More Memorable BluRays From Britain

By Christopher P. Jacobs
Staff Writer

ZULU

Quite a few interesting films have been released on BluRay only in Europe in the past couple of years, and luckily some of them are region-free discs that can be played in US BluRay players. All three of these came out in 2008 and were recently selling for the equivalent of just $14 each from Amazon.co.uk (not including shipping).

”Zulu” (1964) is an epic of British colonial power and native rebellion based on an actual incident that is sort of Britain’s version of “Custer’s Last Stand” or “The Alamo,” with a few major variations. Despite a relatively low budget, it has excellent production values, spectacular South African location shooting, and powerhouse performances. Stanley Baker not only starred in but produced “Zulu” with expatriate American director Cy Endfield for their own brand-new production company, thanks to the backing of Joseph E. Levine.

Michael Caine got his first major role as a young British officer, and Jack Hawkins plays against type as an alcoholic missionary. Unlike most war films, it manages to be a patriotic, moving portrait of personal and national heroism at the same time it undercuts official military policies and makes a powerful anti-war statement. Endfield pulls off a delicate balancing act of making an exciting war picture that glorifies military discipline and bravery while vividly dramatizing its tragic devastation and questioning its ultimate value (and keep it within a PG rating). During the troubled era of the American Civil Rights movement and the South African Apartheid battles, he also dared to depict both the dignity and bravery of the Zulu warriors besieging the lonely British outpost.

For some reason I don’t recall ever having seen this film in its entirety before this, only excerpts on TV or pan & scan VHS. I had gotten a cheap DVD that at least was letterboxed, but the picture was so soft I finally gave up on watching the whole film. The BluRay from Paramount-UK is an audio-visual revelation, including the original stereo soundtrack and incredibly crisp widescreen picture (even though the audio quality is not quite up to modern standards). Unfortunately there is just a little too much digital noise reduction that keeps most of the detail but completely obliterates the film grain. In my basement theatre, this was barely noticeable if I sat in the third or fourth row instead of the first or second, and people two or more screen-widths away from their screens probably won’t notice it.

I’d held off ordering this disc for some time, fearing its standard-definition bonus materials would be unplayable on a U.S.-region machine. As it turns out, all four featurettes and two trailers are in the NTSC format so they play perfectly, and all are quite informative. There’s also a good audio commentary with a film historian and the film’s second unit director.

“ZULU” on BluRay: Movie: A /Video: B+ /Audio: B+ /Extras: A-

BUGSY MALON

Better known for “Midnight Express,” “Fame,” “Mississippi Burning,” and others, director Alan Parker came up with an audaciously clever concept for his first theatrical feature—a musical gangster film set in the 1920s starring kids in all the roles. It now seems to be a cult favorite in Britain but almost unknown in the U.S. I recall “Bugsy Malone” (1976) having played here theatrically but missed it during its short run. I remember seeing it on HBO in the late 70s and I think it was on VHS but never made it to DVD, let alone BluRay on this side of the Atlantic.

Besides the fact that neither the 1920s nor musicals have been in vogue for some time, the film’s biggest obstacle for most viewers is likely that the entire cast is between the ages of about 10 and 15 (including a young Scott Baio and Jodie Foster)! Stealing the show, however, is Florrie Dugger as “Blousey.” The dancers are all impressively self-assured and professional, especially considering their ages, but all the singing appears to be lip-synched to somewhat older voices (including songwriter Paul Williams himself, and what sounds very much like Bernadette Peters, among others).

Paul Williams contributed a fun, bouncy score that is reminiscent of the 1920s with a 1970s Broadway flavor, and fits the quirky concept perfectly. It’s all an affectionate tribute to classic Hollywood as a kid might imagine himself or herself showing up in a formula gangster film. What makes the film work is that the director and cast play everything straight, rather than camping it up.

A few odd choices threaten to push it into farce, such as the pedal-cars and especially the whipped-cream gun blasts, but once one can accept them as a kid-friendly and non-bloody convention, they actually work in the context. The only exception is some apparent changing of the “rules” during the final free-for-all, but what would Hollywood be without a happy ending? Overall the movie is a lot of fun for any movie buff and fan of classic musicals.

The picture looks very good indeed in high-definition, its 1.78 image half-way between the 1.66 that would have been seen in Europe and the 1.85 that was seen in the U.S. The 5.1 stereo soundtrack is also very nice. This disc is region-free so its high-definition content (the feature film) plays with no problem on Region A BluRay players. There is a very good director’s commentary track as a bonus feature. Unfortunately the other bonus features are not merely standard definition but are all in the PAL format, so most American BluRay players will either not play them at all, will display a distorted picture, or will play only the audio.

”BUGSY MALONE” on BluRay: Movie: B+ /Video: A- /Audio: A- /Extras: B- (thanks to the commentary—probably a B+ or A- if the PAL features would play)

ESCAPE TO ATHENA

“Escape to Athena” (1979) is an international production filmed on location on the Greek island of Rhodes that’s a diverting World War II action adventure prison camp picture with an all-star cast. It does not seem to be available in the U.S., only as a Region 2 PAL DVD and as this region-free BluRay from Britain’s ITV.
The plot’s sort of a “Great Escape” meets “Kelly’s Heroes” with assorted other familiar elements that sometimes vary wildly from heavy and disturbingly serious melodrama to smart satire to broad slapstick. David Niven plays a British archaeologist in a German prison camp run by Austrian officer Roger Moore(!), both of whom would rather be collecting antiquities than fighting a war. Meanwhile Telly Savalas is in the head of the local Greek underground, aided by Claudia Cardinale as a madame of the local House of Eros.
Other prisoners include Richard Roundtree (the token Black sergeant) and Sonny Bono (as an Italian), joined by the recently captured USO entertainers Stefanie Powers and Elliott Gould. There’s even a cute throwaway prison camp cameo by William Holden (star of the classic “Stalag 17”). Eventually they come up with a plan to seize some priceless gold artifacts and escape with the help of their commandant!
Of course there’s lots of action and things don’t always go according to their plans. While not particularly memorable, it’s all competently done and provides a good two hours of entertainment if you’re in the WWII adventure-comedy-drama mood (i.e., a perfectly good “program picture,” especially at a bargain price). This disc has the 119-minute European cut rather than the 125-minute version shown in England, or the 101-minute American release (which often gets further trimmed for local TV station broadcasts).
The movie looks pretty good overall, with a few soft spots here and there in the widescreen image that I’m not sure if are due to the transfer, a warped print, or the film’s lower budget not permitting retakes. The sound is mono but certainly adequate if you turn up your subwoofer response a bit. There’s supposed to be over an hour of cast interviews as bonus material, but unfortunately it’s all PAL so all my player shows is a black screen with audio that sometimes jumps around. There’s no audio commentary. At least the original trailer is presented in full 1080p, so it shows up quite nicely on a big screen. ”ESCAPE TO ATHENA” on BluRay: Movie: B- /Video: B+ /Audio: C+ /Extras: C (or maybe a B if you can play the PAL content)

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