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

ADDITION: (August 2019) Indicator Region 'B' - Blu-ray: This is the oldest film in Indicator's Marlene Dietrich & Josef von Sternberg at Paramount, 1930-1935 (Limited Edition) Blu-ray that has Morocco, Dishonored, Shanghai Express, Blonde Venus, The Scarlet Empress, and The Devil Is a Woman. We will compare all of them to the corresponding Criterion Blu-rays.

Most of the other transfers on this boxset contain a similar if not slightly tweaked (contrast) image as the Criterion. "Morocco" is the rare exception with a consistently enhanced contrast, showing richer blacks and a broader range. Though most likely from the same master, the picture on the Indicator would be my choice (by the smallest of margins). Both have a high bitrate, and with the exception of Indicators slightly darker picture, the image is otherwise identical. This is noted as a 2K restoration. You can't go wrong with either the Criterion or the Indicator Blu-ray in terms of image quality, though as I mentioned earlier, the Indicator has those deeper blacks. This is the UK Blu-ray premiere of "Morocco".

At a glance, the audio track here seems that appeared on the Criterion Blu-ray, in 24-bit linear PCM 1.0 mono. As Gary mentioned, the film's audio has a hollowness to the presentation, most likely due to age. Though I do not have the previously reviewed Criterion Blu-ray to compare the audio at the time of this writing, it would seem to be the same track (as I get a similar sense of said hollow sound). This is a Region 'B' Blu-ray from Indicator and contains optional English subtitles.

Indicator one-up Criterion as far as the extras go, starting with yet another incisive and in-depth audio commentary with film critics Samm Deighan and Kat Ellinger. This first big Hollywood introduction (fans would have seen this debut before "The Blue Angel") to Dietrich is a pure delight, and Deighan and Ellinger get into the world's reaction (not to mention Gary Cooper's). I'm particularly fond of a moment where Ellinger relates a story of Dietrich arriving on a boat, and involving an angry wife, I won't spoil anymore. Deighan and Ellinger continue on, discussing the various marketing strategies the studio used to sell Dietrich's image, all hilariously way-off base and not representative of her in the least. Hearing some of these stories (some for the first time) makes me realize that Dietrich could have easily outdone and overshadowed 'Hollywood Babylon' had she ever chosen to condense all of her life stories into a single book. This commentary also taught me that the film was based on the novel, "Amy Jolly, Die Frau aus Marrakesch" by Benno Vigny, which makes me curious to chase down a copy. As of this writing I have only listened to half of this commentary, but these two will definitely have me coming back to finish the track, as I have always been very fond of their commentary style. "Introduction by Nicholas von Sternberg" features the son of Josef von Sternberg discussing "Morocco" and its antecedents over 10-minutes. Also involving von Sternberg, the younger, is the 10-minute "The Art of Josef von Sternberg" which showcases the director's brilliant artworks outside of the confines of cinema. Turns out von Sternberg was also an extremely talented sculptor and painting.
Also appearing here is "The Legionnaire and the Lady", the hour-long radio adaptation of Morocco starring Dietrich and Clark Gable. Following that is an image gallery. This Blu-ray box set from Indicator also features a limited edition exclusive 120-page book with a new essay by Pamela Hutchinson, archival interviews and articles, an overview of contemporary critical responses, film credits and more.

"Morocco" is a fabulous introduction to the cinematic duo of Dietrich and von Sternberg. Dietrich's iconic performance in tuxedo and top hat is pure gold, and if that doesn't sell you on her talents, nothing will. Indicator's Blu-ray boxset matches Criterion's already impressive release, and then some, with a darker image! If you have a Region 'B' player, you NEED to buy this Blu-ray set!

Colin Zavitz

***

ADDITION: (May 2018) Criterion Region 'A' - Blu-ray: This is the first disc of Criterion's Dietrich and von Sternberg in Hollywood Blu-ray that has Morocco, Dishonored, Shanghai Express, Blonde Venus, The Scarlet Empress, and The Devil Is a Woman. We will review all of them, shortly.

Morocco is an old film - just out of the Silent Era and the 1080P attraction is centered around film grain. It is in the accurate 1.19:1 aspect ratio and compared to the DVD shows more information in the frame - on the top, bottom and left edge - losing a sliver on the right. It doesn't look dynamic but is seems very true-to-source in-motion with a max'ed out bitrate on a dual-layered disc. Any weaknesses in the visual quality would be part of the existing source and/or production limitations of the time.

Criterion use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) but the film's audio sufferers from its early production roots and does not sound great - often hollow, no depth etc. The score is by Karl Hajos (City Streets, Werewolf of London, Summer Storm) and of course we can enjoy Quand l'amour meurt and What Am I Bid for My Apple? as sung by Marlene Dietrich in Lo Tinto's nightclub. It  can sound scratchy and weak even in the uncompressed track, but we suspect this I the best it can sound for home theater consumption. Criterion add optional English (SDH) subtitles in a slightly larger-than-usual font (see sample below). The Blu-ray disc is Region 'A'-locked.

This first disc has 4 supplements. Weimar on the Pacific is a new 1/2 hour documentary about actor Marlene Dietrich’s German origins, featuring film scholars Gerd Gemünden and Noah Isenberg. It delves into her sexuality and preferences and is quite interesting. There is also a new 31-minute interview entitled Crazy Love with film scholar Janet Bergstrom from 2014 as produced by Robert Fischer's Fiction Factory. It covers the story behind Marlene Dietrich’s first Hollywood picture, detailing every phase of the film’s production as well as its reception. The Real Amy Jolly - is a short interview with Kinemathek curator Silke Ronneburg who describes the real woman who was the basis for Marlene Dietrich's character in Morocco. The Legionnaire and the Lady is an hour-long 1936 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of Morocco, featuring Dietrich and actor Clark Gable. The package has the other five films and a book featuring essays by critics Imogen Sara Smith, Gary Giddins, and Farran Smith Nehme.

Criterion add essential value for this brilliant von Sternberg war-romance with their extras. Dietrich's sexuality is impossible to restrain and this is a fabulous way to start this desirable Blu-ray set.     

***

ON THE DVD (2005): This is by no means a pristine transfer although it appears to be free of digital manipulations and has some nice film grain. The image is dark and a little cloudy but that seems to follow the atmosphere of the film. Audio is likewise a bit weak, but I am thrilled that optional English subtitles are included, although they don't always follow the literal translation of the dialogue all the time (actually more elaborate sometimes). No extras save some German text screens and an advert for Süddeutsche Zeitung. 

Great to have this pure stylish film in my library. Dietrich just drips off the screen. The price tag of about $12 US makes it a very desirable purchase.  

NOTE: (Thanks Pavel!)- It is issued by Süddeutsche Zeitung, one of the biggest German newspapers, in their series Cinemathek. This series should contain 50 DVDs, one DVDs issued each week, mostly reissues of movies previously issued by different companies (not in the case of Morocco). Süddeutsche Zeitung also has similar Bibliothek and Diskothek series.

Gary W. Tooze