and his crew begins building the rig, tensions escalate and eventually the two sides clash. In the midst of the chaos and drama, however, Martin finds himself attracted to Captain Rigaud's (Antonio Moreno) daughter (Joanne Dru), while Gambi begins an affair with her younger sister (Marcia Henderson).

The film heads down a familiar path but the manner in which it builds the drama as the animosity between the two sides grows is rather special. Indeed, instead of choosing a morally superior side the film casually erodes the strength of their arguments and over time actually exposes a much bigger cultural divide that has absolutely nothing to do with the oil business. For example, initially Martin is seen as a sensible pragmatist who is focused on his job, but later on his inability to relate to the fishermen and their way of life reveals an entirely different individual. On the opposite end is the complete failure of the local leaders to realize that a very big and prosperous new business on the outskirts of their town would drastically improve their economic status as well. The only person that seems capable of bringing the two sides together is the Captain’s older daughter, who has spent some time living in the big city, but she has brought an entirely new set of prejudices with her, which eventually seriously complicate her romantic relationship with Martin.

Stewart is great as the determined engineer, but he is not the undisputed star of the film. There are a lot of secondary characters played by terrific actors that make viewing the film a real treat.

Mann worked with cinematographer William Daniels whose lensing gives the film a distinct modern post-war look. It is stylish but not flashy, emphasizing authenticity over cinematic elegance. (This isn’t surprising as Daniels' body of work features such classic film noirs as The Naked City, Brute Force, and Abandoned).

Thunder Bay Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Thunder Bay arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The technical presentation is very underwhelming. The master that was used to source the release reveals a great deal of color bleeding, which is a byproduct of various registration issues. There is general instability as well, which causes various background pulsations and throbbing that can be rather distracting. The film is clean and stable, and there are no traces of problematic digital adjustments. But there are still many density fluctuations and basic delineation issues that make it rather difficult to have a pleasant viewing experience with it. My score is 2.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Thunder Bay Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (Mono) and English DTS-HD Master Audio 3.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the entire film with the DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track. The audio is stable and easy to follow. However, some light background hiss occasionally sneaks in. The good news is that there are no background distortions, pops, or audio dropouts. So, there is room for some cosmetic improvements, but the overall quality is good.

Later on, I also tested the English DTS-HD Master Audio 3.0. It expands the dynamic field rather well, and during the storm where Jimmy Stewart fights the man with the dynamite sticks the difference is actually quite striking. I missed this track when I viewed the film for the first time. It is the one that I should have used.

Thunder Bay Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for Thunder Bay. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 480/60i).

• Audio Commentary - another typically great audio commentary by Toby Roan with fantastic and often quite illuminating comments about Anthony Mann and James Stewart's collaborations, the socio-cultural environment in which Thunder Bay emerged, its production history and technical merits, theatrical promotion, etc. The commentary was recorded exclusively for Kino Lorber.

• Additional Trailers - additional trailers for the following Kino Lorber releases:
  
  1. Made for Each Other
  2. Broken Arrow
  3. No Highway in the Sky
  4. Bend of the River
  5. Man of the West

Thunder Bay Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Thunder Bay is a very fine film worth seeing and owning, but the current master that was used to produce this recent release is seriously underwhelming. The film needs to be restored so that a wide range of registration issues are eliminated and its overall organic qualities improved. The good news about this release is that it features another very strong audio commentary from Toby Roan. If you really want to own a copy of Thunder Bay, my advice is to wait for a sale. Otherwise, I can only recommend that you RENT IT.