The Captain's Paradise - Barnacle Bill - Blu-ray

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

Directed by Anthony Kimmins / Charles Frend
UK 1953 / 1957

The Captain’s Paradise - Henry St. James (Alec Guinness, The Lavender Hill Mob), captain of a ferry steamer ploughing between Gibraltar and Kalik in North Africa, believes he has discovered the secret of an earthly paradise, a paradise founded on the love of two very different women. In Gibraltar he has a placid, home-loving wife (Celia Johnson, Brief Encounter) who caters for all the domestic tendencies in his character. In Kalik his wild, romantic desires find fulfillment in the exotic charms of Nita (Yvonne De Carlo, Buccaneer’s Girl). But he has overlooked the possibility that women can also be creatures of mood and contrast and that a heaven on earth can become a fool’s paradise.

Barnacle Bill - From the dawn of man to the Battle of Jutland, the Ambrose family tree has always maintained its ability to create a long line of distinguished naval officers… until now. Captain William Horatio Ambrose (Alec Guinness, The Man in the White Suit) has tried hard to preserve his family’s tradition, but unfortunately suffers from chronic seasickness; just the mere mention of anything slightly nautical or aquatic sends him overboard. Once again, screen great Alec Guinness manages to create another unforgettable comic creation for the last film he made with the legendary Ealing Studios. Released in America as All at Sea, this classic comedy co-stars Donald Pleasence (The Black Windmill), Percy Herbert (Tobruk), Lionel Jeffries (Sudden Terror), George Rose (A New Leaf) and bestselling novelist Jackie Collins.

Posters

Theatrical Release: June 9th, 1953 / December 11th, 1957

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:29:14.390 / 1:27:53.393
Video	1.37:1 / 1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 42,538,823,895 bytes The Captain's Paradise: 20,130,398,208 bytes Barnacle Bill: 20,723,644,416 bytes Video Bitrate: 26.93 / 28.23 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate The Captain's Paradise Blu-ray:
Bitrate Barnacle Bill Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1554 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1554 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.37:1 / 1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 42,538,823,895 bytes The Captain's Paradise: 20,130,398,208 bytes Barnacle Bill: 20,723,644,416 bytes Video Bitrate: 26.93 / 28.23 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Trailer "The Captains Paradise" (2:07) Blu-ray Release Date: March 3rd, 2020 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 8

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (February 2020): Kino have transferred two Alec Guinness 1950 comedies; The Captain's Paradise and Ealing Studios Barnacle Bill sharing one dual-layered Blu-ray. These are both from "Brand New 4K Restorations". The Captain's Paradise is in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio, show plentiful grain, good contrast and a very film-like representation. Barnacle Bill is in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio and is tighter with superior black levels and a shade of gloss. There are very few speckles, on either, and no damage - the HD, 1080P, presentations look very pleasing in-motion.

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel mono tracks (16-bit), for both films, in the original English language. There are few, even sea faring effects, some dance music in Barnacle Bill and for The Captain's Paradise there is a score by Malcolm Arnold (The Holly and the Ivy, Tunes of Glory, No Highway in the Sky. The Bridge On the River Kwai, Island in the Sun, Stolen Face, Hobson's Choice) and for Barnacle Bill the score is by John Addison (The Man Between, A Taste of Honey, The Honey Pot, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, Strange Invaders) both sounding flawless in the, respective, lossless renderings. Kino offer optional English subtitles (see samples below) for both films on their Region 'A'-locked Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray has no commentaries and only a handful of trailers. The package does, however, have the appeal of two, excellent, Alec Guinness 1950 comedy features in HD.

The Captain's Paradise may as well have been an Ealing effort, has a great cast with Guinness, Celia Johnson and fellow Canuck Yvonne De Carlo. It's plenty of 50's sexist fun. Barnacle Bill is a jolly fun time and has a good supporting cast with Percy Herbert (Sgt. Pencroft from Mysterious Island), Donald Pleasence (Wake in Fright), Jackie Collins (novelist for The Bitch starring her sis, Joan), Lionel Jeffries (First Men in the Moon) and many others. Great to have both of these on the same Blu-ray disc to revisit. Value lies in the films and the 4K restorations. That is more than good enough to recommend!