Review by Gary Tooze

 

Production:

Theatrical: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Video: 20th Century Fox

 

Disc:

Region: FREE! (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player)

Runtime: 1:34:27.703

Disc Size: 31,521,041,163 bytes

Feature Size: 29,789,982,720 bytes

Video Bitrate: 32.19 Mbps

Chapters: 24

Case: Standard Blu-ray case

Release date: July 30th, 2013

 

Video:

Aspect ratio: 2.55:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Audio:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 2511 kbps 4.0 / 48 kHz / 2511 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 4.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DUBs:

Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
DTS Audio French 768 kbps 4.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
DTS Audio German 768 kbps 4.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
Dolby Digital Audio Italian 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
DTS Audio Japanese 768 kbps 4.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
Dolby Digital Audio Thai 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Turkish 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps / Dolby Surround

 

Subtitles:

English (SDH), Japanese, Spanish, French, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Polish, Portuguese, Turkish, None

 

Extras:

• Theatrical trailer (2:25)

• Marilyn trailers (2:32)

 

Bitrate:

 

 

Description: Marilyn Monroe gives an acclaimed performance in the romantic classic directed by Joshua Logan that features Don Murray in his Oscar®-Nominated role. When Bo (Murray), a naïve rodeo rider, meets saloon performer Cherie (Monroe), he falls head over boots in love. After he literally lassoes Cherie onto a bus headed for Montana, where he plans to marry her, Cherie escapes off the bus--smack in the middle of a snowstorm. But if Bo can learn to rein in his emotions, he might convince Cherie to warm up to him in this rewarding.

 

 

The Film:

In this cinemadaptation of William Inge's Broadway comedy Bus Stop, Marilyn Monroe is cast as Cherie, a fifth-rate nightclub chanteuse who captures the heart of Montana rodeo champ Bo (Don Murray). He, in turn, kidnaps Cherie and bundles her off to the roadside bus stop of the title. Gradually, the headstrong Bo learns that you can't rope a gal the same way you lasso a steer, but before this happens his face is rearranged by gallant bus driver Carl (Robert Bray). By this time, however, Cherie has fallen in love with her impulsive but basically good-hearted abductor. Others in the cast include Arthur O'Connell as Bo's level-headed travelling companion and "protector" Virgil, Betty Field as down-to-earth bus stop proprietress Grace, and Eileen Heckart as Cherie's confidante Vera. The film later inspired a 1961 TV series. A few TV prints of Bus Stop still exist bearing the alternate title Wrong Kind of Girl.

Excerpt from MRQE located HERE

Although it's not explicitly a musical, Bus Stop is certainly a product of that imagination which says the best things in life are free, and if you don't have a dream how you gonna have a dream come true. Once that's understood, it's easier to go beyond the bizarre misogyny and stilted theatricality of the plot in which a naive, loud-mouthed cowboy (Murray) tries to kidnap a saloon singer from the Ozarks played by Monroe. Apart from her engaging performance, the film's real interest lies in the unpleasant nature of its subtext: equations of poverty with personal unworthiness, and the uneasiness of an implicitly homosexual focus on Murray.

Excerpt from TimeOut located HERE

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

Bus Stop goes Blu-ray thanks to Fox and the transfer looks impeccable.  There is no digital enhancement and I suspect the film looked similar to this theatrically although, perhaps losing some of the Technicolor gravitas. This dual-layered 1080P transfer hash a high bitrate. There is some nice textured grain in the 2.55:1 aspect ratio frame. Colors seem brighter and truer than SD could relate and there are instances of depth. This felt very film-like to me and is a giant leap beyond the last DVD edition.  Skin tones seem true and contrast exhibits healthy, rich black levels. Daylight scenes (rodeo) are more impressive but nothing is overly dark and there is no noise. The source is also quite clean and I don't recall even any speckles.  This Blu-ray exported a great presentation. I was very pleased with the video transfer.

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio :

Fox transfers to an authentic DTS-HD Master 4.0 channel at 2511 kbps replicating the original 4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System). The original score by Cyril J. Mockridge and Alfred Newman sounds super. We also get some Johnny Mercer - as sung by Marilyn, some Lionel Newman and a little Tex Ritter. There is some depth and notable moments by the 4 channel separation. Fairly unique and adds a rich flavor to the film experience. There are plenty of foreign language DUBs and subtitle options and my Oppo has identified it as being a region FREE disc playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.

 

Extras :

Like Niagara - nothing but a trailer and some other Marilyn film trailers.

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
While I had always liked this film and the performances - that opinion was certainly escalated by the impressive HD transfer. Bus Stop is a bit of an odd duck but Logan pulled it off and it felt so fresh and appealing in 1080P. I think the Blu-ray at the offered price is an easy decision despite its bare-bones status. Absolutely recommended! 

Gary Tooze

July 22nd, 2013