Diary Of Anne Frank (50th
Anniversary/1959/Fox Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: A- Film:
B+
For its
50th Anniversary Fox has reached into it’s archive and has issued
now to Blu-ray George Stevens 1959 film The
Diary of Anne Frank, we are excited to get our hands on this release after
covering the DVD several years back, you can read our coverage of that release here.
So what
is there to say with this new Blu-ray release?
Well, for one we can quickly say that this is the definitive version of
the film to own as we receive improved picture and sound quality, as well as
dozens of new extras that will really excite fans and hopefully bring a new
audience to the film with this Anniversary release. The film and powerful story have aged well,
we knew this when we covered the DVD, but one thing that we were uncertain of
is how well the original source materials would be for the eventual High
Definition release.
Obviously
a film that is 50 or so years old is going to have certain issues that newer
films do not, even meticulous restorations are unable to treat certain damage
to film negatives. That being said, we
receive an incredible treat here with a 1080p High Definition transfer framed
at the films original 2.35 X 1 scope aspect ratio and demonstrating some
incredible black and white photography that captures the film in stunning
beauty. The DVD was inconsistent upon
comparison with this Blu-ray release and was far too soft throughout to really
capture the films depth and detail. Here
we get just the opposite with a truly clean print that restores so much of that
detail with the advancements in technology we certainly get the best version of
the film to date. In addition to good
detail, we also get a print that shows exception contrast with incredibly deep
blacks and consistent whites that are appropriately bright, but never too
hot. In addition to all of these great
things, we also have a print that shows little damage and still shows grain
structure that is characteristic of films of this nature and we enjoy still
seeing true film grain, especially on black and white films.
Not only
is the picture remarkably improved from the previous DVD edition, but the sound
has also been issued here in two options, the first is a lossy Dolby Digital
4.0 mix that is the same as the previous DVD, which most will want to skip over
and instead go to option two, which is the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio
lossless 5.1 mix, which presents the film in a much more detailed way with
crisp dialogue and a more coherent score that sweeps through the film, although
there is little surround activity so-to-speak, it’s interesting that they opted
for a 5.1 mix rather than just a lossless 2.0 mix, or even a PCM 2.0 option as
well. Either way we are not
disappointed, but a 5.1 mix for this film really shows little benefit, the
front soundstage is mostly dialogue-driven and works well enough, we are glad
to have the lossless option, which is more pronounced and natural as compared
to the compressed 4.0 option, we knew that when we covered the DVD.
The
extras on the DVD were fairly extensive at the time, here with this 50GB
Blu-ray we get a load of exclusive extras, which include no less than seven new
featurettes that detail the production a bit more, some are retrospective in
nature, there is a segment on George Stevens in WWII, a making-of segment, a
featurette on the music for the film, and various other programs that help
bring more context to the production as well as the original story from a
variety of channels, these in addition to the previous extras, which have been
recycled from the DVD making this a really sweet anniversary for sure.
We are
very happy when we see catalogue titles (especially classics) receive this type
of treatment on Blu-ray as it inspires a new fascination for cinema and allows
new audiences to see these films as pristine as possible, which only helps
translate the material. Not only that,
but releases like this help the format become more formidable and gives fans
the films they want to not only see on Blu-ray, but own. Hopefully Fox continues this trend with more
from it’s vault, which we know is extensive and we can’t wait for more to come!
- Nate Goss
