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Contributor
 Dec 2008
East Coast, USA
5
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I had wanted to see this for a couple of years and as it's a Fox title, I set about looking for a decent price on this out-of-print Twilight Time Blu-ray from a third-party seller. I thought the film was very interesting and worthwhile, even if it's not altogether successful. Apparently, Brando's character is softened quite a bit from the Irwin Shaw novel (written in 1948), which the author disliked, but which I (watching 70 or 80 years later, depending on where you measure from) thought was a very good idea. Iffy "German" accent aside perhaps, Brando gives the best performance in the film by far and I actually could have spent even more time with him and Maximillan Schell* versus Montgomery Clift and Dean Martin, but this is post-war Hollywood, so them's the breaks, I suppose.
*A side note: IMDb says Schell did not speak English at this point:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by IMDb
At the time the film was made, Maximilian Schell (Captain Hardenberg) could not speak English and had to learn his lines phonetically from Marlon Brando (Lt. Christian Diestl).
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That seems odd to me as he sounds very fluent and much like his later English-language roles. He also has quite a lot of dialogue to camera and all or virtually all of it is in English. I wonder how much he may have looped his dialogue after filming had completed, but if that was done, it was done pretty well and I really didn't know he couldn't speak English, although I could buy that he wasn't as fluent as he would become. Maybe I should watch again more closely next time.
Anyway, unfortunately for Montgomery Clift, this was his first film after his serious car accident and between the facial scarring and the toll it must have taken on him, he looks very old, tired and frankly, somewhat emaciated. But Dean Martin was three years older than Clift and looks even older than that! Neither man is really believable as a newly-drafted army recruit, even if men their age were drafted or able to volunteer after Pearl Harbor. The Blu-ray cover is pretty airbrushed and makes these two seem considerably younger than they look in the film. Hope Lange was good as...Hope, but most of the women had pretty thankless roles, possibly because the film just elides through a good few years of the war and only shows us so much in each of the men's lives during that time.
The black-and-white CinemaScope picture is nice, but it does look a little too "clean" to me, possibly as a result of blending in the stock footage used in some sequences. This was a 2015 release from a 4K scan and the DVD is from 2001, so it wouldn't have been the same master for both discs and presumably the Blu-ray is much superior. This was the only Blu-ray release anywhere in the world and sadly, unless someone at Criterion is a massive fan of the film, this is probably the best version we will ever get.
Even though the DVD apparently has a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track, the Twilight Time Blu-ray has a multi-channel mix that is in a 5.1 container, though I didn't notice my subwoofer activate at all, so I'm guessing it could be 4.0, like a lot of Fox's bigger films from this period. The track gets the job done with dialogue that's nice and clear and some occasional directional placement, which is nice.
I also checked out the English SDH subtitles and as usual, they're excellent, in a large white font, positional and translate some (though not all) of the French and (mostly sung) German dialogue, which is left untranslated in the film.
Also included is the 8-page booklet with liner notes by Julie Kirgo—remember when booklets came with every Blu-ray copy? And a nice little surprise, the booklet has original poster artwork on the back of it. It's been a while since I looked at a Twilight Time release, so I can't remember if this was / is a usual thing for them. But regardless, this is a nice little release and the film definitely deserved it, the DVDs worldwide apparently never had anything but the theatrical trailer.
I hope to watch with the audio commentary next time and sample the score, too.
I really miss getting classic Fox titles on a regular basis.
BDInfo scan
The 24-bit 2.0 track is the isolated score by Hugo Friedhofer, while the 16-bit track is the audio commentary.
The credits in the booklet list Ambient Digital Media (out of Marina del Rey, California) for the Blu-ray authoring.
Code:
Total Video
Title Codec Length Movie Size Disc Size Bitrate Bitrate Main Audio Track Secondary Audio Track
----- ------ ------- -------------- -------------- ------- ------- ------------------ ---------------------
00002.MPLS AVC 2:47:21 45,555,216,384 45,765,199,285 36.29 27.98 DTS-HD Master 5.1 3189Kbps (48kHz/24-bit) DTS-HD Master 2.0 1797Kbps (48kHz/24-bit)
Code:
DISC INFO:
Disc Title: The Young Lions - Blu-ray™
Disc Label: THE YOUNG LIONS
Disc Size: 45,765,199,285 bytes
Protection: AACS
BDInfo: 0.7.5.6
PLAYLIST REPORT:
Name: 00002.MPLS
Length: 2:47:21.364 (h:m:s.ms)
Size: 45,555,216,384 bytes
Total Bitrate: 36.29 Mbps
VIDEO:
Codec Bitrate Description
----- ------- -----------
MPEG-4 AVC Video 27982 kbps 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
AUDIO:
Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
DTS-HD Master Audio English 3189 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3189 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1797 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1797 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1065 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1065 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit)
SUBTITLES:
Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
Presentation Graphics English 38.674 kbps
FILES:
Name Time In Length Size Total Bitrate
---- ------- ------ ---- -------------
00000.M2TS 0:00:00.000 2:47:21.364 45,555,216,384 36,294
CHAPTERS:
Number Time In Length Avg Video Rate Max 1-Sec Rate Max 1-Sec Time Max 5-Sec Rate Max 5-Sec Time Max 10Sec Rate Max 10Sec Time Avg Frame Size Max Frame Size Max Frame Time
------ ------- ------ -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- --------------
1 0:00:00.000 0:06:33.393 28,071 kbps 36,530 kbps 00:01:06.483 34,887 kbps 00:00:35.452 34,682 kbps 00:00:35.452 146,334 bytes 347,087 bytes 00:01:29.088
2 0:06:33.393 0:06:30.681 26,689 kbps 36,022 kbps 00:12:14.567 34,857 kbps 00:12:10.938 34,480 kbps 00:12:08.394 139,146 bytes 276,490 bytes 00:06:38.398
3 0:13:04.074 0:08:07.111 28,946 kbps 36,612 kbps 00:19:39.887 35,345 kbps 00:19:35.841 34,936 kbps 00:19:30.919 150,914 bytes 482,712 bytes 00:14:32.663
4 0:21:11.186 0:06:45.363 28,726 kbps 36,638 kbps 00:24:37.934 35,077 kbps 00:24:33.930 34,899 kbps 00:24:29.050 149,764 bytes 275,884 bytes 00:24:06.570
5 0:27:56.549 0:08:37.058 23,671 kbps 36,074 kbps 00:28:41.761 31,762 kbps 00:28:37.882 31,280 kbps 00:28:28.832 123,407 bytes 301,219 bytes 00:28:44.431
6 0:36:33.608 0:07:42.879 21,689 kbps 35,885 kbps 00:44:15.277 26,720 kbps 00:39:57.478 26,338 kbps 00:39:52.973 113,078 bytes 309,978 bytes 00:44:16.487
7 0:44:16.487 0:04:47.662 30,787 kbps 35,582 kbps 00:48:24.776 34,830 kbps 00:46:30.579 34,473 kbps 00:48:07.301 160,508 bytes 420,412 bytes 00:46:47.471
8 0:49:04.149 0:05:41.341 24,409 kbps 30,893 kbps 00:49:06.401 28,368 kbps 00:51:20.952 28,136 kbps 00:51:21.078 127,257 bytes 303,343 bytes 00:51:29.628
9 0:54:45.490 0:08:34.305 25,992 kbps 35,197 kbps 01:03:18.336 32,345 kbps 01:01:47.120 30,040 kbps 01:01:56.796 135,508 bytes 298,488 bytes 01:00:50.313
10 1:03:19.796 0:04:38.278 27,939 kbps 35,740 kbps 01:07:22.246 34,787 kbps 01:07:18.868 34,570 kbps 01:07:33.424 145,663 bytes 330,710 bytes 01:07:33.466
11 1:07:58.074 0:08:08.487 32,262 kbps 37,051 kbps 01:10:32.394 35,190 kbps 01:15:29.483 34,979 kbps 01:15:24.561 168,201 bytes 462,121 bytes 01:10:33.395
12 1:16:06.562 0:07:27.447 28,176 kbps 35,629 kbps 01:16:08.105 34,871 kbps 01:22:49.005 34,768 kbps 01:22:45.377 146,895 bytes 315,183 bytes 01:18:32.582
13 1:23:34.009 0:07:27.822 27,032 kbps 35,212 kbps 01:23:55.655 34,836 kbps 01:23:55.822 32,837 kbps 01:23:51.609 140,935 bytes 311,976 bytes 01:25:41.386
14 1:31:01.831 0:06:56.707 28,894 kbps 37,231 kbps 01:36:43.380 35,341 kbps 01:36:39.418 35,045 kbps 01:36:34.371 150,640 bytes 357,578 bytes 01:35:15.793
15 1:37:58.539 0:07:33.327 32,181 kbps 36,310 kbps 01:40:32.943 35,012 kbps 01:40:28.355 34,846 kbps 01:40:33.193 167,778 bytes 388,839 bytes 01:40:33.902
16 1:45:31.867 0:08:34.096 29,345 kbps 35,684 kbps 01:48:03.059 34,875 kbps 01:50:25.076 34,820 kbps 01:50:16.818 152,989 bytes 348,100 bytes 01:48:25.707
17 1:54:05.964 0:05:05.179 28,278 kbps 36,091 kbps 01:55:09.402 35,040 kbps 01:54:38.204 34,799 kbps 01:54:47.297 147,430 bytes 355,713 bytes 01:55:07.609
18 1:59:11.144 0:09:57.513 26,137 kbps 35,626 kbps 02:01:10.513 34,931 kbps 02:01:10.513 34,206 kbps 02:01:10.471 136,267 bytes 317,346 bytes 01:59:24.240
19 2:09:08.657 0:04:57.380 27,538 kbps 35,312 kbps 02:14:05.037 31,049 kbps 02:12:03.373 30,854 kbps 02:11:58.410 143,573 bytes 288,515 bytes 02:14:06.038
20 2:14:06.038 0:06:07.700 30,387 kbps 36,814 kbps 02:19:52.509 35,185 kbps 02:20:08.733 34,973 kbps 02:17:55.934 158,424 bytes 463,430 bytes 02:19:54.928
21 2:20:13.738 0:05:32.707 31,446 kbps 36,448 kbps 02:21:47.499 35,074 kbps 02:21:46.581 34,944 kbps 02:21:46.581 163,947 bytes 441,160 bytes 02:20:14.739
22 2:25:46.446 0:06:42.360 29,934 kbps 36,630 kbps 02:31:45.054 35,068 kbps 02:25:52.160 34,903 kbps 02:25:47.155 156,063 bytes 451,878 bytes 02:25:47.447
23 2:32:28.806 0:09:13.886 26,793 kbps 36,864 kbps 02:37:11.505 35,041 kbps 02:37:13.132 34,931 kbps 02:37:02.538 139,685 bytes 456,036 bytes 02:36:58.450
24 2:41:42.693 0:05:38.671 29,569 kbps 36,678 kbps 02:46:51.876 34,918 kbps 02:47:09.060 34,852 kbps 02:47:03.847 154,178 bytes 484,137 bytes 02:44:50.088
STREAM DIAGNOSTICS:
File PID Type Codec Language Seconds Bitrate Bytes Packets
---- --- ---- ----- -------- -------------- -------------- ------------- -----
00000.M2TS 4113 (0x1011) 0x1B AVC 10041.198 27,983 35,122,795,194 191,025,016
00000.M2TS 4352 (0x1100) 0x86 DTS-HD MA eng (English) 10041.198 3,189 4,002,207,760 23,308,477
00000.M2TS 4353 (0x1101) 0x86 DTS-HD MA eng (English) 10041.198 1,797 2,255,185,612 13,850,330
00000.M2TS 4354 (0x1102) 0x86 DTS-HD MA eng (English) 10041.198 1,065 1,336,270,308 8,468,372
00000.M2TS 4608 (0x1200) 0x90 PGS eng (English) 10041.198 39 48,542,624 276,800
Original Theatrical Trailer
Code:
QUICK SUMMARY:
Disc Title: The Young Lions - Blu-ray™
Disc Label: THE YOUNG LIONS
Disc Size: 45,765,199,285 bytes
Protection: AACS
Playlist: 00059.MPLS
Size: 161,150,976 bytes
Length: 0:02:48.835
Total Bitrate: 7.64 Mbps
Video: MPEG-2 Video / 6000 kbps / 480i / 29.970 fps / 4:3
Audio: English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1092 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit)
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