Battle of the BulgeRelease Date: Available now (released May 15, 2007)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Packaging/Materials: Standard single-disc HD DVD case
Year: 1965
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 2h49m
Video (Feature): 1080p HD 16x9 2.76:1
Audio (Feature): Dolby Digital Plus: English 5.1, French 1.0
Video (Special Features): 480i or 480p SD
Audio (Special Features): Stereo and mono
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish (Feature only)
MSRP: $28.99
The Feature: 2.5/5
With the last decade's rebirth of the World War II combat film, spearheaded by Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" and sustained by Clint Eastwood's recent Iwo Jima duology, it seems inevitable that the Battle of the Bulge gets a big screen revisit. After all it was the war's bloodiest conflict with 19,000 American soldiers killed over a five week period. Though Director Ken Annakin's 1965 "Battle of the Bulge" gets credit for the being the first and only to tackle the battle as a whole, instead of just its more notable skirmishes, the film's middling historical accuracy and cardboard characters keep it from being much more than a marker along the way to something better. Watching Lt. Col. Kiley (Henry Fonda) warn his commanding officers of an impending German offensive, only to be shrugged off as paranoid, then continue to be the one with all the answers and insight ultimately plays too much like a disaster film. It's an over-familiar, Hollywoodization that makes the film cheap and clichéd when it should have been genuine and inspiring. And a closing title card rationalizing the treatment doesn't make it any better. So until Spielberg or one of his talented colleagues steps up, viewers are better off watching productions like "Band of Brothers," even though they may be missing the full scope of the event.
Video Quality: 4.5/5
The film is presented in the super-wide 2.76:1 aspect ratio. Viewers will be immediately struck by the boldness and depth of color and black levels in the film's title cards, which are woodblock-style, monochromatic illustrations set against primary color backgrounds. The live action footage maintains the quality of color and blacks, with reds being especially eye catching (e.g. a general's uniform lapels). A shot of a bombed out city, ruins stretching as far as the eye can see, is breathtaking in its clarity, as is a moment when individual motes in a snow flurry can be easily identified. Though it's obvious which shots were done in a studio and which on location, color, contrast range and shadow detail are consistently very good. Grain is visible at times, mostly in background areas. The picture struggles most in dark scenes - really only one, where an officer is hiding in a barn. There are also frequent signs of what looks like lens flare on the left side of many outdoor location shots and there are a couple instances of shimmer or moiré in the tight patterns of car grills and vents. But the film is clear of any dirt, dust or damage, looking quite remarkable for its age.
Audio Quality: 4/5
The Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 mix is largely front-focused, with surrounds providing support to the score rather than any directional effects. The overture, intermission and closing orchestral pieces have a nice, full sound and a balanced, enveloping mix. The subwoofer gets some action during the tank battles, though it never gets to the LFE levels of modern combat films. Dialogue is consistently clear and intelligible and nicely balanced with the rest of the channels.
Special Features: 3/5Commentary by Director Ken Annakin and Actor James MacArthur: Annakin and MacArthur have no trouble remembering their experiences and providing anecdotes from the production, but slow down quite a bit as the film progresses and wind up making some obvious statements about the film and its narrative.
The Filming of the Battle of the Bulge (9m33s): Promotional artifact from 1965 extolls the film's attention to detail, with German Military Advisor Meinrad von Lauchert a focal point.
History Recreated (8m02s): Press junket style interviews with Producer Milton Sperling and Actor Robert Shaw.
Theatrical Trailer (5m06s): The picture quality is not as good as the feature's but still decent. It also looks cropped at 2.35:1.
Recap and Final ThoughtsThe Feature: 2.5/5
Video Quality: 4.5/5
Audio Quality: 4/5
Special Features: 3/5
Overall Score (not an average): 3/5
A film with a script and characters that don't do justice to an important historical event is difficult to recommend. However fans of "Battle of the Bulge" will be pleased by the excellent video and very good audio quality, though the modest special features may prove a bit disappointing.
Equipment: Toshiba 42" CRT RPTV fed a 1080i signal over component from a Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD player. Audio evaluation is based on an Onkyo TX-SR575x 5.1 AVR running JBL S26 mains and surrounds, JBL S-Center, and BFD-equalized SVS 20-39 PCi subwoofer. Audio connection from the HD-A1 is via the multichannel analog outputs.
