7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A by-the-book captain is ordered to capture a strategic village in Italy. The Italian soldiers are willing to surrender, if they can have a festival first. The lieutenant convinces the captain this is the only way. Because of aerial reconnaissance, they must look like they are fighting. To sort this out an intelligence officer is sent in. Meanwhile the festival gets complicated with the mayor's daughter.
Starring: James Coburn, Dick Shawn, Sergio Fantoni, Giovanna Ralli, Aldo RayWar | 100% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.36:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Dick Shawn really should have been a bigger film star than he ended up being. As it stands, Shawn is remembered chiefly for two eccentric hipsters he played in 1960s era comedies, the proto-stoner Sylvester Marcus in Stanley Kramer’s all star farce It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (also available on Blu-ray from Criterion), and the foppish Lorenzo St. DuBois (also known by the entirely fitting acronym “LSD”) in Mel Brooks’ iconic (original) The Producers, the character whose portrayal of a certain mustachioed Fuhrer makes Springtime for Hitler an unexpected (and unwanted) hit. Shawn’s manic screen presence in these two films might seem to suggest a “one note” performer whose relative lack of big screen stardom might be attributed to a dearth of range. How interesting, then, that Blake Edwards’ lesser remembered 1966 comedy What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? posits Shawn as the “straight arrow” captain of a ragtag bunch of World War II Americans who end up capturing an Italian village without one shot being fired, only to end up in an increasingly farcical series of misadventures when the villagers and their attendant Italian forces insist that an annual festival be allowed to proceed despite the hostilities of the Sicilian campaign. This unexpected piece of casting is even more remarkable when it’s contrasted with that of Shawn’s co-star James Coburn, an actor whose quirkiness consigned him to a whole series of outré roles during this era, including the two quasi-James Bond knockoffs, Our Man Flint and In Like Flint, as well as flaky proto-hipster fare like The President’s Analyst. Coburn plays a bit closer to his mid-sixties type in What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?, as a lieutenant who simply wants to “go with the flow,” as it were, letting the natives go about their regular business without having the vagaries of a global conflict get too much in the way.
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.36:1. Elements are in generally satisfactory condition from a damage standpoint, though there are the typical signs of age related wear and tear, including minor blemishes, scratches and occasional minus density. There's noticeable fade here, though, albeit in various amounts throughout the presentation, and in fact the variable color space of this presentation is probably one of its more defining characteristics. At times things like flesh tones are anemic, ruddy or brown looking (see screenshot 1 for just one example), while at other times the palette is at least incrementally warmer and more natural looking. Grain is reasonably heavy at times, though resolves naturally throughout the presentation. There are no issues with image instability or compression issues.
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? features a serviceable lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track. Dialogue is very capably supported, and the film's sometimes goofy use of sound effects also is presented cleanly and clearly. The film features an enjoyable score by Edwards regular Henry Mancini, including "In the Arms of Love," which became a midlevel chart hit for crooner Andy Williams.
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? is genial more than hilarious, though it offers some winning performances by Shawn (in a somewhat unusual role for the actor) and Coburn, along with a gaggle of great supporting actors including Aldo Rey, Harry Morgan and Carroll O'Connor. William Peter Blatty would hit the bigtime a few years after What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? with his epochal novel The Exorcist. That outsized success in a supernaturally tinged horror genre might suggest that comedy, let alone farce, was not exactly Blatty's strong suit. Still, Edwards directs with his typical verve, extracting a decent amount of fun out of the improbable proceedings. Technical merits are generally good, if also occasionally problematic. Recommended.
1945
1970
1963
1965-1971
1955
1970
Special Edition
1968
Extended Cut
1981
1993
1954
2020
Warner Archive Collection
1965
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1976
2011
La Battaglia d'Inghilterra
1969
Warner Archive Collection
1945
1959
1970
1968