Review by Gary Tooze

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Product Description:
Available for the first time anywhere in the world in glorious 1080p HD and in its original aspect ratio, The Black Shield of Falworth, starring TONY CURTIS & JANET LEIGH was Universal-International's first feature in CinemaScope. In one of his earliest and most dashing performances, a young Tony Curtis pursues his real-life bride Janet Leigh, while defending the British throne in this swashbuckling saga filled with jousts, jests and medieval super heroics. The setting is England in the reign of King Henry IV, Miles (Curtis) is a headstrong, handsome peasant determined to learn the name of his slain father and discover his true heritage. His fiery ambition and swift sword lead him to the majestic MacWorth castle. There he must compete for both knighthood as well as the hand of the fair Lady Anne (Leigh), but her love is claimed by the evil, conniving Sir Walter Blount. All the while the English throne is being challenged to the death - from sinister forces within. Soon the fate of the realm, and his beloved Lady Anne, will depend upon his martial skill, but not before Miles must unlock the secret of his own shocking, mysterious identity. With its outstanding supporting cast and dazzling set design this is truly an epic tale of which legends are made! Starring the ever charismatic, multi-award winning Tony Curtis (Some like It Hot, Smell of Sweet Success, The Defiant Ones), the OSCAR® nominated Janet Leigh (Psycho, The Manchurian Candidate) and directed by the OSCAR® nominated cinematographer Rudolph Mate.

Synopsis:
Set in medieval period England, BLACK SHIELD OF FALWORTH is the story of Myles Falworth, (Curtis) a peasant raised without ever knowing who his real father was. He goes to Mackworth castle to become a knight and regain his birthright. There he falls hopelessly in love with the Mackworth's daughter Anne, (Leigh.) Their relationship leaves him very unpopular amongst the castle's inhabitants, jeopardizing his ultimate goal; to bear the black shield Falworth. Based on the novel MEN OF IRON by Howard Pyle.

 

 

The Film:

Excerpt from review by J.C. Hartley at VideVista,net located HERE

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

The Black Shield of Falworth appears very decent - approaching stellar on Blu-ray. Colors are bright - grain is apparent and detail advances beyond SD. This is only single-layered but it's always nice to see an earlier classic brought to hi-def disc. The print used for this 55-year old film seems in quite good shape. In motion the image is very smooth and exceptionally clean with only a very few erratic speckles being noted. Skin tones seem true - contrast exhibits adequate, if not piercing, black levels. For the majority of the film daylight scenes are used and they look very good. This Blu-ray has no intrusive noise or blockiness.  By modern standards this is fairly tame visually but as a representation of the original - I doubt much more could be done. This Blu-ray probably looks like the film The Black Shield of Falworth with vibrant colors and consistent grain that stand out as the most impressive attributes.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No boost going on here - it appears to be the same 2.0 Dolby Digital channel track used on the previous Eureka DVD of The Black Shield of Falworth. I would have thought that an upgrade to PCM would have been appropriate but the film doesn't really require a dynamic audio expression. The film's score is unremarkable and fairly typical of the 'genre' - it doesn't produce heavy bass or rousing fanfare - excepting in some of the action sequences at the end of the film. There are no subtitles and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region FREE disc playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
If you lean to a 50's medieval/Arthurian/knights themed movie - this has what you are looking for. It's cool to see youthful Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis together with the romance/adventure aspects although some may find the film underwhelming in its content. Perhaps a poor-man's The Adventures of Robin Hood. I think the appeal lies mostly in the nostalgia for this early cinemascope romp. It could easily be a solid first-feature 'B' picture for a home theater night. The Blu-ray gives the film the best home theater presentation that you are likely to see. 

Gary Tooze

September 20th, 2009