Small companies bring British films to American Blu-rays

By Christopher P. Jacobs
Movies Editor

The big Blu-ray news last week was the release of the “Star Wars” saga by Fox Home Video, the newly-restored “Citizen Kane” by Warner Home Video, and Bogart’s Oscar-nominated “The Caine Mutiny” from Sony. Mainstream American distributors continue to concentrate on recent films and sporadic high-profile classic titles, while niche companies like Criterion, Kino, Eureka, and the British Film Institute come out with off-beat classics, foreign, and independent films. However, there are a few small firms licensing a number of lesser-known but worthwhile titles to release in high-definition editions at reasonable prices.

Just this week, for example, VCI Entertainment has released the classic British comedy “Genevieve” (1953) to Blu-ray, and Legend Films has a double-feature of RKO’s 1935 fantasy “She” with the 1936 British sci-fi film “Things to Come.” Here are summaries of two of their Blu-ray releases of vintage British films (one a double-feature) from earlier this year.

“Romeo and Juliet” (1954) stars Laurence Harvey and Susan Shentall in the title roles with Flora Robson as Juliet’s nurse, Sebastian Cabot as her father, and John Gielgud as the “Chorus.” This sometimes underrated British production from Rank was handsomely filmed in Technicolor on location in Italy. Directed by Renato Castellani, who also adapted the screenplay, it’s much better than the 1936 MGM version, with the two leads looking and actually being much closer to the characters’ ages, if not quite as young as the couple in Franco Zeffirelli’s memorable 1968 production and not quite as emotionally involving as Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio in Baz Luhrman’s audaciously effective 1996 re-imagining of the tale.

Performances are good all around in the 1954 film. The authentic locations help bring the play to life, if the pacing is sometimes uneven. Still it’s a fine production overall, also interesting for the bits of the play it includes or leaves out that are missing or included in other versions.
Cinematography is outstanding (winning the BAFTA award that year), often imitating the composition and colors of Renaissance-era paintings, and is well-represented by this 1.37:1 HD transfer. The picture has vivid colors, rich yet with the somewhat pastel British Technicolor look, although fleshtones occasionally appear washed-out, as they were in the film prints I’ve seen. The image is reasonably sharp, sharper than a DVD, but very slightly soft-looking due to digital noise reduction.

Audio quality is decent, if not overwhelming, with the original mono and an unnecessary 5.1 remix. The only bonus feature is the original trailer in HD, a bit contrastier than the feature, but also somewhat sharper. The trailer’s editing actually makes it look like an action-packed romantic melodrama instead of the rather leisurely-paced film it turns out to be. There are 21 chapter stops in the 140-minute film, but oddly the chapter menu is broken down into only the five acts of the play.
Note that while Blu-rays have been on the market for half a decade now, they’re still a developing technology. This VCI disc for some reason has problems playing on a relatively new LG brand player—the picture is jerky and slow-motion, with audio going out of sync. It plays perfectly fine, however, on a slightly newer Insignia player and on an “old” (pre-internet-interactive) 2008 model Magnavox player.

ROMEO AND JULIET on Blu-ray—Movie: B+ / Video: B+ / Audio: B+ / Extras: F+

THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH

Britain’s Hammer Studios specialized in horror films after Hollywood’s Universal phased them out and before American International moved into full gear. “The Man Who Could Cheat Death” (1959) is a Hammer production released by Paramount in the U.S., a nice low-key amalgam of “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” “Jack the Ripper,” “Mystery of the Wax Museum,” and “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” among other horror classics. Set in late 19th-century Paris, the familiar plot elements comprise an earnest pastiche, however, and the occasionally-talky dialogue is unexpectedly literate at times, betraying its stage origin. The strong cast led by Anton Diffring, Hazel Court, and Christopher Lee, and good direction by Terence Fisher, keep it from becoming stale. Genre fans should find it well worth their while and a good companion to its co-feature in the same box, “The Skull.”

The 1.66:1 high-def transfer on Legend’s Blu-ray is very good, although it seems just a bit softer than it might be, and what looks like grain may sometimes be a slight bit of video noise. The British Technicolor photography comes through well, and is effectively used. The audio is good but has some faint surface noise. The only extras are a main menu and chapter stops.

THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH on Blu-ray— Movie: B   /  Video: A-  /  Audio: A-  /  Extras: F

“The Skull” (1965) is an effective low-budget adaptation of a Robert Bloch story with the feeling of a Hammer horror film and many familiar cast members (including Patrick Wymark, Nigel Green, Patrick Magee, and Michael Gough), but was an Amicus production released in the U.S. by Paramount. Freddie Francis directed Peter Cushing as a researcher obsessed with the occult who becomes possessed by the evil spirit of the Marquis de Sade after he buys a stolen skull with mystical powers. Christopher Lee is the artifact’s former owner who warns Cushing he should get rid of it, but of course he can’t. While a bit cheesy at times, it retains a certain creepiness that transcends the cut-rate special effects, interesting for its genre conventions, cast, and director.

Legend’s Blu-ray is quite sharp (so sharp you can now see the threads holding the floating skull), although the cost-saving Techniscope widescreen photography is naturally grainer than the CinemaScope and Panavision processes. Colors are strong but not as saturated as other Technicolor. Again there are no bonus features besides a menu and chapter stops.
THE SKULL on Blu-ray— Movie: B+  /  Video: A-  /  Audio: A   /  Extras: F

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