20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Blu-ray

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Directed by Stuart Paton
USA 1916

Stuart Paton’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916) is an epic retelling of Jules Verne’s classic novel, shot on location in the Bahaman Islands. Allen Holubar stars as the domineering Captain Nemo, who rescues the passengers of an American naval vessel after ramming them with his iron-clad, steampunk submarine, The Nautilus. Incorporating material from Verne’s Mysterious Island, the film also follows the adventures of a group of Civil War soldiers whose hot-air balloon crash lands on an exotic island, where they encounter the untamed “Child of Nature” (Jane Gail). Calling itself “The First Submarine Photoplay Ever Filmed,” the film is highlighted by stunning underwater photography (engineered by Ernest and George Williamson), including an underwater funeral and a deep sea diver’s battle with a giant cephalopod. In honor of the film’s extraordinary technical and artistic achievement, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

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Captain Nemo has built a fantastic submarine for his mission of revenge. He has traveled over 20,000 leagues in search of Charles Denver - a man who caused the death of Princess Daaker. Seeing what he had done, Denver took the daughter to his yacht and sailed away.

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Theatrical Release: December 24th, 1916

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

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Captures in Full Resolution (1920 X 1080):
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:26:16.921
Video	1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 23,385,985,617 bytes Feature: 23,301,076,992 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.97 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 2026 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2026 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentary: DTS-HD Master Audio English 2006 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2006 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 23,385,985,617 bytes Feature: 23,301,076,992 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.97 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio commentary by film historian Anthony Slide Blu-ray Release Date: July 28th, 2020 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 10

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (July 2020): Kino have transferred Stuart Paton’s 1916 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "4K restoration conducted by Universal Pictures, restoration from 35mm Nitrate Print provided by UCLA Film & Television Archive + restoration services provided by NBCUniversal StudioPost". For the most part it looks impressive with the more compromised weaker sequences being a minimum. The most damaged (scratches) seems to be the underwater scenes and with the exotic location conclusion looking the sharpest with great contrast and depth. The 1080P presentation has many excellent visuals.

NOTE: All 43 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) can be seen by DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (24-bit) exporting a wonderful score by Colombian film composer Orlando Perez Rosso. It sounds excellent in the lossless adding plenty of drama. Kino's presentation has recreated English intertitles (see samples below). The disc is a Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by film historian Anthony Slide (author of more than seventy books and editor of a further 150). He discusses the seminal underwater cinematography (shot in Bermuda), the social awareness of submarines sinking warships citing the Lusitania and HMS Pathfinder - the first ship ever to be sunk by a self-propelled torpedo fired by submarine. He mentions the differences from the source novel - about 1/3 of the production being faithful to Jules Verne's book, he explains why Nemo is a Muslim East Indian in the 1916 film version, racial condemnation regarding the make-up, how long a 'League' is at sea, he talks about the Williamson brothers, how the production was beset by delays - actors ill, inordinate rain, that there was 100,000 feet of film shot (enough for 13 features), double exposures and much more. I found it worth the indulgence.

I was very keen to see the silent version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I loved that it includes Mysterious Island story arcs albeit fairly unfaithful to the book. Fans of the Silent Era will appreciate this impressive 4K restoration via the Kino Blu-ray. I loved stepping back and time over 100-years to enjoy this adventure. I hope you get the same pleasure.

Gary Tooze

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Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

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