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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka "Breaking Through the Sound Barrier" or "Breaking the Sound Barrier")
Directed by David Lean
UK 1952
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From David Lean, the legendary director of Brief Encounter, Hobson’s Choice, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and A Passage to India, comes this classic drama about the men who challenged the speed of sound, told from the viewpoint of central character Sir John Ridgefield (Ralph Richardson, Outcast of the Islands). The oil tycoon and aircraft constructor is determined to manufacture a supersonic jet that will travel faster than the speed of sound, and his unswerving desire to reach this goal brings suffering, even death, to his own family. Shocked at her father’s disregard for human life, his daughter Susan (Ann Todd, The Paradine Case) walks out on him. Unperturbed, Ridgefield approaches another pilot with the challenge of piloting his test craft. The film received an Oscar nomination for its screenplay by Terence Rattigan (Separate Tables) and won the 1953 Oscar for Best Sound, Recording. Beautifully shot by the great Jack Hildyard (The Devil’s Disciple) and co-starring Nigel Patrick (The League of Gentlemen), John Justin (The Thief of Bagdad) and Denholm Elliott (The Holly and the Ivy), The Sound Barrier is one of the finest aviation films ever made. *** A film of pictorial excitement and truly poetic eloquence about man's scientific imagination and his bold endeavors to move through the air at supersonic speed is cloaked behind what is surely the clumsiest title in years. It is "Breaking Through the Sound Barrier" and it arrived here at the Victoria last night. As documentary and pedantic as that lengthy and tedious title may sound, we urge you to overlook it and not let it stand in your way. For this picture, which was directed and produced in England by David Lean from an uncommonly literate and sensitive original script by Terence Rattigan, is a wonderfully beautiful and thrilling comprehension of the power of jet airplanes and of the minds and emotions of the people who are involved with these miraculous machines. Excerpt from the NY Times located HERE |
Posters
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Theatrical Release: July 22nd, 1952
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
Warner - Region 2 - PAL vs. Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Thanks to Ole Kofoed for the DVD captures!
| Box Cover |
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In 2016, Studio Canal came out with a Blu-ray in the UK:
Bonus Captures:
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| Distribution |
Warner Region 2 - PAL |
Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
| Runtime | 1:51:25 (4% PAL speedup | 1:57:09.605 |
| Video |
1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.53 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s |
1. 37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 40,914,815,434 bytesFeature: 36,727,646,208 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.93 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital mono) |
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1555 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1555 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps |
| Subtitles | None | English, None |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: Warner Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 20 |
Release Information: Studio: Kino
2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 37,471,315,571 bytesFeature: 30,857,963,520 bytesVideo Bitrate: 31.93 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details:
• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian and Critic Peter Tonguette
Standard Blu-ray Case inside Chapters 10 |
| Comments: |
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
NOTE: We have added 50 more large
resolution Blu-ray captures
(in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE
On their
Blu-ray,
Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel mono track (16-bit) in the
original English language. It is another advancement in the film's audio
and 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,
The Captain's Paradise) sounding
majestic at times. Kino offer optional English
subtitles on their Region 'A'
Blu-ray.
The Kino
Blu-ray has the
a new audio commentary by film historian and Critic Peter Tonguette
where he describes The Sound Barrier as the least seen of David Lean's
films. He makes the case for certain themes involving the Military
Industrial Complex (before Eisenhower coined the term.) Peter makes an
interesting observation that Denholm Elliott (Chris in The Sound
Barrier) plays Ralph Richardson's son both in this film and, also
made in 1952, The
Holly and the Ivy . He reflects on Elliott 's career. He sees
the contours of a domestic drama shot through technology and Tonguette
admits that The Sound Barrier is one of his favorite Lean films,
bucking the trend of the oversized epics the director is more famous
for.
The Sound
Barrier
is an unjustly neglected film, with David Lean's oeuvre focused on his
grandiose epics. I really enjoyed watching it again especially with the
Tonguette commentary. I'm happy to own this great looking Blu-ray.
A wonderful restoration.
Gary Tooze ON THE DVD (2003): The Sound Barrier has a bit more
(not serious) damage and the non-studio flight scenes (not many) are in
very bad shape, A guess could be that David Lean used some old stock
footage and the movie always has looked that way? but I don't know.
Again no extras or subs, but the film is not in unbearable
condition.
-
Gary + Ole |
out
of
Warner - Region 2 - PAL
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Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Subtitle Sample - Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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1) Warner - Region 2 - PAL TOP2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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1) Warner - Region 2 - PAL TOP2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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1) Warner - Region 2 - PAL TOP2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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1) Warner - Region 2 - PAL TOP2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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More full resolution (1920 X 1080) Blu-ray Captures for DVDBeaver Patreon Supporters HERE
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| Box Cover |
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In 2016, Studio Canal came out with a Blu-ray in the UK:
Bonus Captures:
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| Distribution |
Warner Region 2 - PAL |
Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
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Search DVDBeaver |
S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
CLICK PayPal logo to donate!
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Gary Tooze
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Thank You!
