The Colossus of Rhodes Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Il colosso di Rodi")

Directed by Sergio Leone
Italy | France | Spain 1961

Filmmakers often begin their directing careers with works of limited scale. Sergio Leone began with a Colossus. Spectacle is king in The Colossus of Rhodes, Leone's first credited film as a director. Sun-bronzed heroes (including toga-wearing Rory Calhoun) battle tyranny. Prisoners scramble for their lives in coliseum pageants of doom. Usurpers connive. Revolution erupts. And towering over all the excitement is the mighty bronze Colossus that straddles the harbor, fighting foes by dropping burning oil from the huge cauldron it holds and firing streams of molten lead from the catapults in its headpiece. Once upon a time, it dazzled the ancient world. Cult-movie fans think it's pretty nifty, too.

***

By the time Leone was thirty, he'd worked on well over 50 muscle-and-sweat sagas, including Helen of Troy, Quo Vadis? and the chariot scene in Ben Hur. The Colossus of Rhodes was his first attempt at direction, and it was a film remarkable enough, at a time when the peplums had just about reached the end of their particular line, to warrant good notices for its crowd and spectacle scenes. (The Colossus itself is a sophisticated torture chamber hidden behind a persuasively artsy exterior.) After the film's success, Leone turned down attempts to channel him into the manufacture of superman heroics in the Maciste mode, and went back to 2nd Unit work on Aldrich's Sodom and Gomorrah.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: June 15th, 1961 (Madrid - Premiere)

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Warner Home Video (3-disc) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC vs. Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Warner - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - LEFT

Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT

Box Covers
	Also available individually here:
Distribution	Warner - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC	Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	2:00:20	2:08:30.703
Video	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.5 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rays Disc Size: 40,995,935,408 bytes Feature: 39,772,944,384 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.985 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: DVD
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	Dolby English (1.0)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1992 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1992 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentary: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1996 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1996 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	English, English (HOH), French and none	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner Home Video Aspect Ratio: All Original Aspect Ratios - 2.35:1 for Colossus and - 2.55 for Pharaohs and Prodigal Edition Details: • The Colossus of Rhodes (1961) Commentary by film historian Christopher Frayling Theatrical trailer • Land of the Pharaohs (1955) Commentary by filmmaker/historian Peter Bogdanovich with interview excerpts of director Howard Hawks Theatrical trailer • The Prodigal (1955) Commentary by film historian Dr. Drew Casper Theatrical trailer DVD Release Date: June 26th, 2007 3 Standard Keep Cases in cardboard box Chapters: 27, 26, 24	Release Information: Studio: Warner 2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rays Disc Size: 40,995,935,408 bytes Feature: 39,772,944,384 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.985 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Commentary Blu-ray Release Date: June 26th, 2018 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 24

Comments:

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

Warner Archive have brought Sergio Leone's first feature, a sword and sandal historical epic entitled The Colossus of Rhodes to 1080P. It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. Like the DVD the image is not dynamically crisp but the softness now connotes a film-like appearance rather than looking artifact-y - as on the SD. It's quite different from the DVD with the Blu-ray colors taking a visible shift to be richer and bolder with contrast almost venturing to saturation. It looks decent on my system but not overwhelming - more the source than the adept HD technical transfer. This will be as good as it looks on digital, methinks.

Warner provide a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (24-bit) in the English language. There is plenty of action in The Colossus of Rhodes - fights, swords, torture, natural disasters etc. and they carry reasonable weight via the lossless. The film's dramatic score is credited to Angelo Francesco Lavagnino (The Savage Innocents, Chimes at Midnight, Othello, Legend of the Lost), with a nice balancing respecting the historical conventions. Warner add optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

Extras repeat the commentary from the 2007 where we stated "The commentary is Criterion level - Christopher Frayling is Leone's biographer and imparts some detailed knowledge. Really worth listening to." There is also a trailer.

The Warner, Region FREE, Blu-ray has value although those expecting a crisp, glossy image will be disappointed. It looks quite pleasing though - certainly in advance of the DVD and the commentary is one of the better ones. Absolutely recommended to those keen on the director's work or 60's films in this adventure-esque sword-sandal genre - similar to The Last Days of Pompei. , although not on the fantasy level of Atlantis - The Lost Continent or Jason and the Argonauts.