Lost City of the Jungle Blu-ray

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

Directed by Lewis D. Collins and Ray Taylor
USA 1946

Following the end of WWII, war-monger Sir Eric Hazarias (Lionel Atwill) sets the wheel in motion for WWIII. His search for Meteorium 245, the only practical defense against the atomic bomb, leads him to mythical Pendrang. Obstructing his sinister plan to rule the world are Rod Stanton (Russell Hayden), United Peace Foundation investigator, Tal Shan (Keye Luke), Pendrang native, and Marjorie Elmore (Jane Adams), daughter of scientist Dr. Elmore (John Eldredge), unwilling assistant to Sir Eric.

***

An agent from the United Peace Foundation is sent to the isolated province of Pendrang to find out if a man named Geoffrey Wood (believed deceased) is really a warmonger known as Sir Eric Hazarias. This turns out to be true, and Hazarias is in Pendrang to try to locate a rare element that will allow him to create a defense to the atomic bomb, a device that would give any nation the power to take over the world.

There’s a very curious plot device to this serial; despite the fact that the main bad guy is supposed to be the Atwill character (Sir Eric Hazarias), he claims that his secretary Malborn (John Mylong, the fatherly scientist in ROBOT MONSTER) is the actual leader and brains behind the outfit. With this plot set-up, I was preparing myself for a specific twist – namely, that Malborn would turn out to be the real Sir Eric Hazarias, and that the Atwill character would turn out to be a decoy of some sort. However, events in chapter 12 proved me incorrect, and so I was left wondering what the reason was for this odd plot device.

Excerpt from Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings (Dave Sindelar) HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: April 23rd, 1946

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Review: VCI - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Coming out on Blu-ray, in the UK, from VCI, in March 2020: Also available on DVD from VCI:
Distribution	VCI - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	0:26:30.505 X 13
Video	1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,505,507,198 bytes Sample Chapter: 5,089,929,216 bytes X 13 Video Bitrate: 23.96 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate average chapter Blu-ray:
Audio	Dolby Digital Audio English 448 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps
Subtitles	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: VCI 1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,505,507,198 bytes Sample Episode: 5,089,929,216 bytes X 13 Video Bitrate: 23.96 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Photo Gallery • ttgTrailer (2:17) Blu-ray Release Date: October 1st, 2019 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 6 X 13

Serials on disc reviewed by DVDBeaver:

Comments:

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

ADDITION: VCI Blu-ray (October 2019): VCI have transferred the 1946, 13-part Universal serial, Lost City of the Jungle to Blu-ray. VCI have the distribution right to 48 serials from Universal Pictures. This image has the light contrast levels we have seen before in these serials - sometime appearing faded. We presume this reflects the compromised density of the source. Overall though, the image is very acceptable - at times looking surprisingly strong... just faint black levels. It is on one dual-layered Blu-ray disc and supported with a reasonable bitrate for each of the 13-chapters.

On their Blu-ray, VCI, unfortunately, only transfer in a lossy Dolby track. It is in the original English language. We miss the advancement of uncompressed audio with its superior depth. The score is uncredited to Hans J. Salter (Pittsburgh, Man Without a Star, The Killer that Stalked New York, The Strange Door, Cover Up, Man Without a Star, Scarlet Street, The Land Unknown, The War Lord, The Mole People, The Strange Case of Doctor Rx), Frank Skinner (The Appaloosa, Madame X, Magnificent Obsession, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, All That Heaven Allows, Thunder Bay, and The Naked City), and Paul Sawtell (5 Steps to Danger, A Game of Death, Inferno, Silver City, The Fly, Denver and Rio Grande, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea etc.) and is quite standard with plenty of dramatic shifts sweeping stock orchestrations. VCI offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The VCI Blu-ray has a 5-minute 'photo gallery', as an extra, with stills and posters plus a trailer. There are some liner notes through the transparent case that has an essay.

I just love stuff like Lost City of the Jungle and the faux cliff-hanger endings. I appreciate the idea of having them on one Blu-ray housing an entire series and continue to hope, my favorites, the Buster Crabbe "Flash Gordon" serials make it to this format eventually.