The Sign of the Cross Blu-ray - Claudette Colbert

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

Directed by Cecil B. DeMille
USA 1932

From Cecil B. DeMille, the legendary director of Cleopatra, Reap the Wild Wind, Samson and Delilah and The Ten Commandments, comes this classic and turbulent biblical tale starring screen greats Fredric March (The Eagle and the Hawk), Claudette Colbert (Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife) and Charles Laughton (Witness for the Prosecution). Ancient Rome comes to life on a grand scale in the epic spectacular The Sign of the Cross. In the year 64 A.D., the corrupt and maniacal Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar (Laughton) torches the city so he can blame the ensuing destruction on the unsuspecting Christians. Meanwhile, Roman Prefect Marcus Superbus (March) falls for an innocent and beautiful Christian maiden, Mercia (Elissa Landi, The Count of Monte Cristo). When the seductive and wicked Empress Poppaea (Colbert) learns that she has a romantic rival for Marcus’s attentions, she conspires with Nero to send all Christians to a chilling death. Filled with some of the most outrageous and breathtaking scenes ever filmed, including the infamous “milk bath,” this pre-Code classic is a dynamic testament to DeMille’s visionary style. The great Karl Struss (Sunrise) received an Oscar® nomination for his stunning cinematography.

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After burning Rome, Emperor Nero decides to blame the Christians, and issues the edict that they are all to be caught and sent to the arena. Two old Christians are caught, and about to be hauled off, when Marcus, the highest military official in Rome, comes upon them. When he sees their stepdaughter Mercia, he instantly falls in love with her and frees them. Marcus pursues Mercia, which gets him into trouble with Emperor (for being easy on Christians) and with the Empress, who loves him and is jealous.

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Theatrical Release: November 30th, 1932

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Comparison:

Universal - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Universal Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	2:05:33	2:05:56.548
Video	1.33:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.54 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 41,095,859,408 bytes Feature: 39,710,373,888 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.93 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	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) Commentaries: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English (hearing impaired), Spanish, French, none	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Universal Home Video Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratios: 1.33 (should be 1.37) Edition Details: • none DVD Release Date: May 23rd, 2006 Tiered Digipak inside VHS sized bookstyle case Chapters: 18	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 41,095,859,408 bytes Feature: 39,710,373,888 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.93 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Mark A. Vieira • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian David Del Valle • Theatrical Trailer (1:35) Blu-ray Release Date: August 25th, 2020 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 11

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (August 2020): Kino have transferred Cecil B. DeMille's The Sign of the Cross to Blu-ray. It appears to be from important 1990's restoration as found on the last DVD - it had been censored three years after its release and had not been seen in its original version for 60-years. An opening screen tells us: "The full-length original version of Cecil B. DeMille's THE SIGN OF THE CROSS (1932) has been preserved by UCLA Film and Television Archive. Funding by The David and Lucile Packard Foundation The Cecil B. DeMille Estate with Special Thanks to Cecilia deMille Presley Joseph W. Harper, Jr. Peter deMille Calvin, Helen Cohen and The Cecil B. DeMille Estate Universal Pictures". This is on a dual-layered Blu-ray disc with a max'ed out bitrate for the 2-hour film. This is closer to the 1.37:1 aspect ratio than the DVD and can look horizontally stretched but I think it is more authentic. The 1080P is beautifully textured with layered contrast - it looks very pleasing. Almost amusingly, with the higher resolution you can see the Pre-Code 'nakedness', debauchery and bondage more easily - not to mention Joyzelle Joyner and Claudette Colbert's seductiveness. Delicious! There is a sliver more information in the frame and the overall image is brighter with more detail. It looked excellent on my system.

NOTE: We have added 90 large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (16-bit) in the original English language. It is an advancement in the film's audio and uncredited score by Rudolph G. Kopp (The Woman Accused, 1934's Cleopatra, 1934's The Murder in the Zoo, 1950's Noir Mystery Street) - his Christian Hymn No.1 sung a cappella by Christians at the meeting and his Ancaria's Song and Dance (The Naked Moon) played at the orgy and danced and sung by Joyzelle Joyner. The score is also by Paul Marquardt (Blonde Venus), and Milan Roder (The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, The Song of Songs, Supernatural, Murnau's Tabu) as well as Jay Chernis. There is more depth and is crisper. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray has two new commentaries! The first is by Mark A. Vieira (author, with Cecilia de Mille Presley, of Cecil B. DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic.) His knowledge is extensive and it's a pleasure to hear him discuss the director and this epic. It's worthy of repeat viewings. The second commentary is by David Del Valle and he dedicates his commentary to John Kobal - the Austrian-born British based film historian - author of The Lost World of DeMille, which Del Valle strongly recommends. He also exports a ton of information about DeMille's incredibly successful film. I learned so much from both commentaries. There is also a trailer for The Sign of the Cross - and trailers for other films.

I love DeMille's Pre-Code epic The Sign of the Cross. It is fascinating and exciting to this very day. Joyzelle Joyner and Colbert encapsulate Roman era sexuality. It's incredible to see the more graphic parts of the restored film so clearly including the gorilla and bound semi-nude girl, the elephants stomping persecuted Christians and hoisting them up with their tusks, crocodiles attacking another bound gal, the beheading of a Pygmy native by an Amazon woman warrior, the thumbs down signal for Gladiatorial killing, lions, tigers, bears (ohh my)... WOW - this is quite an amazing piece of cinema glory. So great to revisit it in the higher resolution of Blu-ray with the two excellent commentaries. Our highest recommendation!