While
THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE ($20) is decidedly one of Errol Flynn’s
lesser swashbuckling efforts, his fans will find the film to be fun
nonetheless. Based upon the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, THE MASTER
OF BALLANTRAE tells of Scotsman Jamie Durrisdeer (Flynn), who goes off
to fight in the rebellion to place Bonnie Prince Charlie on the thrown,
while his younger brother Henry (Anthony Steel) remains at home and loyal
to the reigning King. When the rebellion is lost, Jamie finds himself a
hunted fugitive, only returning home long enough to gather the funds he
needs to be smuggled out of the country.
Unfortunately,
Jamie finds himself betrayed by someone close to him, and only manages to
survives a run in with British soldiers, thanks to the help of his fellow
rebel- Col. Francis Burke (Roger Livesey, who steals scenes like mad).
Believing that his brother turned him over to British authorities, Jamie
swears revenge- but first, he has to survive being shanghaied to the
Caribbean by a band of pirates. Running a scant ninety minutes, THE
MASTER OF BALLANTRAE moves quickly because it has to compress a lot of
story into a brief running time. This is probably the film’s biggest
weakness, since it doesn’t allow any of the characters to be fully
fleshed out, and only Roger Livesey makes any form of lasting impression
with his performance. The cast of THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE also
includes Beatrice Campbell, Yvonne Furneaux, Felix Aylmer, Mervyn Johns,
Charles Goldner, Ralph Truman, Francis De Wolff and Jacques Berthier.
Warner
Home Video has made THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE available on DVD in a
very nice looking transfer that frames the film in its proper 1.37:1 full
screen aspect ratio. Photographed by legendary Technicolor cinematographer
Jack Cardiff, THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE is a rather beautiful
looking movie. The transfer offers up a close approximation of the rich
hues one would find in an original IB Technicolor print. There are some
mild inconsistencies in color reproduction throughout the course of film,
but for the most part the presentation is quite pleasing. In general, the
image is pretty sharp and nicely defined, with only occasional softness in
the intentionally filtered fogged shots. Blacks appear accurate, the
whites are crisp and contrast is more than respectable. The film element
used for the transfer is in good shape, with only minor blemishes serving
as a reminder that this movie is half a century old. Digital compression
artifacts are usually well concealed.
THE
MASTER OF BALLANTRAE comes with a perfectly fine Dolby Digital
monaural soundtrack. There aren’t much by way of background hiss or
other audio anomalies, indicating that the soundtrack has been spruced up
a bit in the mastering process. Fidelity is adequate for a film of this
vintage, with the music and effects sounding somewhat on the hollow side.
Dialogue is crisp and always completely understandable. A French language
track is also encoded onto the DVD, as are English, French and Spanish
subtitles. Music underscores the basic interactive menus, which provide
access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a
few extras. A theatrical trailer for THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE is
included, as are bonus trailers for THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, CAPTAIN
BLOOD, and THE SEA HAWK. A photo gallery and cast listing close
out the extras.
THE
MASTER OF BALLANTRAE may not be the finest Errol Flynn swashbuckler,
but it is still a fun outing for fans. Warner has done a very nice job
with the DVD, which should keep them quite happy. Personally, I am looking
forward to Warner releasing all of the Flynn movies in the library on DVD,
especially THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD and THE ADVENTURES OF
DON JUAN, which is amongst the most gorgeous Technicolor movies I’ve
ever seen.
While
THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE ($20) is decidedly one of Errol Flynn’s
lesser swashbuckling efforts, his fans will find the film to be fun
nonetheless. Based upon the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, THE MASTER
OF BALLANTRAE tells of Scotsman Jamie Durrisdeer (Flynn), who goes off
to fight in the rebellion to place Bonnie Prince Charlie on the thrown,
while his younger brother Henry (Anthony Steel) remains at home and loyal
to the reigning King. When the rebellion is lost, Jamie finds himself a
hunted fugitive, only returning home long enough to gather the funds he
needs to be smuggled out of the country.
Unfortunately,
Jamie finds himself betrayed by someone close to him, and only manages to
survives a run in with British soldiers, thanks to the help of his fellow
rebel- Col. Francis Burke (Roger Livesey, who steals scenes like mad).
Believing that his brother turned him over to British authorities, Jamie
swears revenge- but first, he has to survive being shanghaied to the
Caribbean by a band of pirates. Running a scant ninety minutes, THE
MASTER OF BALLANTRAE moves quickly because it has to compress a lot of
story into a brief running time. This is probably the film’s biggest
weakness, since it doesn’t allow any of the characters to be fully
fleshed out, and only Roger Livesey makes any form of lasting impression
with his performance. The cast of THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE also
includes Beatrice Campbell, Yvonne Furneaux, Felix Aylmer, Mervyn Johns,
Charles Goldner, Ralph Truman, Francis De Wolff and Jacques Berthier.
Warner
Home Video has made THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE available on DVD in a
very nice looking transfer that frames the film in its proper 1.37:1 full
screen aspect ratio. Photographed by legendary Technicolor cinematographer
Jack Cardiff, THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE is a rather beautiful
looking movie. The transfer offers up a close approximation of the rich
hues one would find in an original IB Technicolor print. There are some
mild inconsistencies in color reproduction throughout the course of film,
but for the most part the presentation is quite pleasing. In general, the
image is pretty sharp and nicely defined, with only occasional softness in
the intentionally filtered fogged shots. Blacks appear accurate, the
whites are crisp and contrast is more than respectable. The film element
used for the transfer is in good shape, with only minor blemishes serving
as a reminder that this movie is half a century old. Digital compression
artifacts are usually well concealed.
THE
MASTER OF BALLANTRAE comes with a perfectly fine Dolby Digital
monaural soundtrack. There aren’t much by way of background hiss or
other audio anomalies, indicating that the soundtrack has been spruced up
a bit in the mastering process. Fidelity is adequate for a film of this
vintage, with the music and effects sounding somewhat on the hollow side.
Dialogue is crisp and always completely understandable. A French language
track is also encoded onto the DVD, as are English, French and Spanish
subtitles. Music underscores the basic interactive menus, which provide
access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a
few extras. A theatrical trailer for THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE is
included, as are bonus trailers for THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, CAPTAIN
BLOOD, and THE SEA HAWK. A photo gallery and cast listing close
out the extras.
THE
MASTER OF BALLANTRAE may not be the finest Errol Flynn swashbuckler,
but it is still a fun outing for fans. Warner has done a very nice job
with the DVD, which should keep them quite happy. Personally, I am looking
forward to Warner releasing all of the Flynn movies in the library on DVD,
especially THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD and THE ADVENTURES OF
DON JUAN, which is amongst the most gorgeous Technicolor movies I’ve
ever seen.