Timeless Thirties Classics Debut on Blu-Ray

By Christopher P. Jacobs
Movies Editor

The 1930s are widely considered the “golden age” of Hollywood, yet hardly two dozen features from that decade are currently available on Blu-ray. With increasing popularity of the new high-definition format, this situation is starting to change. Over half of those titles just came out this past year and additional half-dozen 1930s classics are due on Blu-ray before January 1st. Last month, two very different 30s films made their Blu-ray debut from Criterion, yet both containing similar implicit critiques of British colonialism. Each had been filmed previously and was remade later. These versions both stand up remarkably today,although one is a creepy and unusually timely horror/sci-fi thriller dripping with studio style, and the other a lavish Technicolor action-adventure shot largely on location in Africa.

H. G. Wells’ novels have inspired filmmakers for over a century. Arguably the best was “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” dealing with a mad scientist who was attempting to alter animals surgically into human beings - without using anesthetic. Hollywood produced flawed but effective versions of this film in 1996 and 1977. The moodier and rather more disturbing was the first sound version, which was made in 1932 under the title “Island of Lost Souls.”

Even though made before the strict enforcement of the Hollywood Production Code, the film was extremely controversial, banned outright in ten countries (including England), heavily censored in many cities and states, and not widely seen to this day. The first film by a mainstream studio to exploit torture and pain as a major plot element, it may not be able to shock blasé 21st-century moviegoers like today’s gory, sadistic horror movies, yet still contains disturbing sequences with some deeply unsettling implications and metaphoric sociopolitical subtext glossed over or missing in later incarnations.

Versatile character actor Charles Laughton is perfect as the demented, satanic Dr. Moreau, with horror icon Bela Lugosi as the “manimal” who becomes the “Sayer of the Law.” Richard Arlen co-stars as the naïve shipwrecked young man that Moreau hopes to breed with his “Panther Woman” (Kathleen Burke, in her movie debut). Potentially overshadowing the actors are the evocative art direction by Hans Dreier, the shadowy cinematography by Karl Struss, and of course the grotesquely spectacular makeup effects by the legendary Wally Westmore. “Island of Lost Souls” is a film that not only prefigures today’s TV documentaries and sci-fi fantasies of genetic engineering, but dares to go beyond them.

Because the original 35mm negative has been lost and the film had to be reconstructed from several sources, picture quality on the Blu-ray varies. Much of it, transferred from a 35mm master positive, still looks quite good, but a number of scenes are a generation or two removed from the original and a few previously-censored segments were copied from an uncut 16mm collector’s print, so appear somewhat grainier than the rest. Sound is reasonably good for this era of early talking pictures, mastered mainly from the uncut 16mm print.

Criterion has supplied a nice collection of supplements, including a great audio commentary by a film historian, four new HD featurettes with discussion by filmmaker John Landis with makeup expert Rick Baker and a genre specialist, comments by film historian David Skal, filmmaker Richard Stanley (who’d hoped to direct the 1996 remake but was replaced), and two members of the band Devo (whose catchline “Are we not men?” was taken from the film). There’s also a 1976 music video of two Devo songs (in SD), a stills gallery, the original trailer, and a 16-page illustrated booklet.
ISLAND OF LOST SOULS on Blu-ray—Movie: A-  /  Video: B+  /  Audio: A-  /  Extras: A-

“The Four Feathers” (1939) was based on a popular adventure novel filmed numerous times including, coincidentally, a 1929 version starring Richard Arlen, later a 1978 TV movie with Beau Bridges, and most recently in 2002 with Heath Ledger. While each version has its good points, the best by far is this first-rate Alexander Korda production directed by his brother Zoltán for their London Films studio. The plot is a typical British Empire war story of a young officer accused of cowardice by his comrades and fiancée when he resigns his commission before a major mission in the Sudan. He then sets out on his own to redeem himself, disguised as a native, proving more resourceful and successful than his old friends in their ill-fated commands.

While the various other films of the story dramatize the hero’s personal bravery and persistence against the backdrop of military honor and discipline, the Korda brothers’ version has a complex depth that resonates today, arising in part from the two brothers’ opposite sociopolitical viewpoints and the impending start of World War II. Producer Alex intended a staunchly pro-British film extolling the virtues of the Empire, while director Zoltán’s sympathies were with the colonial natives. His hero leaves the army not out of personal fear, but because he objects on moral grounds to the campaign. The result is a highly effective balance, honoring British fortitude and military tradition while simultaneously showing the horrors of war, the admirable tenacity of the enemy, and the dignity of Britain’s conquered peoples.

Picture quality on Criterion’s Blu-ray is generally excellent, reproducing the distinctive rich Technicolor look, scanned from a 35mm preservation negative. Occasionally that composite copy, however, suffers from slightly misaligned color records, and is a touch grainier than if the Blu-ray had been scanned from the original camera negatives. The mono sound is good.

Bonus features are very good, although relatively sparse for Criterion. There’s an excellent audio commentary by a film historian, a fascinating 2011 interview with the director’s son (in HD), an enjoyable 10-minute short (also HD) giving a tour of London Studios while “Four Feathers” was in production, the original trailer, plus an enclosed 10-page pamphlet with an interesting essay and production credits.
THE FOUR FEATHERS on Blu-ray—Movie: A   /  Video: A   /  Audio: A   /  Extras: B+

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