THE
CRIMSON PIRATE ($20) is, without a doubt, one of the most enjoyable
swashbuckling pirate movies ever made. With a decidedly lighthearted
streak, THE CRIMSON PIRATE is a showcase for the acrobatic prowess
of leading man Burt Lancaster and his vaudeville/circus partner Nick
Cravat. The movie is ripe with good humor and thrilling stunt work, making
it one of the finest movies to ever fly the Jolly Roger. In THE CRIMSON
PIRATE, Lancaster portrays Captain Vallo, a thinking man’s pirate,
who schemes the big schemes, much to the dismay of his pirate crew that
are only interested in a quick and easy booty.
After
capturing a British military vessel containing soldiers and weapons to put
down a uprising on a Caribbean island, Vallo puts his latest scheme into
action. With the weapons in his possession, Vallo intends to sell them to
the rebels at an exorbitant price, and then after collecting his money,
Vallo intends to sell the location of the rebels and the weapons back to
the British for and even more exorbitant price. Unfortunately for Vallo,
his plans are complicated, when it is discovered that the rebel leader is
already in British custody. Making the required adjustment to his plans,
Vallo breaks the rebel leader out of a British stronghold, but not before
he falls in love with the man’s beautiful daughter Consuelo (Eva
Bartok)- thus another complication! The cast of THE CRIMSON PIRATE
also includes Torin Thatcher, James Hayter, Leslie Bradley, Margot
Grahame, Noel Purcell, Frederick Leister, Eliot Makeham and (a pre horror
movie stardom) Christopher Lee.
Warner
Home Video has made THE CRIMSON PIRATE available on DVD in a really
terrific looking transfer that frames the film in its proper 1.37:1 full
screen aspect ratio. This marvelous presentation really captures the
flavor of an original IB Technicolor print- offering up richly saturated
hues that are a true feast for the eyes. Despite the intensity of the
hues, colors are always completely stable, being rendered without noise or
smearing. The image itself is sharp and very well defined. Blacks appear
deep and velvety, while the whites are crisp. Contrast is excellent and
the image produces a nice dimensional quality. The film element used for
the transfer display some minor blemishes, but nothing that would really
give away the fact that THE CRIMSON PIRATE is more than half a
century old. Digital compression artifacts maintain a pretty low profile.
THE
CRIMSON PIRATE comes with a reasonably good Dolby Digital monaural
soundtrack. The sound seems to have been cleaned up to a great extent,
removing most of the background hiss and surface noise from the
five-decade-old track. For the most part, the sound is crisp, but the
fidelity is expectedly truncated. THE CRIMSON PIRATE features a
rather lively score by William Alwyn, although it is somewhat shallow
sounding on playback. Additionally, the track sounds fine at normal
listening levels, but its limitations do become a bit more apparent at a
higher volume. Still, dialogue is always intelligible and the actors’
voices maintain a distinctive character- particularly Lancaster’s. No
other language soundtracks are encoded onto the DVD, although English,
French and Spanish subtitles are provided. Music underscores the basic
interactive menus, which provide access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as a cast listing and a bit of biographical
information on Burt Lancaster and his friend and acrobatic partner Nick
Cravat.
THE
CRIMSON PIRATE is jolly good fun and a great looking DVD from Warner.
If you are a fan of pirate movies, a Burt Lancaster fan, or just like
having a good time at the movies, you can’t go wrong by picking up a
copy of THE CRIMSON PIRATE. Recommended.
THE
CRIMSON PIRATE ($20) is, without a doubt, one of the most enjoyable
swashbuckling pirate movies ever made. With a decidedly lighthearted
streak, THE CRIMSON PIRATE is a showcase for the acrobatic prowess
of leading man Burt Lancaster and his vaudeville/circus partner Nick
Cravat. The movie is ripe with good humor and thrilling stunt work, making
it one of the finest movies to ever fly the Jolly Roger. In THE CRIMSON
PIRATE, Lancaster portrays Captain Vallo, a thinking man’s pirate,
who schemes the big schemes, much to the dismay of his pirate crew that
are only interested in a quick and easy booty.
After
capturing a British military vessel containing soldiers and weapons to put
down a uprising on a Caribbean island, Vallo puts his latest scheme into
action. With the weapons in his possession, Vallo intends to sell them to
the rebels at an exorbitant price, and then after collecting his money,
Vallo intends to sell the location of the rebels and the weapons back to
the British for and even more exorbitant price. Unfortunately for Vallo,
his plans are complicated, when it is discovered that the rebel leader is
already in British custody. Making the required adjustment to his plans,
Vallo breaks the rebel leader out of a British stronghold, but not before
he falls in love with the man’s beautiful daughter Consuelo (Eva
Bartok)- thus another complication! The cast of THE CRIMSON PIRATE
also includes Torin Thatcher, James Hayter, Leslie Bradley, Margot
Grahame, Noel Purcell, Frederick Leister, Eliot Makeham and (a pre horror
movie stardom) Christopher Lee.
Warner
Home Video has made THE CRIMSON PIRATE available on DVD in a really
terrific looking transfer that frames the film in its proper 1.37:1 full
screen aspect ratio. This marvelous presentation really captures the
flavor of an original IB Technicolor print- offering up richly saturated
hues that are a true feast for the eyes. Despite the intensity of the
hues, colors are always completely stable, being rendered without noise or
smearing. The image itself is sharp and very well defined. Blacks appear
deep and velvety, while the whites are crisp. Contrast is excellent and
the image produces a nice dimensional quality. The film element used for
the transfer display some minor blemishes, but nothing that would really
give away the fact that THE CRIMSON PIRATE is more than half a
century old. Digital compression artifacts maintain a pretty low profile.
THE
CRIMSON PIRATE comes with a reasonably good Dolby Digital monaural
soundtrack. The sound seems to have been cleaned up to a great extent,
removing most of the background hiss and surface noise from the
five-decade-old track. For the most part, the sound is crisp, but the
fidelity is expectedly truncated. THE CRIMSON PIRATE features a
rather lively score by William Alwyn, although it is somewhat shallow
sounding on playback. Additionally, the track sounds fine at normal
listening levels, but its limitations do become a bit more apparent at a
higher volume. Still, dialogue is always intelligible and the actors’
voices maintain a distinctive character- particularly Lancaster’s. No
other language soundtracks are encoded onto the DVD, although English,
French and Spanish subtitles are provided. Music underscores the basic
interactive menus, which provide access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as a cast listing and a bit of biographical
information on Burt Lancaster and his friend and acrobatic partner Nick
Cravat.
THE
CRIMSON PIRATE is jolly good fun and a great looking DVD from Warner.
If you are a fan of pirate movies, a Burt Lancaster fan, or just like
having a good time at the movies, you can’t go wrong by picking up a
copy of THE CRIMSON PIRATE. Recommended.