Battle Hymn Blu-ray - Rock Hudson

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

Directed by Douglas Sirk
USA 1957

From Douglas Sirk, the legendary director of All I Desire, Magnificent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind and The Tarnished Angels, comes this classic Korean War drama starring screen great Rock Hudson (The Last Sunset). As a WWII fighter pilot, Colonel Dean Hess (Hudson) accidentally bombed a German orphanage, killing thirty-seven children. After entering the ministry to atone for the tragedy, Hess eventually rejoins the Air Force to train pilots in South Korea, while devoting his spare time to building a shelter for orphans. But now, to protect these children in a territory fraught with danger, he must fight... and face the past once again. Hudson gives an unforgettable performance as a one-man crusade to right the war s wrongs. Martha Hyer (House of 1,000 Dolls), Dan Duryea (Thunder Bay), Don DeFore (Too Late for Tears) and Jock Mahoney (The Land Unknown) co-star in this compelling drama based on actual events.

***

Battle Hymn was inspired by the true story of American minister Dean Hess, played here with rare sensitivity by Rock Hudson. A bomber pilot during World War II, Hess inadvertently releases a bomb which destroys a German orphanage. Tortured by guilt, Hess relocates in Korea after the war to offer his services as a missionary. Combining the best elements of Christianity and Eastern spiritualism, Hess establishes a large home for orphans. The preacher's efforts are threatened when the Korean "police action" breaks out in 1950.

Posters

Theatrical Release: February 14th, 1957

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

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:48:41.306
Video	2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 34,848,428,555 bytes Feature: 34,069,874,688 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.92 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 1556 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1556 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 2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 34,848,428,555 bytes Feature: 34,069,874,688 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.92 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Critic Nick Pinkerton • Theatrical Trailer (2:48) Blu-ray Release Date: April 27th, 2021 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 (April 2021): Kino have transferred Douglas Sirk's Battle Hymn to Blu-ray. The image quality is not crisp and colors look fairly dull in terms of contrast. Generally it looks unremarkable and soft but the 1080P is consistent throughout and I see no signs of digitization. It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate in the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. I presume this representation is fairly accurate to the available source. Outdoor sequences showcase depth.

NOTE: We have added 56 more 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 with some Korean. There re plenty of war effects - planes and bombs plus a very supportive score by Frank Skinner (Gun For a Coward, The Sleeping City, The World in His Arms, Arabian Nights, The Lady Gambles, The Appaloosa, Madame X, Magnificent Obsession, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, All That Heaven Allows, Thunder Bay, and The Naked City) adding to the film's moods from hints at romance and spiritual contemplation to aerial battle sequences. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Film Critic Nick Pinkerton. He talks about the production quoting from Jon Halliday's book Sirk on Sirk..., Korean war not being particularly popular with Hollywood (quoting statistics from Hollywood Asian by Hye Seung Chung), the actress Anna Kashfi (Marlon Brando's first wife) playing En Soon Yang - and her career, the cinematography of Russell Metty (Spartacus, Midnight Lace) and much more. It is at his usual well-researched and highly informative level, if somewhat dry. There is also a trailer for the film.

Douglas Sirk's Battle Hymn is not to be considered with his famous melodramas of the same era, but is none-the-less a decent film, well played by Rock and support from Martha Hyer, Dan Duryea, Don DeFore, Anna Kashfi, Jock Mahoney, Alan Hale Jr. etc. It's a good story as well with themes of morality conflicting with war, belief in the human spirit and is uplifting. It's a film I had never seen and was pleased to see it via the Kino Blu-ray with the Pinkerton commentary.

Gary Tooze