World War II proved to be a goldmine for Hollywood providing inspiration for films beginning during the conflict in the early ‘40s and continuing even decades after the end of the war. Three films from the ‘60s have recently been combined in a box set from MGM/UA.
Transfer quality ranges from good to very good, much like the quality of the films themselves. The weakest of the three films, 1963’s '633 Squadron' deals with a R.A.F Mosquito fighter-bomber squadron ordered to destroy a heavily fortified rocket fuel plant in Norway. The film stars Cliff Robertson as the American squadron leader and George Chakiris (West Side Story) as a Norwegian resistance fighter.
Colors are stable but a bit faded. The image is sharp and clear with good detail and good contrast. The film was shot in Panavision and this transfer is correctly framed at 2.35:1. The audio is mono and not particulary good. Dynamics are compresssed and frequency response is likewise limited. This film runs 95 minutes and contains 29 chapters, including a theatrical trailer.
Next up is 'The Devil’s Brigade' from 1968. Based on a real unit from WWII, the 1st Special Service Force, this film’s greatest claim to fame would likely be it’s cast. William Holden stars as a Lt. Colonel charged with taking a motley group of misfits from the US forces and combining these with a highly trained, multi-ethnic group of Canadians to form a cohesive fighting force. In addition to Holden, the film’s cast includes Cliff Robertson, Vince Edwards, Claude Akins, Richard Jaeckel, Andrew Prine, Dana Andrews, Carroll O’Connor and Michael Rennie.
This transfer is a bit better than '633 Squadron' with fairly strong colors and hardly a trace of grain. Contrast and brightness are very good as are sharpness and detail. There is the occasional hint of print damage but, overall, this is a very nice effort. The audio, though still not up to modern standards, does have a bit more range than '633 Squadron' with fairly natural dialog and an adequate rendention of Alex North’s very nice score. The Panavision framing is about spot-on 2.35:1 and a recent pan & scan showing on one of the cable networks showed how important proper framing is to a film like this.
With a running time of 131 minutes, MGM/UA chose to start this movie following '633 Squadron' on side 2 to save disc space. The film contains 32 chapters, however, no trailer is included.
The third feature in this set, and for my money, the best, is 'The Bridge at Remagen'. Set in the final months of the war, this film depicts battle weary veterans on both sides increasingly cynical and ambivalent towards their leadership. With but a single bridge remaining across the Rhine river, American forces are ordered to make a dash for the bridge to destroy it trapping a large part of the retreating German Army with their backs to the river. A German officer is ordered to destroy the bridge before the Americans can get there and cross into the heart of Germany, even though doing so will trap thousands of troops. Standout performances by George Segal, Robert Vaughn, Ben Gazzara and Bradford Dillman raise the level of this film above the average for this genre.
Fittingly, the best of the three films gets the best transfer. Colors are strong, though often take on a brownish hue. The image is very clear with very good detail and sharpness and very little grain. Also a Panavision film, the letterboxing, with a ratio of 2.35:1, is essential to the dramatic structure of this film. The mono soundtrack has suprisingly wide frequency response that even hints at some real bass. Dialog is clear and relatively natural and Elmer Bernstein’s better than average score has a nice fullness to it. The film is encoded with 30 chapters and the side break is notably well placed. Again, no trailer is included.
Though none of these films will fall into the category of "classics", they are, none the less, at least competent and at best, very good. The box lists for $99.95. Not a bad deal for three decent movies.
This review is copyright, and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the author.
