A Few Words About A few words about...™ Hell in the Pacific -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

John Boorman's Hell in the Pacific, with Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune in the leads is an interesting WWII drama. The third star is Conrad Hall, whose gorgeous lensing on Koror Island cannot be overlooked.

Kino Lorber's new Blu-ray is a very nice looking presentation, presumably from an IP, as delivered by the rights holder.

Color, grain , black levels are all nicely rendered. Audio, which would have been a bit better, had it been in taken from the original mags, is fine in what is apparently an older 2-track encoded presentation, which spreads nicely.

Mr. Boorman had previously directed Mr. Marvin in Point Blank, a superb film, available from Warner. A great deal of my personal interest here, is toward Mr. Mifune, who without sub-titles, gives one of his typically intense performances.

Image - 4.25

Audio - 4.5

4k Up-rez - 4.75

Pass / Fail - Pass

Recommended

RAH

 

[Mark-P]

By "2-track encoded presentation" I'll take as confirmation that it is stereo and not mono. Good to hear.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Yeah, there is some question about the audio track.

 

[Robert Harris]

Yeah, there is some question about the audio track.

My presumption is, that rather than returning to the original mags, the 2-track Dolby Encoded used on earlier home video releases, was pulled from the vault.

Most people won't be able to tell the difference between that and discreet stereo.

 

[Robert Crawford]

My presumption is, that rather than returning to the original mags, the 2-track Dolby Encoded used on earlier home video releases, was pulled from the vault.

Most people won't be able to tell the difference between that and discreet stereo.

I kind of figure that.

 

[skylark68]

Good to hear a positive review. I pre-ordered and am looking forward to this. I haven't seen it since it was on cable in the 1980's.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

To me the exciting thing about this release is the ability to watch it with either ending via seamless branching. The Anchor Bay DVD didn't have that function (it presented the alternate angle as separate footage), I don't know if the MGM did.

 

[aHorseofCourse]

I'll watch absolutely anything with Lee Marvin or Toshiro Mifune in it, so to watch them together is a no-brainer for me. Glad to hear the Blu is worth a buy.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Well, as filmmakers go I love John Boorman. So, as far as I am concerned this is one of the big releases of 2017. That said, obviously, I am greatly looking forward to sitting down with this one.

 

[rdimucci]

My presumption is, that rather than returning to the original mags, the 2-track Dolby Encoded used on earlier home video releases, was pulled from the vault.

Most people won't be able to tell the difference between that and discreet stereo.

So far you are alone in declaring the audio to be stereo surround. Every other reviewer has either called it mono or has remained noncommittal ("2.0 channel track").

Of course, can you blame them when the video companies themselves won't go out on a limb and declare what they think they are providing on the soundtrack?

 

[Robert Harris]

So far you are alone in declaring the audio to be stereo surround. Every other reviewer has either called it mono or has remained noncommittal ("2.0 channel track").

Of course, can you blame them when the video companies themselves won't go out on a limb and declare what they think they are providing on the soundtrack?

I don't place blame on licensees. They issue whatever they're supplied.

 

[John Morgan]

My vote it is mono. The main title music seems to have a bit of separation, but all the sound effects seem rooted in the middle speaker when dolby digital matrix is used. Maybe they lost the stereo tracks and did a sort of musical score stereo over the mono dialog and soundeffects. But it is disappointing to again have the sound not up to the visuals. The original sound mix is almost as important as proper aspect ratio to me. Surely there are a few vintage 4 channel mag prints or 70mm blowup with 6 channel sound somewhere in their inventory.

Just recently I saw that A HOME OF OUR OWN came out on Blu ray via Olive. I had it on DVD and it was letterboxed within the 1:33 frame and really didn't look that great, but it had a nice surround-stereo track when matrixed. The blu ray was dead mono, although it said stereo 2 track...it was mono 2 track. I wish some kind of agreement on specs would include if the 2-track is stereo or mono. Even reviewers don't seem to know.

 

[rdimucci]

I don't place blame on licensees. They issue whatever they're supplied.

I don't blame the licensees for issuing what is supplied to them. I blame them for not informing the customer as to what they are supplying to us. Telling us on the packaging that the sound is "DTS-HD 2.0" is worthless unless they specify whether that "2.0" is dual-channel mono, front stereo, or matrixed surround. And if the licensee doesn't know, I believe they have an obligation to go back to the studio and find out.

 

[rdimucci]

My vote it is mono. The main title music seems to have a bit of separation, but all the sound effects seem rooted in the middle speaker when dolby digital matrix is used. Maybe they lost the stereo tracks and did a sort of musical score stereo over the mono dialog and soundeffects. But it is disappointing to again have the sound not up to the visuals. The original sound mix is almost as important as proper aspect ratio to me. Surely there are a few vintage 4 channel mag prints or 70mm blowup with 6 channel sound somewhere in their inventory.

As near as I can tell from reviews (I don't have the disc) the 2004 MGM DVD of HELL IN THE PACIFIC was also mono. That's the reason I didn't buy it. I DO have the 1992 CBS/Fox letterboxed laserdisc which has a very nice digital Dolby Surround soundtrack. Why didn't they just get the sound from that, and at least offer it as an alternate, even if it is lossy?

Regarding the sound on the laserdisc, the LaserDisc Newsletter said that "the disc's tremendous stereo surround soundtrack transports the viewer to the island as a third castaway. ... Not only are the sound effects heavily dimensional and forcefully delivered, but Lalo Schifrin's sophomoric musical score is turned into a delightful range of emotional cues by the separation process--the orchestrations are more airy and do not weigh the movie down."

 

[JoshZ]

I DO have the 1992 CBS/Fox letterboxed laserdisc which has a very nice digital Dolby Surround soundtrack. Why didn't they just get the sound from that, and at least offer it as an alternate, even if it is lossy?

The Laserdisc audio would have been uncompressed PCM, not lossy.

 

[Stephen PI]

Well, I am about half way through the film and I'm hearing a beautifully mixed stereo track.
If only it had been the discrete track!
So far I haven't heard anything specific that may indicate a surround channel, but for what it is I am not disappointed.
The post production mixer is Clem Portman and I believe he worked at the Samuel Goldwyn Studios Sound Department in his later years.

 

[Mark-P]

Well, I am about half way through the film and I'm hearing a beautifully mixed stereo track.
If only it had been the discrete track!
So far I haven't heard anything specific that may indicate a surround channel, but for what it is I am not disappointed.
The post production mixer is Clem Portman and I believe he worked at the Samuel Goldwyn Studios Sound Department in his later years.

Glad to hear it. It's probably the same 2 channel mix that goes back to the laserdisc release. I was really doubtful of the last handful of posts all implying that the LD mix was lost and that this was some repurposed mono to stereo thing.

 

[titch]

Brilliant and rather sad interview with John Boorman in today's The Guardian. Can just imagine Lee Marvin sitting at his table in that grand old house.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/20...e-holy-grail-is-lost-no-i-have-it-on-my-piano