THE
MOUSE THAT ROARED ($25) is a delightfully amusing political/social
satire that features the comic genius of Peter Sellers in three separate
roles. The plot of THE MOUSE THAT ROARED is concerned with the
world’s smallest country- The Duchy of Grand Fenwick, which occupies
less than sixteen square miles of European real estate in the French Alps.
Although once prosperous, Grand Fenwick finds itself on the verge of
financial ruin as the film opens. Economic desperation forces government
officials to hatch a rather ludicrous plot to save the country- declare
war on the United States, then surrender and collect war reparations from
the generous Americans, who have rebuilt the economy of every country that
they have previously defeated. However, through a series of coincidences,
Grand Fenwick finds itself victorious in its war with the United States
and in possession of a noted scientist, as well as a prototype of the
super-bomb that he has developed. In addition to the always-hilarious
Peter Sellers, the cast of THE MOUSE THAT ROARED also features Jean
Seberg, Leo McKern, David Kossoff and William Hartnell.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made THE MOUSE THAT ROARED available
on DVD in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for
playback on 16:9 displays. The transfer is very nice, but not outstanding,
due to the quality of the film itself. Now I don’t want to give the
impression that the film elements used for the transfer are in bad shape,
because they are not. However, THE MOUSE THAT ROARED is not an
overly attractive looking movie, which would seem to stem from its
original cinematography and the fact that the Eastmancolor processing of
1959 was less than stellar.
The
image is reasonably sharp at its best, and slightly soft looking at its
worst. Colors can appear a bit drab, but they are never faded or pale.
Reds and greens tend to be vibrant, but most of the other hues seem a
little flat, which probably has more to do with how early Eastmancolor
film stocks registered and printed colors, as opposed to a flaw in the
transfer. Blacks appear a bit off as well, occasionally appearing a bit
milky, which throws off the grayscale somewhat. As I stated above, the
film elements themselves are in good shape, displaying few blemishes,
although one will notice a grain structure during much of the proceeding.
Digital compression artifacts maintain a low profile throughout. Despite
the above nits that I’ve picked, THE MOUSE THAT ROARED remains
completely watchable and wholly enjoyable.
THE
MOUSE THAT ROARED comes with a perfectly serviceable Dolby Digital
monaural soundtrack. Almost all of the appreciable background hiss and
surface noise has been cleaned up from the track, leaving one with a
pleasant enough aural experience. Of course, fidelity is limited, which
affects the film’s musical score- leaving it kind of reedy sounding.
Dialogue is always fully intelligible, which is the most important aspect
of this talky comedy. No other language tracks are encoded onto the DVD,
but English and French subtitles are provided. The basic interactive menus
allow one access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as
well as trailers for THE MOUSE THAT ROARED, DR. STRANGELOVE
and DON’T RAISE THE BRIDGE, LOWER THE RIVER.
THE
MOUSE THAT ROARED is a delightful film showcasing the comic genius of
Peter Sellers. Columbia’s DVD edition of the film looks and sounds fine,
but certainly isn’t going to make anyone’s jaw drop. Still, if you are
a comedy or Peter Sellers fan, you will definitely want to check out THE
MOUSE THAT ROARED on DVD.
THE
MOUSE THAT ROARED ($25) is a delightfully amusing political/social
satire that features the comic genius of Peter Sellers in three separate
roles. The plot of THE MOUSE THAT ROARED is concerned with the
world’s smallest country- The Duchy of Grand Fenwick, which occupies
less than sixteen square miles of European real estate in the French Alps.
Although once prosperous, Grand Fenwick finds itself on the verge of
financial ruin as the film opens. Economic desperation forces government
officials to hatch a rather ludicrous plot to save the country- declare
war on the United States, then surrender and collect war reparations from
the generous Americans, who have rebuilt the economy of every country that
they have previously defeated. However, through a series of coincidences,
Grand Fenwick finds itself victorious in its war with the United States
and in possession of a noted scientist, as well as a prototype of the
super-bomb that he has developed. In addition to the always-hilarious
Peter Sellers, the cast of THE MOUSE THAT ROARED also features Jean
Seberg, Leo McKern, David Kossoff and William Hartnell.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made THE MOUSE THAT ROARED available
on DVD in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for
playback on 16:9 displays. The transfer is very nice, but not outstanding,
due to the quality of the film itself. Now I don’t want to give the
impression that the film elements used for the transfer are in bad shape,
because they are not. However, THE MOUSE THAT ROARED is not an
overly attractive looking movie, which would seem to stem from its
original cinematography and the fact that the Eastmancolor processing of
1959 was less than stellar.
The
image is reasonably sharp at its best, and slightly soft looking at its
worst. Colors can appear a bit drab, but they are never faded or pale.
Reds and greens tend to be vibrant, but most of the other hues seem a
little flat, which probably has more to do with how early Eastmancolor
film stocks registered and printed colors, as opposed to a flaw in the
transfer. Blacks appear a bit off as well, occasionally appearing a bit
milky, which throws off the grayscale somewhat. As I stated above, the
film elements themselves are in good shape, displaying few blemishes,
although one will notice a grain structure during much of the proceeding.
Digital compression artifacts maintain a low profile throughout. Despite
the above nits that I’ve picked, THE MOUSE THAT ROARED remains
completely watchable and wholly enjoyable.
THE
MOUSE THAT ROARED comes with a perfectly serviceable Dolby Digital
monaural soundtrack. Almost all of the appreciable background hiss and
surface noise has been cleaned up from the track, leaving one with a
pleasant enough aural experience. Of course, fidelity is limited, which
affects the film’s musical score- leaving it kind of reedy sounding.
Dialogue is always fully intelligible, which is the most important aspect
of this talky comedy. No other language tracks are encoded onto the DVD,
but English and French subtitles are provided. The basic interactive menus
allow one access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as
well as trailers for THE MOUSE THAT ROARED, DR. STRANGELOVE
and DON’T RAISE THE BRIDGE, LOWER THE RIVER.
THE
MOUSE THAT ROARED is a delightful film showcasing the comic genius of
Peter Sellers. Columbia’s DVD edition of the film looks and sounds fine,
but certainly isn’t going to make anyone’s jaw drop. Still, if you are
a comedy or Peter Sellers fan, you will definitely want to check out THE
MOUSE THAT ROARED on DVD.
