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| Starring: Leslie Nielsen, Anne Francis, Walter Pidgeon, Warren
Stevens Directed by: Fred McLeod
Wilcox |
Theatrical Release: 1956
HD DVD Release: 2006
Released by: Warner Home VideoDolby
Digital Plus 5.1
Widescreen |
When I was a kid watching this movie for the
first time, my jaw dropped. It was so far ahead of the black-and-white offerings then
currently the norm. A few choice movies had been in color, such as This Island Earth,
War of the Worlds, and When Worlds Collide. Those were impressive, but they
were in the old Academy 1.33:1 ratio. Planet was in Cinemascope. In those days,
that meant a very wide screen. Today’s theaters cheat on that a little bit. So the
image was huge, it was bigger than life, and it was mostly intelligent, yet exciting,
science fiction. When I was a little older, I found that it was loosely inspired by
Shakespeare’s The Tempest, which proved, as if I hadn’t already known it,
that it was a class act.
| Another Restored Classic for HD  Who would have thought it, but
older films that have been restored seem to be making a greater splash on HD DVD than
newer movies. The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Searchers, and Forbidden
Planet have all been outstanding on HD DVD. Now we must add to that list the
Warner HD DVD of Casablanca (****). A classic, this black-and-white movie is a
favorite even of those who normally detest black and white. Everyone will love it while
watching this disc. The picture has a sheen to it that trumpets either "movie"
or "high def." The thought crossed my mind that I could set up a stand at the
front door, charge the neighbors to get in, and no one would leave disappointed. The
superb photography makes great use of shadow and light and the transfer is so meticulous
that there is never any guessing as to the cinematographer’s original intent.
It’s right there in front, just as it was in 1942. Dark movies have generally looked
great on DVD, which offers more definition in the dark gray and black areas of the image.
Warner has chosen to do all of its mono HD DVD soundtracks in Dolby Digital 1.0,
which should not be any surprise as they do their SDs 1.0, too. This one is sometimes
tough on dialogue, but the music comes through just fine, as does that all-important
propeller rev up at the end of the movie. The excellent extras seem to go on forever, and
even include a Looney Tunes animated version of the story, called Carrotblanca,
which stars just about the whole Tunes gang.
...Rad Bennett
radb@hometheatersound.com |
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It was big news at the time that Walt Disney personnel had
been called in to create some of the special effects, in particular those when the ID
tries to break through the force field around the parked spaceship. Robby the Robot was
also newsworthy. We had not seen the likes of him in previous films.
So far, the classic has fared poorly on VHS, Laserdisc, and
DVD. All of those transfers have had washed-out colors, fuzzy detail, and less than
inspiring sound. This HD DVD has set things right and shows us what all the
excitement was about 50 years ago. The costume colors glisten, the star fields are crisp
on jet-black backgrounds and rock steady. There is nothing "old" looking about
this magnificent transfer. Good stereo sound tracks the characters as they move around the
front stage, and the innovative electronic score has been opened up and wrapped just a bit
into the rear channels. The overall sound, thanks to Dolby Digital Plus, is more
transparent and open than ever before.
Since this is the 50th anniversary of the movie, several
special editions have been put out on SD discs that use the same transfer, excellent,
though not quite as sharp as the HD. All of the extras from those have been carried over
here. Robby was a popular star, and he was featured in a "sequel" movie, The
Invisible Boy. That whole film is included here and though it is lightweight material,
it looks great in crisp black and white. Robby was also featured in a segment of the TV
show based on The Thin Man. That episode, called "Robot Client," is also
here among the extras.
In addition to extras starring Robby, there are an
excellent and entertaining hour-long retrospective look at science fiction movies in the
‘50s, deleted scenes, lost footage, a few other short documentaries, and a boatload
of trailers for other ‘50s science fiction fare. All of this on one HD DVD. It
is a lot of entertainment for a low asking price, a real bargain that can be enjoyed by
the whole family. |
