Back in the summer of 1939, an intrepid crew of filmmakers from M-G-M set off to Oregon and Idaho to create a film based upon the novel by Kenneth Roberts dealing with the Northwest Passage.
It wasn’t released until February of the following year.
That was almost 85 years ago. The film was directed by King Vidor, well known at the time as a superb silent filmmaker. It starred Spencer Tracy, who hasn’t made a film in almost 60 years, and Robert Young, who may be remembered by some today for a role he played on TV, as the head of a family in the series, Father Knows Best.
No getting around the fact that this is an old picture. It was shot in a process called Technicolor, which hasn’t been used in almost 70 years.
Warner Bros. had the original negatives to the film. Old cellulose nitrate stock, that somehow survived. The techs at the studio took all the old elements, put it back together and were presumably shocked to find that they had color.
It’s an old-fashioned form of color, which looks nothing like what we have today. Reds especially seem to jump off the screen, with crystalline clear blues and greens and yellows appearing far different than today also.
If you’re one of those people who (for whatever reason) finds antique color stock of interest, and want to see the work of actors who’ve not worked in decades, Northwest Passage may be just the thing while away a couple of hours.
As the film was meant to be the first of several – it’s only book one – it really isn’t about the Northwest Passage, but rather getting there. I was surprised that there was no opening card warning viewers about the way the Native Americans are shown. It isn’t good, and those with an interest should probably grab a copy before they become one more for the fire.
The Technicolor cinematography I mentioned is quite glorious (for its time). It was shot by William Skall and Sidney Wagner. While nominated for an Academy Award, the color cinematography Oscar ended up going to Thief of Bagdad.
The representation of Technicolor here is not fully representative of the original, which had far less overall resolution. But if you’re willing to accept a Technicolor-like image that appears better in some ways than the original, you may be fine.
I liked it a great deal. But that’s me.
Audio is also fine, and represented via two monaural tracks as opposed to one, which also works.
Bottom line. For those who know who the actors were, and has some recall of that thing called Technicolor, this is a Warner Archive title worth picking up.
The Technicolor is actually quite glorious.
For those who object to Technicolor, and have been warned that it might damage their eyes, it may be possible to turn the color off, and still be able to view the film, which is an epic sized production, that nicely stands the test of time.
Image
Forensic – 8.5
NSD – 10
Audio – 10 (DTS-HD MA 2.0)
Pass / Fail – Pass
Plays nicely with projectors – Yes
Upgrade from DVD – Essential
Worth your attention – 8
Slipcover rating – n/a
Highly Recommended
RAH
It wasn’t released until February of the following year.
That was almost 85 years ago. The film was directed by King Vidor, well known at the time as a superb silent filmmaker. It starred Spencer Tracy, who hasn’t made a film in almost 60 years, and Robert Young, who may be remembered by some today for a role he played on TV, as the head of a family in the series, Father Knows Best.
No getting around the fact that this is an old picture. It was shot in a process called Technicolor, which hasn’t been used in almost 70 years.
Warner Bros. had the original negatives to the film. Old cellulose nitrate stock, that somehow survived. The techs at the studio took all the old elements, put it back together and were presumably shocked to find that they had color.
It’s an old-fashioned form of color, which looks nothing like what we have today. Reds especially seem to jump off the screen, with crystalline clear blues and greens and yellows appearing far different than today also.
If you’re one of those people who (for whatever reason) finds antique color stock of interest, and want to see the work of actors who’ve not worked in decades, Northwest Passage may be just the thing while away a couple of hours.
As the film was meant to be the first of several – it’s only book one – it really isn’t about the Northwest Passage, but rather getting there. I was surprised that there was no opening card warning viewers about the way the Native Americans are shown. It isn’t good, and those with an interest should probably grab a copy before they become one more for the fire.
The Technicolor cinematography I mentioned is quite glorious (for its time). It was shot by William Skall and Sidney Wagner. While nominated for an Academy Award, the color cinematography Oscar ended up going to Thief of Bagdad.
The representation of Technicolor here is not fully representative of the original, which had far less overall resolution. But if you’re willing to accept a Technicolor-like image that appears better in some ways than the original, you may be fine.
I liked it a great deal. But that’s me.
Audio is also fine, and represented via two monaural tracks as opposed to one, which also works.
Bottom line. For those who know who the actors were, and has some recall of that thing called Technicolor, this is a Warner Archive title worth picking up.
The Technicolor is actually quite glorious.
For those who object to Technicolor, and have been warned that it might damage their eyes, it may be possible to turn the color off, and still be able to view the film, which is an epic sized production, that nicely stands the test of time.
Image
Forensic – 8.5
NSD – 10
Audio – 10 (DTS-HD MA 2.0)
Pass / Fail – Pass
Plays nicely with projectors – Yes
Upgrade from DVD – Essential
Worth your attention – 8
Slipcover rating – n/a
Highly Recommended
RAH
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