THE
DESERT FOX ($15) is a solid Hollywood style screen biography that
greatly benefits from the presence of actor James Mason. In THE DESERT
FOX, Mason portrays Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the legendary German
military leader of the Second World War. While Rommel was indeed a
brilliant military tactician, who scored victory after victory against his
opponents in Africa, THE DESERT FOX depicts the Field Marshal’s
final days, after the tide of the war had begun to turn against Germany.
Released
in 1951, THE DESERT FOX stands out from most Hollywood productions
of the time, because this isn’t a typical propaganda film that sets out
to depict all Germans as evil goose-stepping Nazis. Based upon Brigadier
Desmond Young’s biography, THE DESERT FOX shows Rommel, as both a
family man and the kind of no nonsense military leader that was respected
and feared by the opponents that he faced on the field of battle. The
terrific supporting cast of THE DESERT FOX features Cedric
Hardwicke, Jessica Tandy, Luther Adler, Everett Sloane, Leo G. Carroll,
George Macready, Richard Boone, John Hoyt and the voice of Michael Rennie,
who serves as the film’s narrator.
20th
Century Fox Home Entertainment has made THE DESERT FOX available on
DVD in a full screen transfer that frames the movie in its proper 1.37:1
aspect ratio. This is a good transfer of a black and white film that is
more than half a century old. The dependence on stock footage for battle
scenes gives the image an uneven quality, but the principal photography is
generally rendered in a sharp, well-defined fashion. Blacks appear fairly
solid and deep, while the whites are clean and stable. Contrast is a bit
stark at times, but is usually quite good where principal photography is
concerned. The film element used for the transfer does show signs of age,
with some noticeable blemishes and scratches being the worst culprits.
Again, stock footage appears rougher than the main body of the film. There
is a noticeable grain structure throughout the course of the presentation,
but it is never obtrusive. Digital compression artifacts are a non-issue.
THE
DESERT FOX features a Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack that holds up
rather well for its age. Most of the background hiss and surface noise has
been stripped away, leaving a relatively clean sounding track. As
expected, fidelity is somewhat limited, which manifests itself with
unconvincing sound effects and a slightly reedy incarnation of the musical
score. Of course, THE DESERT FOX is pretty much a dialogue driven
film, and the track does exceed in producing this element in a clean,
fully intelligible manner. A Spanish monaural soundtrack has also been
encoded onto the DVD, as have English and Spanish subtitles. The basic
interactive menus allow one access to the standard scene selection and set
up features, as well as American and Spanish theatrical trailers, plus
bonus trailers for 13 RUE MADELEINE, THE BLUE MAX, THE
ENEMY BELOW, SINK THE BISMARCK! and HEAVEN KNOWS, MR.
ALLISON.
As
I stated above, THE DESERT FOX is a pretty solid vintage screen
biography that is made even better by the presence of its star James
Mason. Fox has done a pretty good job with the DVD, offering a fairly
clean presentation, without any serious flaws. If you are a war movie buff
or James Mason fan, you’ll want to check out THE DESERT FOX on
DVD.
THE
DESERT FOX ($15) is a solid Hollywood style screen biography that
greatly benefits from the presence of actor James Mason. In THE DESERT
FOX, Mason portrays Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the legendary German
military leader of the Second World War. While Rommel was indeed a
brilliant military tactician, who scored victory after victory against his
opponents in Africa, THE DESERT FOX depicts the Field Marshal’s
final days, after the tide of the war had begun to turn against Germany.
Released
in 1951, THE DESERT FOX stands out from most Hollywood productions
of the time, because this isn’t a typical propaganda film that sets out
to depict all Germans as evil goose-stepping Nazis. Based upon Brigadier
Desmond Young’s biography, THE DESERT FOX shows Rommel, as both a
family man and the kind of no nonsense military leader that was respected
and feared by the opponents that he faced on the field of battle. The
terrific supporting cast of THE DESERT FOX features Cedric
Hardwicke, Jessica Tandy, Luther Adler, Everett Sloane, Leo G. Carroll,
George Macready, Richard Boone, John Hoyt and the voice of Michael Rennie,
who serves as the film’s narrator.
20th
Century Fox Home Entertainment has made THE DESERT FOX available on
DVD in a full screen transfer that frames the movie in its proper 1.37:1
aspect ratio. This is a good transfer of a black and white film that is
more than half a century old. The dependence on stock footage for battle
scenes gives the image an uneven quality, but the principal photography is
generally rendered in a sharp, well-defined fashion. Blacks appear fairly
solid and deep, while the whites are clean and stable. Contrast is a bit
stark at times, but is usually quite good where principal photography is
concerned. The film element used for the transfer does show signs of age,
with some noticeable blemishes and scratches being the worst culprits.
Again, stock footage appears rougher than the main body of the film. There
is a noticeable grain structure throughout the course of the presentation,
but it is never obtrusive. Digital compression artifacts are a non-issue.
THE
DESERT FOX features a Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack that holds up
rather well for its age. Most of the background hiss and surface noise has
been stripped away, leaving a relatively clean sounding track. As
expected, fidelity is somewhat limited, which manifests itself with
unconvincing sound effects and a slightly reedy incarnation of the musical
score. Of course, THE DESERT FOX is pretty much a dialogue driven
film, and the track does exceed in producing this element in a clean,
fully intelligible manner. A Spanish monaural soundtrack has also been
encoded onto the DVD, as have English and Spanish subtitles. The basic
interactive menus allow one access to the standard scene selection and set
up features, as well as American and Spanish theatrical trailers, plus
bonus trailers for 13 RUE MADELEINE, THE BLUE MAX, THE
ENEMY BELOW, SINK THE BISMARCK! and HEAVEN KNOWS, MR.
ALLISON.
As
I stated above, THE DESERT FOX is a pretty solid vintage screen
biography that is made even better by the presence of its star James
Mason. Fox has done a pretty good job with the DVD, offering a fairly
clean presentation, without any serious flaws. If you are a war movie buff
or James Mason fan, you’ll want to check out THE DESERT FOX on
DVD.