As
religious themed movies go, Otto Preminger’s THE CARDINAL ($27)
is pure soap opera. Sure, it is a sprawling three hour soap opera, but it
is also a genuinely entertaining film that I happen to like a whole heck
of a lot. Actor turned author Tom Tryon portrays Stephen Fermoyle, an
Irish Catholic priest, who begins his vocation humbly in first in a Boston
parish, in an even smaller parish in the middle of nowhere. The film
follows Fermoyle’s career over a period of several decades, as he
ascends through the religious hierarchy to become of one of the princes of
the Catholic Church.
Of
course, there are struggles and hardships along the way, including his
sister’s desire to marry a non-catholic, the issues of abortion and
civil rights, the rise of Nazism in Austria, and finally Fermoyle’s very
own personal crisis of faith. THE CARDINAL is well paced by
Preminger and the performances of the supporting players are thoroughly
enjoyable. THE CARDINAL also features the talents of Carol Lynley,
Dorothy Gish, Maggie McNamara, Bill Hayes, Cecil Kellaway, John Saxon,
John Huston, Robert Morse, Burgess Meredith, Jill Haworth, Raf Vallone,
Ossie Davis Chill Wills, Patrick O'Neal, Murray Hamilton and Romy
Schneider.
Warner
Home Video has made THE CARDINAL available on DVD in a truly
terrific 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic
enhancement for 16:9 displays. The film element used for the transfer is
in great shape and maintains the Technicolor luster of this 1963 film
release. Everything appears nicely crisp and very well defined. As I
stated, the Technicolor hues are in full bloom, offering very nicely
saturated colors throughout. The Technicolor reds of the Cardinal’s
robes are especially well rendered. Colors appear stable throughout,
although the flesh tones occasionally take on the naturalness of a makeup
man’s kit. Blacks are velvety and the whites appear clean. Contrast is
quite good, although shadow detail doesn’t go all the way down into the
darkest levels, as it would in a new film, it is more than respectable.
Despite the nearly three hour running time, digital compression artifacts
are always well camouflaged.
THE
CARDINAL comes with a Dolby Digital 2.0 channel soundtrack that
decodes to standard surround. Fidelity is quite good for a four-decade-old
feature, with the film’s score producing a strong musical presence when
amplification is applied. Usage of the outlying channels isn’t up to
modern standards, but it is good for a film of this vintage. The film’s
music tends to dominate the mix, in both the forward stereo and surround
areas and creates a nice stereo image across the front. Dialogue is always
completely understandable, although voices can occasionally sound a bit
canned. A tiny bit of background hiss becomes audible during the dialogue
passages, but it isn't particularly bothersome. No other language tracks
are included on the DVD, although subtitles are provided in English,
French and Spanish.
Music
underscore the basic interactive menus, which provide access to the
standard scene selection and setup features, as well a nice supplemental
section. THE CARDINAL comes as a two disc set, with the second disc
offering the feature length documentary Otto Preminger: Anatomy of a
Filmmaker. Hosted by Burgess Meredith, the two-hour documentary
covers Preminger’s career in great detail. Also includes amongst the
supplements is an original 1963 "making of" featurette,
theatrical trailer, cast listing and Otto Preminger filmography.
THE
CARDINAL is an enjoyable three hour soap opera that features terrific
performances by a solid cast. While the movie isn’t perfect, director
Otto Preminger makes the material work better than it might have in other
hands. Warner has produced a beautiful looking edition of the film for
DVD, which should please the movie buffs who will be the primary audience
for THE CARDINAL.
As
religious themed movies go, Otto Preminger’s THE CARDINAL ($27)
is pure soap opera. Sure, it is a sprawling three hour soap opera, but it
is also a genuinely entertaining film that I happen to like a whole heck
of a lot. Actor turned author Tom Tryon portrays Stephen Fermoyle, an
Irish Catholic priest, who begins his vocation humbly in first in a Boston
parish, in an even smaller parish in the middle of nowhere. The film
follows Fermoyle’s career over a period of several decades, as he
ascends through the religious hierarchy to become of one of the princes of
the Catholic Church.
Of
course, there are struggles and hardships along the way, including his
sister’s desire to marry a non-catholic, the issues of abortion and
civil rights, the rise of Nazism in Austria, and finally Fermoyle’s very
own personal crisis of faith. THE CARDINAL is well paced by
Preminger and the performances of the supporting players are thoroughly
enjoyable. THE CARDINAL also features the talents of Carol Lynley,
Dorothy Gish, Maggie McNamara, Bill Hayes, Cecil Kellaway, John Saxon,
John Huston, Robert Morse, Burgess Meredith, Jill Haworth, Raf Vallone,
Ossie Davis Chill Wills, Patrick O'Neal, Murray Hamilton and Romy
Schneider.
Warner
Home Video has made THE CARDINAL available on DVD in a truly
terrific 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic
enhancement for 16:9 displays. The film element used for the transfer is
in great shape and maintains the Technicolor luster of this 1963 film
release. Everything appears nicely crisp and very well defined. As I
stated, the Technicolor hues are in full bloom, offering very nicely
saturated colors throughout. The Technicolor reds of the Cardinal’s
robes are especially well rendered. Colors appear stable throughout,
although the flesh tones occasionally take on the naturalness of a makeup
man’s kit. Blacks are velvety and the whites appear clean. Contrast is
quite good, although shadow detail doesn’t go all the way down into the
darkest levels, as it would in a new film, it is more than respectable.
Despite the nearly three hour running time, digital compression artifacts
are always well camouflaged.
THE
CARDINAL comes with a Dolby Digital 2.0 channel soundtrack that
decodes to standard surround. Fidelity is quite good for a four-decade-old
feature, with the film’s score producing a strong musical presence when
amplification is applied. Usage of the outlying channels isn’t up to
modern standards, but it is good for a film of this vintage. The film’s
music tends to dominate the mix, in both the forward stereo and surround
areas and creates a nice stereo image across the front. Dialogue is always
completely understandable, although voices can occasionally sound a bit
canned. A tiny bit of background hiss becomes audible during the dialogue
passages, but it isn't particularly bothersome. No other language tracks
are included on the DVD, although subtitles are provided in English,
French and Spanish.
Music
underscore the basic interactive menus, which provide access to the
standard scene selection and setup features, as well a nice supplemental
section. THE CARDINAL comes as a two disc set, with the second disc
offering the feature length documentary Otto Preminger: Anatomy of a
Filmmaker. Hosted by Burgess Meredith, the two-hour documentary
covers Preminger’s career in great detail. Also includes amongst the
supplements is an original 1963 "making of" featurette,
theatrical trailer, cast listing and Otto Preminger filmography.
THE
CARDINAL is an enjoyable three hour soap opera that features terrific
performances by a solid cast. While the movie isn’t perfect, director
Otto Preminger makes the material work better than it might have in other
hands. Warner has produced a beautiful looking edition of the film for
DVD, which should please the movie buffs who will be the primary audience
for THE CARDINAL.
