6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
An adventurer joins a plot to kidnap a scientist who knows the secret of the hydrogen bomb.
Starring: Dan Duryea, Gene Lockhart, Patric Knowles, Reginald Denny, Nigel BruceFilm-Noir | 100% |
Drama | 62% |
Crime | 9% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Like a lot of directors who started to attract notice in the 1950s and 1960s, Robert Aldrich got some of his first experience in television, and one of his earlier credits was the little remembered series China Smith, an extremely low budget affair starring Dan Duryea as a kind of washed up mercenary in the Far East. China Smith evidently lasted only two seasons, with those two years actually being separated by a year or so. Some sources state it aired on NBC, but it decidedly has the look and feel of an early syndicated effort, one slapped together for as little money as possible that was then sold to stations around the country to help fill up what were in the early 1950s still rather haphazard schedules by the major broadcast networks. Rather oddly considering its unabashed lo-fi ambience, someone somewhere thought China Smith was an appropriate foundation for a big screen adaptation, and World for Ransom was born, with Aldrich credited as producer but somewhat strangely not credited for directing. World for Ransom is, like its small screen progenitor, a decidedly low rent and somewhat haphazard outing that offers Duryea as adventurer Mike Callahan, a supposed ne’er-do-well who plies a kind of detective trade in the seedy environs of Singapore. World for Ransom desperately wants to be a film noir, replete with a perhaps duplicitous blonde femme fatale, but it never musters much in the way of intrigue or suspense, despite the fact that it, like Aldrich’s later and much better remembered Kiss Me Deadly, trafficks in Cold War hysteria and the burgeoning fear of the deadly H-Bomb.
World for Ransom is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. This is one of those "glass half full, glass half empty" situations where those who like the film will probably be willing to overlook some inconsistencies, while those who already aren't that impressed with the goings on may well focus on some issues while not appreciating what looks at least decent. It appears that at least some of this transfer was sourced from a dupe element, or at the very least one that is not consistently clear or with the same black levels, contrast and overall sharpness. A lot of World for Ransom looks quite good, with deep, convincing blacks and nicely articulated gray scale helping to promote a noir ambience (see screenshots 1 and 5, among several included in this review). But there are other sections of the film which are noticeably rougher looking, with a "dupey" appearance that includes much more raggedy detail, more heavily pronounced grain and undercooked contrast (see screenshots 6, 16 and 17). If one can get past the kind of lurching quality between various segments, there's certainly nothing here that's horrible, but it's also obvious that there's room for improvement, something that will probably never happen given this film's lack of renown. As with virtually all Olive releases, "what they got is what you see", i.e., there have been no restorative efforts, but also no intrusive digital tweaking. Aside from the varying quality issues, generally speaking the elements have an expected amount of age related wear and tear, with typical flecks, specks, scratches and minus density dotting the proceedings.
World for Ransom features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono mix that has a few more pops and cracks, especially in the first half or so of the film, than is typically the case with these Olive catalog titles. There's a fair amount of low level but still audible distortion in the early going, something that especially afflicts the score cues by Frank De Vol. Things improve quite a bit as the film goes along, and dialogue emerges largely unscathed in any case. This is a listenable if not optimal track.
There are no supplements included on this Blu-ray disc.
Robert Aldrich fans may well want to check out World for Ransom, for the director's patented brand of machismo is on hand in a somewhat nascent form here. Duryea simply doesn't have the brutish charisma necessary for his role, leaving most of the fireworks to the supporting cast, some of whom are curiously tamped down throughout the proceedings. A miniscule budget means that large swaths of the film play out in dimly lit environments with a minimum of even set dressings adorning the "festivities." An odd duck, to be sure, but one that might be passingly interesting as a curio to those interested in its director. Technical merits are iffy but not overly problematic.
1953
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1954
The Sound of Fury
1950
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Warner Archive Collection
1944
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Reissue | Special Edition
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Limited Edition to 3000
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