MOVIE REVIEW: Magnificent Seven (50th Anniversary Blu-ray), The

Based on the 1954 Akira Kurosawa classic film Seven Samurai, 1960's The Magnificent Seven tells the rousing story about a village in need, and the gunfighters hired to protect them.? The dastardly bandit Calvera (Eli Wallach) and his gang keeps raiding a small Mexican village, and the townsfolk are finally fed up with it.? They go to buy weapons in an American border town, where gunslinger Chris (Yul Brynner) tells them that it would be cheaper to hire more gunslingers.? Chris ends up gathering six other gunmen (including Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn and Robert Vaughn), who set out to protect the village from Calvera and his gang. Soon the 'seven' realize that they might have taken on more than they bargained for, causing tensions that threaten their goal of ridding the village of Calvera.?

The film might not be the deepest, nor the most original (gunmen protect a village under siege), but where The Magnificent Seven succeeds is in the dynamic within the all-star cast.? Brynner is clearly the leader (at one point he thought he might direct the film himself), but everyone gets more-or-less equal screen time.? Directed by veteran Western filmmaker John Sturges, the movie runs at a fun pace, before getting a little bogged down at last act. The film only got one Oscar nomination, for Elmer Bernstein's original score, which is now considered a classic.?

Released as a single-disc Blu-ray, this is basically a way to get the original Magnificent Seven without buying the box set containing the four films.? This is the same transfer done for the 50th Anniversary in 2010, and while it might not be as impressive as it would be if they had done a true film restoration, it's still a very solid transfer for the film. It suffers from a few minor blemishes and specs on the film print, and the opening titles indicate a bit of wobble on the transfer, but overall the film grain is nicely retained, with no evident DNR or edge enhancement.? Colors are not deeply saturated, but they never were meant to be bold and popping. Black levels are deep but don't crush, and fine detail seems to be accurately reproduced.? All in all, it's a very good transfer.

Audio for the film is presented primarily in an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, but it's primarily a front-heavy track, save for the occasional bullet ricochet, and Elmer Bernstein's score probably benefits the most from the spatial re-mix. Purists need not fret, as a Dolby Digital English mono is also included, and a Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish track rounds out the audio options.

Billed as a "50th Anniversary Edition", this Blu-ray contains most of the extras from previous DVD releases, but is still missing a few things.? First up is the rather informative, albeit sparse at times, commentary track featuring actors James Coburn and Eli Wallach, as well as producer Walter Mirisch and assistant director Robert Relyea.

Carried over from the original 2001 Special Edition DVD release is the documentary on the making of the film, "Guns for Hire: The Making of The Magnificent Seven" (SD 16x9, 47-minutes).? This is a very solid and candid making-of piece, with interviews and behind-the-scenes photos helping flesh out the story of how the film got made. From the 2006 Collector's Edition DVD, we get "Elmer Bernstein and The Magnificent Seven" (SD 16x9, 15-minutes) is a very nice piece hosted by film music historian Jon Burlingame about the importance of Bernstein's score, and its place within the western genre. "The Linen Book: Lost Images from The Magnificent Seven" (SD 16x9, 15-minutes) looks at the rare linen book for the film that was found in the salt mine vault in Kansas, which has a lot of great behind-the-scenes photos, but because some of the same stories heard in the making-of documentary and the commentary are told again, it feels a tad repetitive.

A "Still Gallery" (HD) is included, as well as two "Theatrical Trailers" (HD), but we're missing the commentary track by film historian Sir Christopher Frayling, and his accompanying featurette which was on the Collector's Edition.? No idea what happened there, but they surely could have found the room on the disc for them, so I surmise that it might have been a rights issue.? So, don't get rid of your DVD just yet!

It might not be considered a true cinema classic, but you can't go wrong with The Magnificent Seven.? A solid remake with a star-studded cast, great musical score, soaring vistas and solid direction by John Sturges, the film is worth the upgrade on Blu-ray, but won't give you any new extras beyond what you probably already had.

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MOVIE REVIEW: Dumbo (70th Anniversary Blu-ray)

A few times in the 20th Century, the Walt Disney Studios faced near financial ruin, only to be rescued by one of its feature animated films.? In 1940, the studio faced financial trouble again, due to the lackluster response to Fantasia, and they banked on a small elephant with big ears to save the studio once more.? Dumbo was a return to the Silly Symphony style of animation that helped give Disney his initial success, and the simple storyline and brief running time helped the studio recoup the losses on Fantasia, just in time for the USA's entrance into World War II.

Based on the novel by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, Dumbo tells the story about circus elephant Jumbo, who is hoping for a baby elephant. When the stork finally delivers her little one, she is shocked to discover that he has enormous ears - a now constant source of ridicule by her fellow elephants, as well as the circus clowns.? But she loves Jumbo Jr. with all her heart, even though the other elephants now call him Dumbo.? When the clowns get a little abusive with Dumbo, the overly-protective Jumbo goes on a rampage and is locked away, deemed a "mad elephant".? Now alone, Dumbo soon forges an unlikely friendship in the form of Timothy Q. Mouse, who serves as Dumbo's pep leader.? With good intentions, Timothy convinces (subconsciously) the circus-master to put Dumbo at the top of an elephant pyramid, but the stunt goes horribly awry due to Dumbo's giant ears.?

Now a clown, Dumbo is shunned by the other elephants and more miserable than ever.? Timothy arranges a visit to his jailed mother, which helps cheer him up a bit (aided by the heart-wrenching Oscar-nominated song "Baby Mine").? After Timothy and Dumbo drink water from a bucket that alcohol had spilled into, they have a bit of a psychedelic surrealistic trip (the infamous "Pink Elephants on Parade" sequence) - and awake to find themselves high up in a tree.? A group of crows helps them figure out that it was Dumbo's large ears that got them up there, and that Dumbo can fly.? Fooling Dumbo into using a "magical" feather from one of the crows, he does indeed take to the air - and with his newfound confidence, returns to the circus where his new skills are revealed, propelling him into fame.

Dumbo is a fairly simple story, as evidenced by the synopsis above. The animation style is more caricaturist and "cartoony" than Pinocchio, and the animals are much more anthropomorphic, especially when compared to 1942's Bambi.? With the exception of the circus-master, all the humans are portrayed in costume, or in silhouette, a rather interesting choice. Unlike most Disney features, the songs don't do anything to further the storyline, and the surrealistic pink elephants sequence feels so out-of-place that it can actually be a turn-off from the otherwise engaging storyline.? The best moment of the film is the emotionally charged "Baby Mine" sequence, a tear-jerking moment every time you watch it.? It might be simple, and it might have some odd moments, but Dumbo is a straight-forward story about confidence that - 70 years later - still remains a timeless story.

Released as a 70th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray, Dumbo burst into the 21st Century looking better than it probably did in the fall of 1941 when it was in theaters.? As has been par for the course for Walt Disney Home Entertainment, they have done a spectacular frame-by-frame restoration of Dumbo, and it looks dead-on perfect.? The watercolor backgrounds are gorgeous, and the colors are deep and vibrant.? ??The opening sequence with the circus tent being raised is an exceptional example of the way Walt Disney's animators were able to evoke tactile feelings - you can almost feel the rain, sweat and mud, all in gorgeous HD.?

Audio is presented in a new DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 English track, but you'd probably not really notice - most of the audio (music included) is front heavy, and with the exception of some sound effects, I barely noticed anything from the rear speakers.? Dialogue is clear, and the Oscar-winning music by Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace is great, albeit all the audio seems to be stuck within the slightly limited frequency range that was common for a film recorded in the 1940s.? That's not a bad thing, just a reflection of the technology at the time. For purists, a lossy Dolby Digital 1.0 mono track is included, as well as French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks.

For this 70th Anniversary Edition, Disney went into the vault to pull out some old featurettes, as well as some delightful new extras.? Like the other early Disney features, the film was not widescreen, and you can opt to view the film in "DisneyView" mode, which puts custom artwork by Disney background artist James Coleman on the sides, changing depending on the scenes.? Watching the movie with "Cine-Explore" turned on gives us a great picture-in-picture version of the film, hosted by Pixar director Pete Docter, Disney historian Paula Sigman and Disney animator Andreas Deja.? With a wealth of behind-the-scenes footage, production photos and artwork and more, the whole history of Dumbo is laid out in real-time as the film plays out, making it essentially an excellent 64-minute "making-of" documentary.? But that's not all, there's still another making-of featurette, "Taking Flight: The Making of Dumbo" (HD, 28-min), which fills in more of the gaps, while rehashing some of the information from the Cine-Explore.

Two "Deleted Scenes" are included, newly discovered in the Disney vault.? "The Mouse's Tale" (HD, 5.5-minutes) gives us a little more back-story on Timothy Q. Mouse and the history of the conflict between mice and elephants; "Are You a Man or a Mouse" (HD, 4-minutes) is a deleted song that would have been placed after Dumbo becomes a clown.? "The Magic of Dumbo: A Ride of Passage" (HD, 3-min) is a brief reminiscence about the creation and response that people have had to the Dumbo ride in Disneyland.?

From the original DVD release, we have a few archival extras, some of which have been upgraded to HD.? "Sound Design Excerpt from The Reluctant Dragon" (SD, 6-minutes) is a short sequence about sound design from the 1941 Disney film that went behind-the-scenes at the studio.? "Celebrating Dumbo" (SD, 15-minutes) is an older featurette that has a slew of film historians and artists talking about the film and its legacy.? "Original Walt Disney TV Introduction" (SD, 1-minute) is the original intro that Walt Disney gave when the film made its television debut.? Two "Theatrical Trailers" (SD) are included, from the 1941 release and subsequent 1949 re-issue.

Two Silly Symphony shorts are also included, upgraded to HD. "Elmer Elephant" (HD, 8.5-min) is a 1936 short about a timid elephant who is In love with Tillie Tiger; "The Flying Mouse" (HD, 9.5-min) is a 1934 short about a mouse who saves a butterfly and is granted a wish - but not everything is all that he bargained for.? Finally, we have "Art Galleries" (HD) which provide tons of storyboards, concept art, and much more.

Dumbo might not be the most complicated film from the Walt Disney Studio, but it has a ton of heart and a great moral to the story.? With some A+ extras, and the now typically expected mind-blowing transfer, Dumbo has every right to appear in the center ring of your home video three ring circus.

View the original article here

MOVIE REVIEW: Dumbo (70th Anniversary Blu-ray)

A few times in the 20th Century, the Walt Disney Studios faced near financial ruin, only to be rescued by one of its feature animated films.? In 1940, the studio faced financial trouble again, due to the lackluster response to Fantasia, and they banked on a small elephant with big ears to save the studio once more.? Dumbo was a return to the Silly Symphony style of animation that helped give Disney his initial success, and the simple storyline and brief running time helped the studio recoup the losses on Fantasia, just in time for the USA's entrance into World War II.

Based on the novel by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, Dumbo tells the story about circus elephant Jumbo, who is hoping for a baby elephant. When the stork finally delivers her little one, she is shocked to discover that he has enormous ears - a now constant source of ridicule by her fellow elephants, as well as the circus clowns.? But she loves Jumbo Jr. with all her heart, even though the other elephants now call him Dumbo.? When the clowns get a little abusive with Dumbo, the overly-protective Jumbo goes on a rampage and is locked away, deemed a "mad elephant".? Now alone, Dumbo soon forges an unlikely friendship in the form of Timothy Q. Mouse, who serves as Dumbo's pep leader.? With good intentions, Timothy convinces (subconsciously) the circus-master to put Dumbo at the top of an elephant pyramid, but the stunt goes horribly awry due to Dumbo's giant ears.?

Now a clown, Dumbo is shunned by the other elephants and more miserable than ever.? Timothy arranges a visit to his jailed mother, which helps cheer him up a bit (aided by the heart-wrenching Oscar-nominated song "Baby Mine").? After Timothy and Dumbo drink water from a bucket that alcohol had spilled into, they have a bit of a psychedelic surrealistic trip (the infamous "Pink Elephants on Parade" sequence) - and awake to find themselves high up in a tree.? A group of crows helps them figure out that it was Dumbo's large ears that got them up there, and that Dumbo can fly.? Fooling Dumbo into using a "magical" feather from one of the crows, he does indeed take to the air - and with his newfound confidence, returns to the circus where his new skills are revealed, propelling him into fame.

Dumbo is a fairly simple story, as evidenced by the synopsis above. The animation style is more caricaturist and "cartoony" than Pinocchio, and the animals are much more anthropomorphic, especially when compared to 1942's Bambi.? With the exception of the circus-master, all the humans are portrayed in costume, or in silhouette, a rather interesting choice. Unlike most Disney features, the songs don't do anything to further the storyline, and the surrealistic pink elephants sequence feels so out-of-place that it can actually be a turn-off from the otherwise engaging storyline.? The best moment of the film is the emotionally charged "Baby Mine" sequence, a tear-jerking moment every time you watch it.? It might be simple, and it might have some odd moments, but Dumbo is a straight-forward story about confidence that - 70 years later - still remains a timeless story.

Released as a 70th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray, Dumbo burst into the 21st Century looking better than it probably did in the fall of 1941 when it was in theaters.? As has been par for the course for Walt Disney Home Entertainment, they have done a spectacular frame-by-frame restoration of Dumbo, and it looks dead-on perfect.? The watercolor backgrounds are gorgeous, and the colors are deep and vibrant.? ??The opening sequence with the circus tent being raised is an exceptional example of the way Walt Disney's animators were able to evoke tactile feelings - you can almost feel the rain, sweat and mud, all in gorgeous HD.?

Audio is presented in a new DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 English track, but you'd probably not really notice - most of the audio (music included) is front heavy, and with the exception of some sound effects, I barely noticed anything from the rear speakers.? Dialogue is clear, and the Oscar-winning music by Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace is great, albeit all the audio seems to be stuck within the slightly limited frequency range that was common for a film recorded in the 1940s.? That's not a bad thing, just a reflection of the technology at the time. For purists, a lossy Dolby Digital 1.0 mono track is included, as well as French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks.

For this 70th Anniversary Edition, Disney went into the vault to pull out some old featurettes, as well as some delightful new extras.? Like the other early Disney features, the film was not widescreen, and you can opt to view the film in "DisneyView" mode, which puts custom artwork by Disney background artist James Coleman on the sides, changing depending on the scenes.? Watching the movie with "Cine-Explore" turned on gives us a great picture-in-picture version of the film, hosted by Pixar director Pete Docter, Disney historian Paula Sigman and Disney animator Andreas Deja.? With a wealth of behind-the-scenes footage, production photos and artwork and more, the whole history of Dumbo is laid out in real-time as the film plays out, making it essentially an excellent 64-minute "making-of" documentary.? But that's not all, there's still another making-of featurette, "Taking Flight: The Making of Dumbo" (HD, 28-min), which fills in more of the gaps, while rehashing some of the information from the Cine-Explore.

Two "Deleted Scenes" are included, newly discovered in the Disney vault.? "The Mouse's Tale" (HD, 5.5-minutes) gives us a little more back-story on Timothy Q. Mouse and the history of the conflict between mice and elephants; "Are You a Man or a Mouse" (HD, 4-minutes) is a deleted song that would have been placed after Dumbo becomes a clown.? "The Magic of Dumbo: A Ride of Passage" (HD, 3-min) is a brief reminiscence about the creation and response that people have had to the Dumbo ride in Disneyland.?

From the original DVD release, we have a few archival extras, some of which have been upgraded to HD.? "Sound Design Excerpt from The Reluctant Dragon" (SD, 6-minutes) is a short sequence about sound design from the 1941 Disney film that went behind-the-scenes at the studio.? "Celebrating Dumbo" (SD, 15-minutes) is an older featurette that has a slew of film historians and artists talking about the film and its legacy.? "Original Walt Disney TV Introduction" (SD, 1-minute) is the original intro that Walt Disney gave when the film made its television debut.? Two "Theatrical Trailers" (SD) are included, from the 1941 release and subsequent 1949 re-issue.

Two Silly Symphony shorts are also included, upgraded to HD. "Elmer Elephant" (HD, 8.5-min) is a 1936 short about a timid elephant who is In love with Tillie Tiger; "The Flying Mouse" (HD, 9.5-min) is a 1934 short about a mouse who saves a butterfly and is granted a wish - but not everything is all that he bargained for.? Finally, we have "Art Galleries" (HD) which provide tons of storyboards, concept art, and much more.

Dumbo might not be the most complicated film from the Walt Disney Studio, but it has a ton of heart and a great moral to the story.? With some A+ extras, and the now typically expected mind-blowing transfer, Dumbo has every right to appear in the center ring of your home video three ring circus.

View the original article here

MOVIE REVIEW: West Side Story - 50th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)

Adapted loosely from Romeo and Juliet, Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story tells the tale of star-crossed lovers Tony (Richard Beymer) and Maria (Natalie Wood) in the middle of a turf war between two teenage street gangs on the west side of New York City in the 1950s. The Jets are a group of white teens led by Riff (Russ Tamblyn), while the Sharks are a Puerto Rican gang led by Bernardo (George Chakiris). When the conflict between the two gangs comes to a head, the police intervene, and Lt. Schrank (Simon Oakland) and Officer Krupke (William Bramley) mandate that the two gangs have to reconcile, or else there will be a price to pay. The Jets, however, decide that it might be better to challenge the Sharks to an all-out rumble for full control of the territory, and Riff asks his best friend (and Jets co-founder) Tony to deliver the challenge to the Jets at the school dance. But it's there that Tony sees Maria - Bernardo's sister - and both are immediately smitten with each other. Thus begins their turbulent relationship, with the Jets and Sharks gearing up for war, and their romance caught in the middle.

As it's based on Romeo and Juliet, you can get a sense of where things are headed, and let's just say that it's definitely a heart wrenching tragedy. Directed by Robert Wise and choreographed and co-directed by Broadway icon Jerome Robbins, West Side Story is a masterful celebration of story told through dance and music. The songs, featuring lyrics co-written by Stephen Sondheim with Leonard Bernstein, are each memorable and now considered classics. It's a long film, running a little over 2.5 hours, but the performances from the actors as well as the creative filmmaking style never get boring. In 1961, it was not conventional to shoot musical numbers with such depth and artistry, and it truly did set the bar high for subsequent movie musicals. West Side Story would go on to win ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor and Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Editing and more - and it's all evident when you watch the film.

The new HD restoration of West Side Story looks phenomenal. From the opening aerials of New York City to the stylized rooftop sets to the heart wrenching finale, it's a gorgeous looking film. The deep color saturation is incredibly vibrant, the detail is crisp and sharp, and there is a delightfully slight bit of grain throughout the image reminding us that this was a film. There are occasional moments of moire pattern shimmer and some of the optical shorts feel a little fuzzy but that's just the nature of the medium. There has apparently been some concern regarding the visual fade-out from the overture into the main titles, and reportedly Fox will be offering a disc exchange program. Don't let that dissuade you from watching this on a big screen, though!

Audio for West Side Story is presented in a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track, repurposed from the four-track masters (and not the recently restored six track masters), and as such is not an exact replication of the original 1961 presentation. But that being said, Leonard Bernstein's music sounds phenomenal, dialogue is clean but slightly compressed (again, a product of the time) and while this isn't a reference quality track to show off your home theater, West Side Story sounds just great. Also included is an English 4.0 Dolby Digital track, a Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital track, a French 5.1 DTS track, and a German 5.1 DTS track.

Billed as the 50th Anniversary Edition, on the first Blu-ray disc, we have a few film-specific extras. "Song Specific Commentary by Stephen Sondheim" (HD, 19.5-min) is a brief but highly informative glimpse into the development of the songs, and Sondheim's candor and discussion about things that he likes and dislikes about the songs, as well as where he changed things from stage to screen, makes this a quick commentary well worth listening to. It's a shame it's so brief, though, since I'm sure there is a lot more behind the songs that would be worth having him discuss at length. "Pow! The Dances of West Side Story" (HD, 19-min) is a great deconstruction of the various dance sequences in the film, featuring interviews with people directly involved with the production as well as current experts on dance, film and music. It's available viewed within the film, or individually. "Music Machine" (HD, 85-min) lets you watch all the musical numbers in the film either individually, or in-a-row. >[?On the second disc, we get a wealth of extras, some old and some new. "A Place for Us: The Legacy of West Side Story" (HD, 29.5-min) is a new featurette that looks back at the amazing worldwide influence that the play and film have had on society and pop culture over the past sixty years. "West Side Memories" (SD 16x9, 56-min) is a holdover from the 2003 DVD Special Edition release, and is a rather in-depth and candid look at the making of the film. Interviews with living cast and crew members are mixed in with archival interviews and behind-the-scenes photos and footage to create a compelling and fascinating exploration of the challenges (and serious problems) encountered when making the film. "Storyboard to Film Comparison Montage" (HD, 5-minutes) is exactly what you would expect, a montage of shots from the film compared to their storyboards, set to music. Finally, four "Trailers" (HD, 12-min) are included, rounding out the extras on West Side Story.

As a groundbreaking film musical, West Side Story is a must-see for all fans of cinema and theater. That is has been given a great presentation on Blu-ray, combined with some solid extras, should make it a no-brainer and must-own for everyone.

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