6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
During the 1860s in the South Pacific, Capt. Ralls, skipper of the Red Witch, has a series of adventures involving sunken gold bullion, pearls, natives, an unscrupulous ship owner and a giant octopus.
Starring: John Wayne, Gig Young, Eduard Franz, Luther Adler, Henry DaniellAdventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.38:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The dissolution of the studio system in the late forties and on into the fifties is a fascinating study in corporate hierarchies struggling to deal with new realties, many of which were foisted upon them not so much by government decree (as in the anti monopoly rulings that divested the studios of their theaters), but the public at large (which began matriculating to the free idiom of television in ever increasing numbers as the fifties wore on). But buried beneath the stories of the studios and their magnates having to come to terms with not being the all powerful entities they once were are other, just as interesting stories, about a handful of actors who presciently saw the handwriting on the wall and decided to at least attempt to take their fates into their own hands. The Golden Age of Hollywood is rife with stories about actors being pigeonholed in certain kinds of roles, often rebelling and at least occasionally suing or being put on suspension (sometimes in tandem) since they felt powerless to control their own futures. But suddenly during this era a few smart actors surveyed the changing landscape and decided that producing was where the real power lay, and they formed their own production companies to help steer their careers outside of what was obviously becoming a crumbling studio system. Two of the earliest stars to take this route were Burt Lancaster and John Wayne. While Lancaster actually had a number of different production entities through the years, Wayne’s chief producton outlet was the rather oddly named Batjac Productions. If you’ve ever wondered if that name were an acronym or perhaps a combination of phonemes from, say, the names of Wayne’s children, it isn’t. It’s actually a misspelled version of a trading company mentioned in Wake of the Red Witch, a 1948 seafaring potboiler starring Wayne and Gail Russell that combines elements of treasure hunting with a kind of turgid and highly unlikely love triangle.
Wake of the Red Witch is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.38:1. The elements here are in mostly excellent condition, with only the expected amounts of age related wear and tear cropping up from time to time. While the bulk of this transfer offers a really nicely crisp image, with excellent contrast, the high definition presentation is somewhat hobbled by the film's abundance of optical special effects, as well as its reliance on stock footage, both of which tend to look at least a little more ragged when compared to the rest of the film. That passing qualm aside, however, Wake of the Red Witch looks very good, with very good fine object detail and, as is usually the case with these Olive catalog releases, no sign of digital tweaking whatsoever.
Wake of the Red Witch features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mix which is mostly problem free save for a very few clicks and pops. Fidelity is very good, offering both dialogue and the film's rather boisterous score with clarity and precision, if an expected narrowness.
No supplements are offered on this Blu-ray disc.
Wake of the Red Witch probably would have been better with a more straightforward storyline and a more stable focus on the Wayne-Russell love affair. Instead, the film is filled to the brim with supporting characters, including a kind of needless amount of time spent with the Gig Young character and his putative girlfriend. But despite its obvious flaws, much of Wake of the Red Witch remains surprisingly visceral, aided by one of John Wayne's most interesting performances. Wayne could often be stiff in uncomfortable roles, but here, even outside of his traditional milieu, he does fantastic work and any Wayne fan will certainly want to see this film for his performance alone. This Blu-ray features excellent video and audio and comes Recommended.
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