7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
World War II hero Audie L. Murphy (1924-1971), one of the most decorated soldier in American history, portrays himself in this action classic based on his 1949 autobiography. With Murphy re-creating his own actions and movements in key battles, this devastating chronicle of war follows Murphy and his buddies from North Africa to Berlin, with the war hero performing Herculean deeds on the battlefield.
Starring: Audie Murphy, Marshall Thompson, Charles Drake, Jack Kelly, Gregg PalmerWar | 100% |
Biography | 1% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.55:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
None
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Jesse Hibbs' "To Hell and Back" (1955) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment. There are no supplemental features on the disc. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, To Hell and Back arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment.
The master that was used to source the release is old, but it is actually quite nice. Yes, it does have some rough spots -- some transitions for instance have small but obvious density drops -- and there are some darker sequences where the less-than-optimal shadow definition flattens the visuals a bit, but the master still reveals plenty of decent to good depth, as well as many areas where clarity is pleasing. The best news here is that there are no traces of digital adjustments, which ensures that the film has a good organic appearance. Again, if restored the film will look better, but what you are getting with this release is a dated organic appearance of an older film, which often looks quite good. (For reference, this is exactly what you are not getting from the recent release of ffolkes, which is also sourced from an old master that emerged from Universal's vaults. This particular master, however, has a very harsh digital appearance that makes the film pretty much impossible to enjoy). The color scheme can be better. The primaries should be better saturated and stability can be improved. Plenty of nuances can be expanded as well. However, the overall balance and saturation are still decent. Some white specks and blemishes remain, but there is no serious damage that could make your viewing of the film an annoying experience. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit). Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.
The audio is clean and stable. I think that there is room for some balance adjustments, and perhaps even additional optimizations in the mid- and upper registers. This should help the overall dynamic balance of the soundtrack as well. However, as it is the lossless track is still quite nice.
Most unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this Blu-ray release.
To Hell and Back is the type of great and important American film that deserves an elaborate restoration and equally impressive Blu-ray release with plenty of informative bonus features. (All films do, but To Hell and Back desperately needs one. I can place it well ahead of so many films that have received big makeovers and found a spot in the Criterion Collection, which is exactly where To Hell and Back belongs). Hopefully, we will see one soon. In the meantime, I strongly recommend that you pick up this recent Blu-ray release from Australian label Umbrella Entertainment for your library. It is sourced from an older master that was supplied by Universal Pictures, but this master is actually rather nice. It has decent organic qualities and I think that it represents a good upgrade in quality over the old DVD release of the film that the studio produced more than a decade ago. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
1967
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Hollywood Gold Series
1968
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1954
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