Summer Of The Greeks Video Edition--The Ancients on Blu Ray
Perhaps it is just a coincidence, or perhaps good planning, that this summer will see the release of several new and classic Sword & Sandal films onto Blu Ray.
The flood begins May 25th with the 50th Anniversary Edition of Spartacus (1960). (Spartacus was Thracian after all…) This is a film well known to members of the AW community and has enjoyed several video incarnations, the most notable being the Laser Video Disc and DVD versions from Criterion. Video quality on these, even though standard definition, was excellent and both came packed with extras including a fascinating interview with Peter Ustinov.
The New Blu Ray release from Warner Brothers is also packed with extras, perhaps not quite as many as the Criterion versions but certainly a plentiful mix of them. This, along with the intro price of $20, is the good news. The bad news is the video quality may be suspect.
Film restoration expert Robert Harris has commented that the “over use of digital tools have blown away detail,” leaving a softness to the image and “halo-ing around objects.” DVD reviewer Glenn Erickson disagrees and finds the video quality to be excellent with only the underground scenes at the Gladiator school to be “noticeably off” and seemingly “too bright.”
Video quality may be a subjective judgment (specs are meaningless here, you will have to judge for yourself) and while we may hope that Criterion will someday be given the opportunity to produce a truly definitive edition of this film, for $20 this Warner release on Blu Ray is certainly a good deal.
Also being released on May 25th is the 1981 Clash Of The Titans. The film was released early on Blu Ray in a Deluxe “DigiBook” edition. This new BD release contains the movie and the same on-disc extras (including a preview of the 2010 re-make) as the earlier release, the only difference being the hardback “DigiBook” which contains cast bios, photos, etc.
Video quality has been rated as good, but not outstanding, while the uncompressed audio is considered to be excellent given the limitations of the original film’s stereo sound track.
Regarding the film itself, as I have mentioned elsewhere, I was never a big fan. Although the artists behind Clash are the same ones who brought us Jason And The Argonauts, I felt that they had failed to capture the magic of that earlier film. They were clearly influenced by Star Wars (the mechanical Bulbo is the ancient equivalent of R2D2) and yet when it came to the special effects they clearly were not. Here too, the magic of the effects in Jason is missing in this later effort.
However…
The 1981 Clash Of The Titans remains a favorite for many and I will not gainsay their affection for this film. No doubt this new edition will be added to quite a few collections.
On June 29th Fox releases Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010), the first film in what Fox hopes will be a new film franchise to rival the Harry Potter series. Whether Percy will ever challenge Harry remains to be seen, though fans of Greek Mythology, even watered down mythology, have given this film enough at the box office to insure at least one sequel. Indeed, if Fox follows the same strategy used on their Planet Of The Apes series then we will see several sequels, each having a smaller production budget than the preceding films.
Many have carped about the film diverging from the book in ways both minor and significant, but generally the critical reviews have been favorable. A cohort of veteran actors backs the young leads who do their best to keep up, and the film is not without its amusing moments, including a short coda at the end of the credits.
The Blu Ray disc boasts an extensive roster of extras including 10 deleted scenes, making of and behind the scene videos, and an interactive quiz.
July will be the big month for Greek Mythology with the release of a classic and a heavy weight remake. First out of the gates, on July 6th, will be the 1963 classic Jason And The Argonauts
Like Spartacus, Jason And The Argonauts has enjoyed a long life on video and is no doubt just as well known to the readers of AW. Perhaps the very best video release, certainly the most complete, was the 1992 Criterion Laser Video Disc.
That 2-Disc set not only included a beautiful video transfer of the film itself, but an array of supplemental material to delight the most ardent fan and jaded cineaste. Besides trailers, original title sequences, production photos and storyboards, there is a step-by-step photo essay on the filming of the justly famous fight between the Argonauts and the Children of the Hydra. Even the inside of the disc jacket features a map that highlights the locations where the story takes place.
The film itself features an excellent cast, and while the leads may be a bit “wooden,” the other parts are well played, particular Zeus and Hera performed by Niall MacGinnis and Honor Blackman respectively. To my mind this is the best envisioning of gods committed to film.
Likewise, the stop motion effects by Ray Harryhausen were never better than in this film. This is Harryhausen at his best, with the battle against the Skeletons being a high point that has been much imitated ever since. Those imitations run the gamut from cult favorite Army Of Darkness to the 1999 re-make of The Mummy.
Although the armor and costumes in Jason are standard Ancient Hollywood, and the Dance of Hecate is right out of Las Vegas, generally speaking the look and feel of the film seems right, or at least as right as Hollywood can be when it comes to ancient history. Perhaps it is because the film is so much fun that we are willing to forgive it these faux pas.
The release of Jason onto Blu Ray is certainly a welcome event, but it is not without some disappointment. This bare bones disc will have very little in the way of extras and nothing like those included on the Criterion Laser Disc. Perhaps Warner Brothers is planning a later Deluxe Edition (to coincide with the 60th anniversary in 2013?) at a “deluxe” price. I will be adding this Jason to my BD collection simply for the increased video & audio quality, however, in the best of all possible worlds, Warner Brother would partner with Criterion to upgrade their Laser Disc version onto Blu Ray. Now that would be a true gift to fans of this film and worthy of the premium price.
Finally, July 27th brings us the new 2010 Clash Of The Titans on Blu Ray.
Much verbiage has already been expended on this film and I will not add to that flood here. Suffice it to say that this Clash is not the Clash of your childhood (or your parent’s) but it may well be that of your children’s as a sequel is already in the works.
Video and Audio quality on this BD should be excellent and the disc will feature a host of extras including deleted scenes, an alternate ending (The Kraken wins?) and a video essay “Sam Worthington: An Action Hero For The Ages.”
There are several other “ancient” films due out this summer, but they will likely not make it onto Blu Ray until the year-end Holiday season at the earliest. As information on those films (Centurion, Eagle of the Ninth, Agora) becomes available we will post it here.
Links of Interest:
The High-Def Digest with Blu Ray release dates, disc specs and reviews
DVD Talk with an excellent review of the Spartacus Blu Ray release
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/42398/spartacus-50th-anniversary-edition/
Links To Amazon for the Various Films
Clash Of The Titans 1981
Spartacus 50th Anniversary Edition
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Jason And The Argonauts
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Now, Amazon has the habit of changing their prices, seemingly on a whim, so if you are considering adding this title to your collection you might want to act quickly.
Also...
The excellent Criterion release of this film, on Standard DVD, is on Amazon for $38.50. That is expensive to be sure, but the only thing that would make this version any better than it is would be to to release it on Blu Ray, and Criterion, at present, has no plans to do so.