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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Sublime sacrifice")

 

Directed by Roy Boulting
UK 1940

 

When the quiet German village of Altdorf is taken over by an SS platoon which proceeds to enforce Hitler's ideals upon its inhabitants, a kindly pastor questions the agenda of 'The New Order' while members of his parish turn a blind eye to the insidious indoctrination. Before long, he is punished for his vocal opposition and is sent to Dachau, where, despite the abuse and brutality which he suffers, he refuses to give in to the madness and inhumanity of National Socialism.

Adapted from Ernst Toller's 1939 play of the same name, and based on the true story of Protestant minister Martin Niemöller, Pastor Hall is the impressive third feature from the Boulting brothers (Brighton Rock). Starring Wilfrid Lawson (Pygmalion) as the iconic pastor, and Nova Pilbeam (Young and Innocent) as his formidable daughter, the film was one of the first anti-Nazi dramas ever made and had its original production delayed by British censors who were not yet ready to be openly critical of Hitler's regime.

A bold and stirring tribute to the universal power of faith, courage and personal conviction, Pastor Hall has been newly restored from 4K scans of the nitrate duplicate negative by Powerhouse Films and is finally available on Blu-ray for the first time in the world.

***

This film is based on the true story of Pastor Martin Neimuller, who was sent to Dachau concentration camp for criticising the Nazi party. The small German village of Altdorf in the 1930's has to come to terms with Chancellor Hitler and the arrival of a platoon of Stormtroopers (preceded by a flock of sheep). The Stormtrooper go about teaching and enforcing 'The New Order' but Pastor Hall is a kind and gentle man who won't be cowed. Some villagers join the Nazi party avidly, some just go along with things, hoping for a quiet life but Pastor Hall takes his convictions to the pulpit.

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 27th, 1940

Reviews                                                                                                       More Reviews                                                                                       DVD Reviews

 

Review: Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray

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or buy directly from Indicator:

Bonus Captures:

Distribution Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:36:25.821        
Video

1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 35,757,766,139 bytes

Feature: 28,350,741,696 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.94 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

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

Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
Oral History with Boulting:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps

Subtitles English (SDH), None
Features Release Information:
Studio:
Indicator

 

1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 35,757,766,139 bytes

Feature: 28,350,741,696 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.94 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• IWM Oral History with Roy Boulting
• Matthew D Hockenos on Martin Niemöller (2022): the author of Then They Came for Me: Martin Niemöller, the Pastor Who Defied the Nazis discusses the life and legacy of the German pastor (15:04)
• Richard Falcon on 'Pastor Hall' (2022): the ex-BBFC examiner discusses the film's history with the British Board of Film Censors (13:54)
• Newsreel footage (1946): extract from Welt in Film featuring Niemöller speaking about post-war German guilt (2:25)
• The Dawn Guard (1941): short film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Pastor Hall actors Percy Walsh and Bernard Miles as members of the Home Guard (6:19)
• Minefield! (1944): documentary short film produced by Roy Boulting for the Army Film Unit (14:35)
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Fiona Kelly, archival articles, new writing on the short films, and film credits


Blu-ray Release Date: June 27th, 2022

Transparent Blu-ray Case

Chapters 13

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Indicator Blu-ray (June 2022): Indicator have transferred Roy Boulting's Pastor Hall to its world premiere on Blu-ray. It is cited as being "newly restored from 4K scans of the nitrate duplicate negative". The 1080P image is at Indicator's high standard - on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. Contrast is excellent and the image has consistent texture. There are no marks or speckles - an occasional hair in the gate - but overall a magnificent transfer of an incredibly important film.

NOTE: We have added 62 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Indicator use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Pastor Hall has aggressive moments from gunfire to lashings. The track exports authentically modest depth. Dialogue can be occasionally scattered. The score is by Charles Brill and Hans May (The Love of Jeanne Ney, Carol Reed's The Stars Look Down, Boulting brother's Brighton Rock etc.) supporting the film's dramatic moments adeptly in the uncompressed audio transfer. Indicator offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Indicator Blu-ray offers offer a 96-minute archival audio recording; 'The IWM Oral History with Roy Boulting' from 1980, running to the film. He discusses Pastor Hall and the evolution of the production among many other topics. It was marvelous to hear from him. Faith Beyond Borders has Matthew Hockenos, author of Then They Came for Me: Martin Niemöller, the Pastor Who Defied the Nazis, discussing the true and fictional accounts of the pastor’s life. This is new (2022) and runs 1/4 hour. The Cutting Class is also new and has ex-BBFC examiner Richard Falcon talking about the film’s censorship history for about 14-minutes. From 1946 we get Niemöller Speaks in Hamburg - a 3-minute extract from the 'Welt in Film' newsreel, featuring footage of Niemöller’s speech about post-war German guilt. The Dawn Guard runs 7-minutes from 1941. It is a short directed by Boulting, starring Pastor Hall actors Percy Walsh and Bernard Miles as members of the Home Guard. Minefield! was made in 1944, and is a 1/4 hour documentary short produced by Boulting for the Army Film Unit. Indicator include their own image gallery of promotional and publicity material and the package has a limited edition exclusive 36-page booklet featuring a new essay by Fiona Kelly, archival news articles, a look at the lost Eleanor Roosevelt prologue, contemporary critical responses, and film credits

Roy Boulting's "Pastor Hall" is a terrifying true account of how the Hitler's SS - a platoon of stormtroopers - attempt to transform a small German village, Altdorf, to adopt the precepts of Nazism ('The New Order') purging their chosen targets, isolating one after the other in the 1930s. They try to divide and conquer using selective murder, intimidation, torture, and coercive threats with one brave man refusing to comply. That's how we defeat it - YOU don't comply. The prophetic ‘First They Came’ poem was written by German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller on whom "Pastor Hall" is based... where many people become mercenary in the face of fear-induced evil. The U.S. version of "Pastor Hall" opened with a prologue by Eleanor Roosevelt denouncing the Nazis. Her son, James Roosevelt, presented the film in the US through United Artists. The Indicator Blu-ray is the world premiere of a chilling masterwork of essential history and cinema. It shares themes of persecution, guilt, repentance, and personal responsibility. I was floored. It has our absolute highest recommendation of a film that YOU must see. Wow.

Gary Tooze

 

 

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Bonus Captures:

Distribution Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray


 


 

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