Jailhouse Rock + Viva Las Vegas (Warner
HD-DVDs)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B Extras: C+ Films: B-
When
Elvis began to make more films that Rock albums, many considered it his nadir
and most fans feared it would kill his career and relevance, but we now know
about his big comeback and permanent position as an all-time legend. However, while Col. Tom Parker landed Elvis
in more turkeys than winners, some of the films were pretty good and not
B-movies with superfluous pop music quickly forgotten. Though he made several music films for three
of the majors (including Fox and Paramount), he made the most for MGM and two
of the best were Jailhouse Rock and Viva Las Vegas.
Jailhouse Rock (1957) tells the tale of a young
man who goes to jail for accidentally killing another man when he hits him,
with Elvis as the rough loner with nowhere to turn. Then, when he serves his time, becomes a rock
and roll singer. Though it would seem
obvious and sounds melodramatic, director Richard Thorpe (in one of his few memorable
films) keeps the pace and energy going, capturing Elvis in his prime. Mickey Shaughnessy plays his one-time country
singer cellmate (implying Rock was pushing Country aside), Judy Tyler is the
record executive/female interest and Dean Jones arrives in one of his few
non-Disney hits.
Viva Las Vegas (1963) follows the
soon-to-be-tired “Elvis Musical” formula of “boy-meets-girl,
boy-barely-loses-girl, boy-obviously-will-get-girl” but here, it was still
fresh and had one of the few female co-stars who was the equal of Elvis:
Ann-Margret. Director George Sidney had
directed several successful Musicals and brought this above a B-movie level it
could have sunk to otherwise. Again,
energy is all over the place, Ann-Margret is one of the few woman in any Elvis
film who has great musical moments and the film is even more upbeat and fun
than many of the teen Rock films of the time (like the Frankie & Annette
cycle) offered. Like Jailhouse, it has a
few dead spots, but in these new transfers, even the lower points are
tolerable. Cesare Danova, William
Demarest and Nicky Blair also star.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image is very impressive on both films,
especially ones so much older than most scope releases in either HD
format. The most immediate point to make
is that both benefit from Ted Turner’s early efforts to preserve the classic
MGM catalog (he owned the films all the way up to 1986) taking action to
preserve a catalog he took more seriously than the major studios were taking
theirs at the time. Though these were
produced with some differences, they set new watermarks for back catalog HD
releases.
Jailhouse was shot in black and white, with
CinemaScope lenses, while Viva was
in color (specifically, MetroColor) and using clearer Panavision lenses. Except for the distortion the two-lens
CinemaScope system used, Jailhouse
is a vivid example of how terrific black and white scope films can be. Director of Photography Robert J. Bronner
already impressed MGM with his use of the scope frame on Musicals like Silk Stockings and constantly comes up
with classic shots for Elvis here.
Martin Scorsese has rightly sited the title song performance as a
landmark, but Elvis also shines performing You’re
So Square (Baby I Don’t Care) and helps contribute to this being one of the
few “Elvis Musicals” that worked. Viva was shot by Director of
Photography Joseph F. Biroc, a cinematographer since the 1920s who became a key
cinematographer in TVs early days and ironically lensed Bye Bye Birdie (1963, which included a send-up of Elvis, director
Sidney and co-star Margret) before capturing the legend here.
If
distortion is a slight flaw on Jailhouse
inherent to the early scope lenses, I had small issues with the Video Red on Viva that kept me watching and thinking,
but the color and detail is far superior to previous releases of the film. Jailhouse is another monochrome winner from
Warner like Casablanca (see our
HD-DVD review) that is the kind of classic black & White release that could
reignite interest in such films after a long dry spell.
As for
sound, both films were originally monophonic, though Jailhouse has Perspecta Sound which allowed for a pseudo-stereo
effect, that still does not make it real stereo. Besides having Dolby Digital Plus 1.0 Mono for
purists and fans, there are Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 and (big surprise) Dolby
TrueHD 5.1 remixes. Both easily
outperform the 1.0 Mono and the TrueHD is particularly interesting as after no
multi-channel Elvis material after all these years except the awful DVD-Audio
of Elvis – The #1s (one of the worst
discs in the format), the TrueHD becomes (by default, give or take vinyl record
purists) the best audio reproduction of Elvis in any format to date.
While the
dialogue and sound effects show their age on both films, the mixes come alive
when the songs kick in and that means stereophonic sound with nice soundstage
and long overdue at that. Even
audiophiles will be impressed when they hear Presley’s voice with unprecedented
life, warmth, clarity and depth. Though
not every song is a gem in either film, most of them work and Elvis gives some
of his best vocal performances in any of his narrative films here. Ann-Margret also sounds really good, rivaling
her vocals on Ken Russell’s Tommy 12
years later, though that has yet to hit Blu-ray.
Extras
include original theatrical trailers and terrific audio commentary tracks by
Elvis/film expert Steve Pond (different for each film) on both releases, plus
each has a brand new featurette. Jailhouse offers The Scene That Stole Jailhouse
Rock and Viva has Kingdom: Elvis In Vegas. Of course, there are many more Elvis films,
including concerts to issue from the MGM catalog. We hope Paramount is as thorough when issuing
King Creole on HD-DVD, while Warner should give the same upscale treatment to Elvis: That’s The Way It Is (both
versions) and the underappreciated Elvis
On Tour. Since RCA/BMG never issued
multi-channel audiophile-caliber Elvis music in DVD-Audio or Super Audio CD,
HD-DVD (and Blu-ray where applicable) is finally a chance to do justice to his
best music work. That it includes Elvis
captured on film is all the better.
In all,
that makes Jailhouse Rock and Viva Las Vegas two of the best back
catalog HD releases to date. That it
sets a new high watermark for music films and Musicals will have people talking
for years to come.
- Nicholas Sheffo
