Directed by Lloyd Bacon + Byron Haskin (uncredited) + Raoul Walsh (uncredited)
USA 1943

 

  Tough, pacy tribute to the American Merchant Marine, with a convoy en route to Russian waters being attacked on all sides by Nazi submarines and aircraft. The rather fine special effects of explosions and fires tend to overshadow characterization (the crew of the main ship are the usual mix of ethnic stereotypes), while the blatantly propagandist nature of the film means that the enemy are portrayed as vicious, inhuman, smiling sadists. But the performances are strong, and there is considerable curiosity value. The merchant seamen's union was Communist-controlled at the time, and fellow-traveling John Howard Lawson conceived his script in terms of Soviet cinema, with Battleship Potemkin as a model (and characteristic montages executed by Don Siegel).

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 21st, 1943

Reviews    More Reviews    DVD Reviews

DVD Review: Warner - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover

   

CLICK to order from:

NOTE: A few individual sellers have broken up The Humphrey Bogart - The Signature Collection, Vol. 2.

Distribution Warner Home Video - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC
Available in 7-disc The Humphrey Bogart - The Signature Collection, Vol. 2 with The Maltese Falcon Three-Disc Special Edition / Across the Pacific / Action in the North Atlantic / All Through the Night and Passage to Marseille.

           

Runtime 2:07:16 
Video 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 4.58 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s   

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

Audio English (Dolby Digital 2.0) 
Subtitles English, Spanish, French, None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: Warner Home Video

Aspect Ratio:
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1

Edition Details:

• Warner Night at the Movies 1943 Short Subjects Gallery: vintage newsreel, musical short Cavalcade of Dance, classic cartoon Greetings Bait
• New featurette "Credit Where Credit is Due"
• Audio-only bonus: radio show with George Raft and Raymond Massey 

DVD Release Date: October 3rd, 2006

Slim transparent Keep Case (thinpak)
Chapters: 32

 

 

Comments:

Although this DVD is only 'officially' available in The Humphrey Bogart - The Signature Collection, Vol. 2, a few individual marketplace sellers have broken up the package and are re-selling the single thinpak DVDs (aside from the 3-disc The Maltese Falcon - which is selling separately by Warner). We strongly recommend the complete collection which represents 7 disc (5 feature films - all on dual-layered DVDs) - they are all coded for regions 1 through 4 in the NTSC standard. Each offer original audio and optional English, French or Spanish subtitles. There are extensive extra features (see individual reviews for more detail).

Image quality is pretty clean but I felt as though blacks had been boosted a shade too aggressively. It tended to look over-digitized at times. It is still exceptionally sharp for a film of this age. Aside from the Warner Night at the Movies segments - the new featurette is called "Credit Where Credit is Due" and is kind of a worthy visit. Added to the package are an audio only radio bonus with Raft and Massey.

This is a decent entry and seems to have been put together with some skill. Certainly this is a fair adjunct to the collection.  

Gary W. Tooze

 





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DVD Box Cover

   

CLICK to order from:

NOTE: A few individual sellers have broken up The Humphrey Bogart - The Signature Collection, Vol. 2.

Distribution Warner Home Video - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC
Available in 7-disc The Humphrey Bogart - The Signature Collection, Vol. 2 with The Maltese Falcon Three-Disc Special Edition / Across the Pacific / Action in the North Atlantic / All Through the Night and Passage to Marseille.

           




 

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