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Directed by Budd Boetticher
USA 1952

 

From Budd Boetticher, the legendary director of Bullfighter and the Lady, Horizons West, The Killer Is Loose, 7 Men from Now and Comanche Station, comes this action-packed World War II classic starring Jeff Chandler (Man in the Shadow), Alex Nicol (The Sleeping City), Charles Drake (No Name on the Bullet) and screen great Sidney Poitier (Lilies of the Field). During the height of the war, General Patton’s Third Army is in desperate need of supplies after a successful invasion of Paris. An elite military truck force is established to deliver goods to the soldiers. Members of this platoon must not only withstand minefields and Nazi resistance, they must also learn to overcome their personal and racial prejudices towards one another. Red Ball Express is a gripping, powerful action-thriller based on true events. Hugh O’Brian (Ambush Bay) and Jack Kelly (Young Billy Young) lead the strong supporting cast.

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August 1944: proceeding with the invasion of France, Patton's Third Army has advanced so far toward Paris that it cannot be supplied. To keep up the momentum, Allied HQ establishes an elite military truck route.

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 24th, 1952

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

Box Cover

CLICK to order from:
Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:23:43.018        
Video

1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 29,004,801,319 bytes

Feature: 26,239,162,368 bytes

Video Bitrate: 37.90 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 1554 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1554 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 English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Kino

 

1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 29,004,801,319 bytes

Feature: 26,239,162,368 bytes

Video Bitrate: 37.90 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• NEW Audio commentary by Filmmaker/Historian Steve Mitchell and Combat Films: American Realism Author Steven Jay Rubin


 Blu-ray Release Date: August 18th, 2020
 Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 9

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (August 2020): Kino have transferred Budd Boetticher's Red Ball Express to Blu-ray. It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. The 1080P image quality is quite good with some inherent softness, plenty of rich grain. The HD presentation is consistent and clean. 

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (16-bit) in the original English language. There are war-related effects sounding impacting with notable depth. There is no credited score. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new audio commentary by Filmmaker/Historian Steve Mitchell (King Cohen) and Steven Jay Rubin (author of Combat Films: American Realism). They discuss Red Ball Express as an action film, not much as a combat film and a rolling 'road picture X 10'. They talk about the use of stock footage, Boetticher's visual style, the lack of main-title sequence, and the strong characters. It's excellent - at their usual edifying level. There are also trailers although none for the film.

Budd Boetticher's Red Ball Express is a good war film. It's strongly character driven and worth a spin. Nice to see beefcakie Jeff Chandler, Alex Nicol, a young Sidney Poitier, girl-next-door Jacqueline Duval, Bubber Johnson in his only feature and others. The Kino Blu-ray offers an authentic presentation and the interesting commentary. Recommended to fans of the genre.

Gary Tooze

 

Menus / Extras

 

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Box Cover

CLICK to order from:
Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray


 


 

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