Battleground Blu-ray - Van Johnson

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

directed by William A. Wellman
USA 1949

December 1944. A civilian victim of the Battle of Bastogne scrounges through garbage to find a scrap of food. “I don’t even see those things,” a war-numbed GI says. “I want to remember them!” his buddy snaps. Bastogne veteran Robert Pirosh remembers with his Oscar-winning* screenplay for Battleground, a gripping tale of 101st Airborne troops resisting Hitler’s fierce, final counteroffensive. Directed by William A. Wellman (The Story of GI Joe), the superb cast includes James Whitmore as a bantam rooster of a sarge and Van Johnson as a wisecracking PFC (as in “Praying for Civilian”). Rugged and unsparing, Battleground — nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture — makes sure we all remember..

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Theatrical Release: November 9th, 1949 - Washington DC

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Comparison:

Warner - Region 1, 4 - NTSC vs. Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray

1) Warner - Region 1, 4 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT

Box Covers
Distribution	Warner - Region 1,4 - NTSC	Warner Archive Region FREE - Blu-ray
	World War II Collection - European Warfare Includes The Battle of the Bulge / Battleground / The Big Red One Special Edition / The Dirty Dozen / Where Eagles Dare
Runtime	1:58:24	1:58:33.147
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.54 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	Disc Size: 40,713,639,168 bytes Feature Size: 34,544,480,256 bytes Total Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1813 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1813 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	English, French, Spanish, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner Home Video Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Cartoon Featurette - Little Rural Riding Hood • Featurette - Lets Cogitate DVD Release Date: May 4th, 2004 Keep Case Chapters: 29	Release Information: Studio: Warner Disc Size: 40,713,639,168 bytes Feature Size: 34,544,480,256 bytes Total Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC Edition Details: • Cartoon Featurette - Little Rural Riding Hood (6:18) • Featurette - Lets Cogitate (8:00) • Theatrical trailer (1:58) Blu-ray Release Date: January 10th, 2017 Standard Blu-ray case Chapters 32

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray January 17': Everything improves - richer black levels, succulent grain, more information in the frame - it even appears as some damage may have been cleared. It's dual-layered with a max'ed out bitrate. Beautiful 1080P visuals!

Warner go DTS-HD Master (24-bit) for the audio and the effects gain some solid depth and the score by Lennie Hayton (Side Street, The Thin Man Goes Home) also benefits from the lossless. There are optional English subtitles (see sample below) in a gross yellow 'capitals'-only font. The Blu-ray disc is region FREE.

Same extras ported over - Tex Avery's Little Rural Riding Hood, a Pete Smith comedy short; Let's Cogitate and they add a theatrical trailer that wasn't on the DVD.

Everything is better and it's an excellent war film - in the best possible home-theatre-accessible digital transfer. I wouldn't hesitate. Certainly recommended!

***

ON THE DVD: Stellar image from Warner - only a few brief scratches detract it from total perfection. A great G.I. film as well from masterful director Wellman - one of the best of the era. The two shorts are a nice entertaining touch and the subtitles are excellent - original audio - its only missing a commentary - still out of

Gary W. Tooze

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Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray