The Day of the Dolphin - George C. Scott

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

directed by Mike Nichols
USA 1973

From Mike Nichols, the legendary director of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Graduate, Catch-22, Carnal Knowledge and Silkwood, comes this nostalgic favorite of those who grew up in the ’70s. The Day of the Dolphin stars George C. Scott (They Might Be Giants) as a scientist who trains dolphins to speak, only to find them enmeshed in a government assassination plot. Acclaimed screenwriter Buck Henry (What’s Up, Doc?, Candy, The Owl and the Pussycat) adapted this fantasy-adventure from the popular novel by Robert Merle (Weekend at Dunkirk). Two of the film’s best features are the terrific cinematography by the great William A. Fraker (Bullitt, Rosemary’s Baby) and the Oscar-nominated score by Georges Delerue (Platoon, True Confessions). Trish Van Devere (Where’s Poppa?), Paul Sorvino (The Brink’s Job), John Dehner (Support Your Local Gunfighter), Phyllis Davis (TV’s Vega$), Elizabeth Wilson (9 to 5), Edward Herrmann (The Lost Boys) and Fritz Weaver (Nightkill) co-star in this one-of-a-kind sci-fi thriller.

***

"Filled with graceful and serene activity the camera catches wonderful moments of underwater photography in "The Day of the Dolphin". If you can suspend your disbelief for the pretext of English speaking dolphins plot, this can be quite a rewarding viewing experience. A strange and serious subject matter of a film for director Mike Nichols and screen writer Buck Henry... both evolving out of the comedic genre. As a young boy I was absorbed by this film and still to some degree this day as well. I found my only major drawback as an adult were the expansion of the subplot to assassinate the President seemed to come out of left field. Regardless it is worth seeing. If you are in the right mood, you'll enjoy this film."

Posters

Theatrical Release: December 19th, 1973

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Comparison:

Homevision - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Homevision - Region 0 - NTSC	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:44:16	1:44:58.875
Video	2.35:1.00 Letterboxed WideScreen / 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.85 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 36,663,985,012 bytes Feature: 32,898,072,576 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.92 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 3.0 Stereo remix)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1554 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1554 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Home Vision Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 DVD Release Date: July 29, 2003 Bright Green Keep Case Chapters: 19	Release Information: Studio: Kino 2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 36,663,985,012 bytes Feature: 32,898,072,576 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.92 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson • Interviews with Screenwriter Buck Henry and Actors Leslie Charleson and Edward Herrmann (32:16) • Radio Spot (0:34) • Theatrical Trailer (3:09) Blu-ray Release Date: February 18th, 2020 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 10

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (February 2020): Kino have transferred Mike Nichols' The Day of the Dolphin to 1080P Blu-ray. It is cited as a "Brand New 4K Restoration". The 1080P exposes some of the failing of the 2003 (17-years ago!) SD transfer that looks quite yellow beside the new HD. The Kino has more information on the top and right edges of the 2.35:1 frame, skin tones warm considerably, detail improves - on the dual-layered transfer with a max'ed out bitrate. It looks a shade flat and has some green hues but strong in-motion with texture visible.

NOTE: We have added 25 more large resolution Blu-ray captures for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (16-bit) in the original English language. It is another advancement in the film's audio effects (Alpha and Beta's clicks and 'English', underwater sequences, boats etc.) and score by iconic French composer Georges Delerue (King of Hearts, The High Commissioner, Silkwood, Mister Johnson, Jules et Jim, The Woman Next Door, The Last Metro, Get Out Your Handkerchiefs, Day For Night) sounding a richer and more impacting. Unlike the Homevision, Kino offer optional English subtitles (see sample below) on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray has the same 1/2 hour interviews with screenwriter Buck Henry and actors Leslie Charleson and Edward Herrmann as found on the Homevision, there is a radio spot and theatrical trailer, but the biggest addition is the new audio commentary by film historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson who extol the recently-maligned film (even by Buck Henry). They make the case that it is a fascinating film and Berger shares my opinion when seen 40+ years ago. We all loved it - I mean, talking dolphins, thriller, Scott - very cool. They discuss director Nichols, differences from the book and how it shares features with some of the paranoid thrillers released at the time - and much more. It increased my appreciation of the film, which I already loved. There is also a reversible alternate cover (see below.)

The Day of the Dolphin has such a neat thriller-sci-fi concept. Mike Nichols at the helm and Buck Henry's script add some subtle subtexts. Great score - there is a ton to like here and this HD presentation helped me capture the enjoyment I had for this films decades ago. The Day of the Dolphin is a film I am very happy to add to my Blu-ray collection. I can now get rid of my DVD. An easy recommendation!

Gary Tooze