ADDITION: Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray February 17': Firstly, the Tyrone Power Swashbuckler DVD boxset is reviewed HERE. Kino's Blu-ray transfer looks very film like with nice textures. The 2007 DVD was also very strong for its format, but the advancement in 1080P seems to be in supporting the grain, contrast is more layered, it's a brighter image and has more depth. Your extent of your system will largely determine the improvement you see from BD over SD.

Kino use a DTS-HD Master at 1558 kbps (16-bit). It exports the film's battle effects adeptly - not much swashbuckling till near the end. It's a rousing score by the great Alfred Newman (Cry of the City, The Diary of Anne Frank, Bus Stop, Blood and Sand, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Panic in the Streets, The Song of Bernadette etc. etc.) - very uplifting. It sounds tight and clean via the lossless with sneaky depth here and there. The Kino offers optional English subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.

Kino include a new (I don't believe I have heard it before) audio commentary by film historian Troy Howarth - and he is quite good keeping a quick pace - discussing, and extolling, Welles and attributes of the production, shooting locations etc. As on the DVD set there is the Movietone News: Tyrone Powers Weds Linda Christian in Rome and an option to hear the Newman's isolated score track but only in lossy Dolby. There are also trailers, or teasers, for Prince of Foxes (a barely watchable Spanish trailer), Mark of Zorro, Rawhide, Compulsion, and The Stranger.

I wouldn't label Prince of Foxes as a swashbuckler, per-se, but a darn effective historical drama/adventure with a grand performance from Welles as the ultra-baddie Cesare Borgia - woohoo! It's an enjoyable film - great art direction and costumes - especially for Power fans... recommended!

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ON THE DVD: The 5 main features of this boxset are housed in individual slim Keep Cases (see image above) and they are also sold separately. All 5 DVDs are dual-layered - coded for Region 1 in the NTSC standard. Generally they look very consistent - quite strong transfer-wise. Each offer optional English, French and Spanish subtitles and DUBs (French and Spanish).

Prince of Foxes looks pretty strong - a shade of flickering contrast is noticeable - minor artifacts but detail is very good and black levels are adequate. It again has that dusted appearance at times but it didn't deter my enjoyment of the film one bit. Great to see Welles looking so majestic on screen. In the extras - Newman's score is again isolated for your listening pleasure - there is a MovieTone Newsreel: Tyrone Power Weds Linda Christian in Rome Ceremony running less than 3 minutes. Also included are a stills gallery, advertising gallery (mostly posters) and a theatrical trailer.

NOTE: Each DVD includes 4 Lobby Card reproductions (postcard size) of that particular film and a one page lining the keep case with a color image and listing the chapter stops.

Overall I would say that I am happy with the transfers. I get the feeling that they are as good as the existing elements would allow. Far from perfect but as good as they have looked in a long time.

Tyrone Power: The Swashbuckler Box Set is a wonderful collection - 4 of the 5 films were definitely above average classic Hollywood fare and I felt I learned a lot about this actor - his versatility - and reasons for his enduring popularity. With all the supplements, 2 commentaries and decent transfers of solid adventure films from the Golden age - this is a must-own collection in my opinion. I strongly recommend it. I thoroughly enjoyed my viewings.