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Blu-ray Review Birdman of Alcatraz Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

Matt Hough

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Birdman of Alcatraz Blu-ray Review

Director John Frankenheimer had a memorable 1962: during the year he helmed three highly engaging and very different film dramas: All Fall Down, The Manchurian Candidate, and Birdman of Alcatraz. The latter two films both earned him nominations for Best Director from the Director’s Guild of America, quite an accomplishment for the prolific filmmaker who really flowered in the 1960s. Birdman of Alcatraz, based on the life of an actual lifer housed in a number of penitentiaries during more than half of the 20th century, is most remarkable for its concentration on the making a life of purpose from a former one of purposelessness. It’s a film whose gradual spell works on a willing viewer who by the end has become as invested in this man’s life as he was himself.

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Studio: MGM

Distributed By: Twilight Time

Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC

Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1

Audio: English 1.0 DTS-HDMA (Mono)

Subtitles: English SDH

Rating: Not Rated

Run Time: 2 Hr. 29 Min.

Package Includes: Blu-ray

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Disc Type: BD50 (dual layer)

Region: All

Release Date: 11/11/2014

MSRP: $29.95




The Production Rating: 4/5

Narrated by Tom Gaddis (Edmond O'Brien) who wrote a famous book about the real-life Robert Franklin Stroud (Burt Lancaster), a two-time murderer sentenced first to hanging and then through the tireless intervention of his mother (Thelma Ritter) getting his sentence reduced to life in prison, the story concentrates on the gradual rehabilitation of the brusque Stroud due to his initial interest in an injured sparrow he finds one day in the prison yard and that he nurses back to health. This gives rise to an intense interest in ornithology, the eventual discovery of a cure for septic fever in birds, and the writing of two books on his life’s work. Along the way he makes friends with fellow inmates (Telly Savalas’ Feto Gomez being the central one), guards (Neville Brand’s Bull Ransom who becomes very close), and eventually even a fellow bird lover whom he goes into business with and later marries (Betty Field).The screenplay by co-producer Guy Trosper doesn’t pretend to be a faithful screen biography of Robert Stroud, but the story he concocts certainly draws the viewer into its methodical narrative. He and director John Frankenheimer show the passage of years not through calendar pages or falling leaves from trees but by the expansion of the number of bird cages in Stroud’s cell and the lightening of the inmate’s hair covering the years flying (no pun intended) by. Frankenheimer takes many opportunities to equate the caged birds with their caged owners (often shown with the shadows of bars or screens etched across the faces of the actors playing prisoners), and the memorable moments which occur in Stroud’s life are handled with great sensitivity: finding that first sparrow, curing a canary of septic fever followed by the gradual singing of the birds once again in the cell block, or meeting future wife Stella for the first time are all small incidents but fraught with purpose and mood. The film covers basically the period between 1916 and 1959, but those many eras really don’t get reflected much in the clothes or furnishings we see. The focus is clearly on Stroud who spent the majority of his life behind prison walls in solitary confinement due to the way his commuted sentence was worded. Burt Lancaster was one of three actors in the film who earned Oscar nominations for their work, and it’s a beautifully modulated portrayal with the film’s lengthy running time offering plenty of occasion to see the gruffness and curt mannerisms from the early scenes begin to alter as the years pass by. In fact, his final phone conversation with his wife and his meeting his biographer for the first time are among the movie’s most poignant moments, and all are played perfectly by Lancaster. Thelma Ritter, another Oscar nominee, plays the adoring, committed mother who turns on her son once he takes a wife with that steely edge she could summon in her manner when needed, another remarkable performance in a career filled with them. Telly Savalas playing a demonstratively tough convict who like Stroud learns sensitivity and tenderness due to his birds earned his only career Oscar nomination with the film’s most likable performance. Neville Brand is truly terrific as a guard who demands respect for his kindnesses while Betty Field as good as she is is perhaps a bit too good to be true as wife Stella. Except for that one tender scene near the film’s conclusion, Edmond O'Brien is rather wasted as the author/narrator of the piece. Karl Malden as an unforgiving, flinty warden also does fine work.


Video Rating: 4/5 3D Rating: NA

The film has been framed at 1.66:1 and is presented in 1080p using the AVC codec. The transfer features very good sharpness (with only an occasional scene that’s oddly in poor focus) and an excellent grayscale even though whites do pulsate a little in a scene showing a canary bursting forth from an egg. Some poor stock footage contains the expected picture anomalies, but in the main, dust specks and debris are few and far between. Contrast has been well managed throughout the presentation. The film has been divided into 12 chapters.



Audio Rating: 4/5

The DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 sound mix offers a mono soundtrack very typical of its era. Dialogue has been well recorded (though some moments of ADR are noticeable), and the sound effects and Elmer Bernstein’s lovely score are mixed well with the speech to prevent any conflicts between them. Though most of the age-related problems that might have been present in the audio have been allayed, there is a small amount of light hiss that can be heard in quiet moments in the film’s second half.


Special Features Rating: 3.5/5

Audio Commentary: filmmaker Nick Redman, film editor Paul Seydor, and film historian Julie Kirgo have an interesting and at times animated discussion/debate about the film’s merits and deficits. As usual with these newly produced Twilight Time commentaries, it’s a must listen.Isolated Score Track: Elmer Bernstein’s background score is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo.Theatrical Trailer (3:03, HD)MGM 90th Anniversary Trailer (2:06, HD)Six-Page Booklet: contains a series of black and white stills, poster art on the back cover, and film historian Julie Kirgo’s enthusiastic tribute to the movie.


Overall Rating: 4/5

Birdman of Alcatraz is still a mesmerizing work no matter its faithfulness to the real-life story. With a host of wonderful performances and sensitive direction that makes the viewer feel truly a part of the story as it unfolds, it’s a real classic of 1960s cinema. There are only 3,000 copies of this Blu-ray available. Those interested should go to www.screenarchives.com to see if product is still in stock. Information about the movie can also be found via Facebook at www.facebook.com/twilighttimemovies.


Reviewed By: Matt Hough


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lukejosephchung

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One of Burt Lancaster's signature film performances...glad it's finally gotten the proper presentation that it's deserved after decades of relatively poor home video releases...thanks for the positive review, Matt!!!
 

Malcolm Bmoor

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I apologise for the pedantry but in the name of accuracy on this forum, any dialogue replaced during post-production in 1961 was not by ADR (Automatic Dialogue Replacement - a digital process) but by Looping.

The development of ADR, maybe 25 years later, enabled more accurate matching with the original and hence greater lip sync.
 

theonemacduff

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I'd like to see TT issue Seven Days in May, another Frankenheimer/Lancaster teaming. That, I think, would make a complete set, along with The Train.
 

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