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- Josh Steinberg
#3 - Gunga Din (1939)
Viewed on March 5, 2016
Viewing Format: DVD (Warner)
Gunga Din was another Grant movie I had never seen before, that came in Volume 2 of the TCM Greatest Classic Legend Cary Grant set. This set also includes Destination Tokyo, Arsenic And Old Lace and Sylvia Scarlet, and was going for $7 on Amazon when I got it. In other words, this has to qualify as one of the deals of the century. Each movie is on its own disc with whatever bonus features came in the original release. Originally my fiancé had gotten me Arsenic And Old Lace on its own for my birthday, but when I discovered that this set was actually cheaper than the individual Arsenic disc, she eagerly exchanged them for me. I hope these comments on where the discs came from don't get too repetitious. Some of these movies I got at such great deals that seem to be readily available that I think it's worth passing on. I had gotten so used to purchasing movies I had already seen, and re-purchasing titles that I always owned, that I had kinda forgotten the fun of getting a set of movies that were mostly unfamiliar but interesting sounding and discovering things for the first time. To me, that was an even bigger gift than just the set itself.
I loved, loved, loved the movie. By coincidence, I had watched Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom a couple nights earlier, and while the two movies are pretty different, it was easy to see how Gunga Din might have been on the minds of the Indy crew. I had never seen Grant in a real action adventure movie before this, and he's fantastic. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Victor McLaglen are equally great as his fellow Army members, and Sam Jaffe gives a heartfelt performance in the title role. I found this to be one of those utterly enchanting movies, like Errol Flynn's Robin Hood, that just sweeps you off your feet and into a different world. The plotting and pacing is excellent, with just the right blend of action, humor and drama. For all of the talk that movies like Gone With The Wind and The Wizard Of Oz rightly receive when 1939 is talked as a legendary year for Hollywood, in my view, Gunga Din is at least as good as those movies and belongs in any conversation looking back at that special time.
As far as the DVD quality itself, this one was a little more beat up compared to Mr. Blandings and To Catch A Thief, but it's also significantly older than those two, and from the RKO library, which apparently has numerous problems. But the movie is never anything less than watchable (really, it's mostly very, very good with a few moments that are merely less good), and the audio track is clear. English subtitles were included and used, as I ended up staying up way past my bedtime to watch this one. The disc also includes an utterly fantastic commentary with Rudy Behlmer that had me rewatching the movie immediately after finishing my first viewing.
I hope Warner Archive brings this one to Blu-ray someday.
Viewed on March 5, 2016
Viewing Format: DVD (Warner)
Gunga Din was another Grant movie I had never seen before, that came in Volume 2 of the TCM Greatest Classic Legend Cary Grant set. This set also includes Destination Tokyo, Arsenic And Old Lace and Sylvia Scarlet, and was going for $7 on Amazon when I got it. In other words, this has to qualify as one of the deals of the century. Each movie is on its own disc with whatever bonus features came in the original release. Originally my fiancé had gotten me Arsenic And Old Lace on its own for my birthday, but when I discovered that this set was actually cheaper than the individual Arsenic disc, she eagerly exchanged them for me. I hope these comments on where the discs came from don't get too repetitious. Some of these movies I got at such great deals that seem to be readily available that I think it's worth passing on. I had gotten so used to purchasing movies I had already seen, and re-purchasing titles that I always owned, that I had kinda forgotten the fun of getting a set of movies that were mostly unfamiliar but interesting sounding and discovering things for the first time. To me, that was an even bigger gift than just the set itself.
I loved, loved, loved the movie. By coincidence, I had watched Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom a couple nights earlier, and while the two movies are pretty different, it was easy to see how Gunga Din might have been on the minds of the Indy crew. I had never seen Grant in a real action adventure movie before this, and he's fantastic. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Victor McLaglen are equally great as his fellow Army members, and Sam Jaffe gives a heartfelt performance in the title role. I found this to be one of those utterly enchanting movies, like Errol Flynn's Robin Hood, that just sweeps you off your feet and into a different world. The plotting and pacing is excellent, with just the right blend of action, humor and drama. For all of the talk that movies like Gone With The Wind and The Wizard Of Oz rightly receive when 1939 is talked as a legendary year for Hollywood, in my view, Gunga Din is at least as good as those movies and belongs in any conversation looking back at that special time.
As far as the DVD quality itself, this one was a little more beat up compared to Mr. Blandings and To Catch A Thief, but it's also significantly older than those two, and from the RKO library, which apparently has numerous problems. But the movie is never anything less than watchable (really, it's mostly very, very good with a few moments that are merely less good), and the audio track is clear. English subtitles were included and used, as I ended up staying up way past my bedtime to watch this one. The disc also includes an utterly fantastic commentary with Rudy Behlmer that had me rewatching the movie immediately after finishing my first viewing.
I hope Warner Archive brings this one to Blu-ray someday.