3D Blu-ray Review The Diamond Wizard 3D Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Josh Steinberg]

Kino’s release of The Diamond Wizard, boasting a new 3D restoration by the 3-D Film Archive, is a treasure of a release. A Golden Age-era 3D film that was never actually available to the general public in 3D until now, this disc offers a unique chance for fans of the format to witness the film the way its makers intended.



The Diamond Wizard (1954)



Released: 28 Jul 1954
Rated: Approved
Runtime: 83 min




Director: Dennis O'Keefe, Montgomery Tully
Genre: Crime, Drama, Sci-Fi



Cast: Dennis O'Keefe, Margaret Sheridan, Philip Friend
Writer(s): John C. Higgins, Dennis O'Keefe, Maurice Procter



Plot: An American Treasury agent teams up with a Scotland Yard inspector to track down a group of thieves that are creating artificial diamonds out of sugar.



IMDB rating: 5.6
MetaScore: N/A...

Continue reading...

 

[Robert Harris]

Possibly my problem with this release was comparing it to I, The Jury. Had that comparison not been fresh…

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

Should be receiving this Friday and looking forward to checking out the final product.

 

[Malcolm R]

I also just ordered, so hope to view it soon.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Great review, Josh! Looking forward to picking this up at some point in the near future.

 

[Robert Crawford]

After viewing this film in 3-D this afternoon, I kind of concur with Josh about the first part of the movie being more compelling to me than the last 30 minutes. The 3-D presentation was good as I'll give it a grade of 4/5. My movie grade is 3/5.

 

[RolandL]

$19.78 on eBay with free shipping.

 

[John Maher_289910]

$19.78 on eBay with free shipping.

Thanks. I cancelled my Amazon order, which showed no indication it would ever ship.

 

[ahollis]

My Kino order is on its way. I'm looking forward to watching this.

 

[cda1143]

Thanks. I cancelled by Amazon order, which showed no indication it would ever ship.

Same with mine.

 

[Douglas R]

As a film, I found this far better than I expected with a highly original plot and an action packed finale. The 3D is excellent. I particular enjoyed the various outside location shots mainly around London which made such good use of 3D. I watched part of it with polarized glasses and part anaglyphic glasses. What surprised me was how good the 3D looked in anaglyph. With the absence of new 3D TV screens this is clearly the way to go in the future for many viewers. One thing I didn't care for was Dennis O'Keefe who's never been one of my favorite actors, or the fact that his character is pursuing Margaret Sheridan when he is old enough to be her father. Of course, in the 1950s such age differences on screen were common and decades ago I never gave such issues a moment's thought. Nowadays however, I'm more conscious of how unrealistic such routine casting was and can't help feeling slightly irritated by it.

 

[Charles Smith]

Thanks. I cancelled by Amazon order, which showed no indication it would ever ship.

I should do the same. I wonder what Amazon's problem is. Are they like this with other Kino releases? (My ordering this one from them was just a brain fart, and I guess I'm paying for it.)

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

I should do the same. I wonder what Amazon's problem is. Are they like this with other Kino releases? (My ordering this one from them was just a brain fart, and I guess I'm paying for it.)

They were with the recent release of The Counterfeit Traitor which I preordered, but there was no sign of it shipping on release day. Canceled, ordered from an Amazon third party seller that same day and I had it in hand two days later.

 

[Camps]

As a film, I found this far better than I expected with a highly original plot and an action packed finale. The 3D is excellent. I particular enjoyed the various outside location shots mainly around London which made such good use of 3D. I watched part of it with polarized glasses and part anaglyphic glasses. What surprised me was how good the 3D looked in anaglyph. With the absence of new 3D TV screens this is clearly the way to go in the future for many viewers. One thing I didn't care for was Dennis O'Keefe who's never been one of my favorite actors, or the fact that his character is pursuing Margaret Sheridan when he is old enough to be her father. Of course, in the 1950s such age differences on screen were common and decades ago I never gave such issues a moment's thought. Nowadays however, I'm more conscious of how unrealistic such routine casting was and can't help feeling slightly irritated by it.

Doug, I agree 100% with everything with the possible exception of the Dennis O'Keefe-Margaret Sheridan age difference. OK, per IMDb he was about 46 and she was about 28, so, yeah, maybe a bit of cradle-robbing ... but nevertheless somewhat in keeping with longstanding tradition especially in action movies (see "Gable, Clark" and "Moore, Roger"... )

 

[Robert Crawford]

Kino titles that I must have quickly as possible I order directly from Kino and they usually arrive the week before the actual release date.

 

[RolandL]

I will be getting it today!

 

[Artanis]

Anybody know what's going on with the Amazon delay? I pre-ordered, it was suppose to ship on the 14th. Nothing. I checked out the eBay link posted above but man, that seller has a lot of negative reviews. And the eBay listing shows out of stock. I wonder if Kino isn't getting discs out.

 

[cda1143]

Anybody know what's going on with the Amazon delay? I pre-ordered, it was suppose to ship on the 14th. Nothing. I checked out the eBay link posted above but man, that seller has a lot of negative reviews. And the eBay listing shows out of stock. I wonder if Kino isn't getting discs out.

If you order directly from Kino, they will ship it immediately

 

[Artanis]

If you order directly from Kino, they will ship it immediately.

I imagine. They've been good before on pre-sale delivery dates. I've supported Kino with every 3D release, minus a couple. This time I purchased through Amazon to tie in with other Christmas shopping.

I do have an update: I spoke with Amazon yesterday. They simply didn't get the discs. Maybe some unseen delay on Kino's part. However, Amazon has updated my order details with a new arrival date Dec 17, 2022 - Jan 6, 2023.

 

[Camps]

Assuming it's OK to post links to reviews within threads about reviews, here's a new one from Tim Salmons of Digital Bits, who calls this a "reference quality Blu-ray 3D experience":

Diamond Wizard, The (Blu-ray 3D Review)

The Diamond Wizard, released as simply The Diamond in its home home country of the United Kingdom, was the first full-length 3D film ever made in the UK, but it unfortunately came late during the “Golden Age” of the 3D boom. As such, it was never released in 3D until 2006 when it finally...

thedigitalbits.com