ADDITION: Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - (November 2011) - Boy, at times this looks really sweet. Essentially we have the same release as the 2006 Warner 2-disc DVD package BUT it is on a lone dual-layered 1080P transferred Blu-ray disc with an impressive DTS-HD Master track in Surround 5.1 at a healthy 3445 Kbps. The Polynesian and Hawaiian shooting locales are jaw dropping with their vibrancy. Colors and contrast tighten and produce a higher degree of sharpness via the impressive 2.75:1 widescreen presentation. It connotes a very film-like viewing. The 3-hour film has a decent bitrate and the screen captures should speak for themselves. It is quite an upgrade depending on your discerning eye or system size.

Bronislau Kaper's score is solid. There is some depth in the track and the higher end is supported well. There are a handful of optional subtitle options signifying the Blu-ray disc is region FREE (also sold in Germany). The 1.5 hour's worth of featurettes is here (as discussed below) - none are in HD - neither is the included trailer.  

I still like this version a lot - Brando commands so much of the film and it was a pleasure to see it in such a heavy improvement from the SD. There is also benefit to having a complete viewing without switching discs and the price is reasonable. Recommended!

***

ON THE DVD: The film is spread over two dual layered discs with some extras on both discs (1:48:00 + 1:17:24 with music and an intermission - entre'act).

I was very impressed with this image - beautifully sharp, clean and no apparent digital artefacts - it really does look marvelous. Of course the breathtaking cinematography of French Polynesia adds a huge bonus to the 2.75:1 widescreen visuals. Black levels are pitch and overall the presentation is very bright. Although I rarely make issue of this - I saw a fairly prominent layer change during some of the dance sequences on disc 1 - no biggie just thought I'd say in case you are sensitive to it. The 5.1 track sounded very good - the film actually played in cinemas with 6-channel sound on 70mm prints and 4-channel sound on 35mm prints.

Extras are plentiful - but the four featurettes are more about the ship The Bounty with less valid material on the film or Brando's difficult nature during production (which would have been interesting to hear about). The inclusion of the alternate prologue and epilogue sequences (not seen theatrically) was interesting if essentially uneventful.

To heck with the critics, I have always enjoyed The Bounty story and really got caught up in this version. I thought Brando was great and Trevor Howard and Richard Harris too. Yeah - the final scenes goes on a bit long but it doesn't inhibit the overall grandeur. I recommend!

Gary W. Tooze