Jungle
Cruise 4K (2021/Disney 4K
Ultra HD w/Blu-ray)/National
Velvet (1944/MGM/Warner
Archive Blu-ray)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A Picture: B Sound: A/B- Extras: B/C-
Films: C/B-
PLEASE
NOTE:
The National
Velvet
Blu-ray is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner
Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.
Here
are two films that show how family-aimed features have changed over
the decades....
Following
the same cinematic formula as the Pirates of the Caribbean
franchise, Jungle Cruise 4K (2021) is based on a Disney theme
park ride and is a whimsical action/adventure that channels the
Indiana Jones films in terms of its rousing spirit that mixes
supernatural elements with classic adventure story tropes.
Delayed
a year due to the pandemic, the Disney tentpole film stars Dwayne
'The Rock' Johnson and Emily Blunt. It really wants to be a
franchise starter, and the high budget and the money is clearly on
the screen, but I don't think it really connected with audiences like
the studio hoped that it would. However, this movie looks and sounds
fantastic on 4K UHD disc, in fact, I would call it demo disc worthy
in terms of presentation even if the film itself is all over the
place, silly, and pure popcorn munching fare.
Jungle
Cruise also stars Edgar RamÃrez, Jack Whitehall, and Andy Nyman.
The film is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra.
Dr.
Lily Houghton (Blunt) and the heroic skipper Frank Wolff (The Rock)
team up for a high stakes adventure set against a ravenous jungle
full of danger. They set out to uncover a supernatural secret that
has laid dormant for centuries and thanks to Wolff's friendly tiger
and trustworthy steamboat, the ragtag team risk life itself on this
jungle cruise.
Jungle
Cruise is presented in 2160p Ultra High Definition on 4K UHD disc
with an HEVC / H.265 codec with HDR, a widescreen aspect ratio of
2.39:1, and a lossless Dolby Atmos mix, all of which are simply
stunning. There is also a lossless English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz,
24-bit) mix on the disc as well. As mentioned this is demo disc
worthy. The image is exceptionally clear and just looks fantastic
through and through and shows off the capability of this new format.
Special
Features:
Jungle
Cruise Expedition Mode
It's
A Jungle Out There: Making Jungle Cruise
Dwayne
And Emily: Undoubtedly Funny
Creating
The Amazon
Once
A Skip, Always A Skip
Outtakes
and Deleted Scenes.
Jungle
Cruise is a fine movie to turn your brain off to and watch, but
it's nearly cartoonish in its overall execution and spends too much
time trying to be like a Pirates or Indiana Jones film, that
it never really finds its own identity. In terms of its overall
presentation on 4K UHD disc, however, this is a home run.
Decades
ago, when studios seemed more interested in entertaining audiences
with more honest, smart, warm fare that did rang more true than not,
you would get a film like Clarence Brown's
National Velvet
(1944) and it was an event film. MGM had Mickey Rooney as the lead,
but along with the beautiful horse used as a character, the film is
easily stolen by and helped make an even bigger international star
out of Elizabeth Taylor as Velvet, who steals the show, film and
everything else in the midst of a grade-A production of what was then
the biggest studio in the world, the Disney of its time.
She
wins the horse in a raffle and wants to run it, but gals are not
allowed to race horses (at the time) so she decides to forget that
and disguise herself as a male jockey to do so. The film is shot
beautifully in a way we would not see for such a film again until the
Coppola-produced Black
Stallion and has a smooth
pace and solid supporting cast that includes Angela Lansbury, Donald
Crisp, Anne Revere, Jackie Jenkins and the irrepressible Arthur
Treacher.
But
the cinematography, locations, superior use of full Technicolor and
Taylor put this one over the top as it exceeds its demographic aim
and melodrama. It is simply a beautiful film all the way and even
when it gets predictable and overly melodramatic, is hard not to
watch. The studio knew what they were doing and now, we have this
restored edition that is simply stunning.
The
1080p 1.33 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer rarely shows
the age of the materials used, capturing the amazing, superior look
of the dye-transfer,
three-strip Technicolor that even the best Ultra HD cameras in the
world could not begin to match! Warner Archive has once again turned
out a restoration that is amazing and often jaw-dropping, with a few
demo shots that even exceed my rating. Imagine this in 4K!
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mix is an impressive
remaster from the original monophonic sound elements for the film
that sound really good for their age, especially for a film over
three-quarters of a century old, but that is what we get and I doubt
this could ever sound better. Nice!
An
Original Theatrical Trailer is the only extra, but some other extra
would have been nice.
To
order either the Warner Archive National
Velvet
Blu-ray, go to this link for it and many more great web-exclusive
releases at:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/ED270804-095F-449B-9B69-6CEE46A0B2BF?ingress=0&visitId=6171710b-08c8-4829-803d-d8b922581c55&tag=blurayforum-20
-
Nicholas Sheffo (Velvet) and James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
