|
By
NICK ZEGARAC
1939 was a bumper crop year
for cinema magic and George Steven's "Gunga Din"
is no exception to the rule. A sprawling,
sweeping, comedy/action/adventure yarn with few
equals; it is a masterful example of Hollywood's
studio system hard at work.
RKO pulled out all the stops, casting Cary Grant
(Cutter), Victor McLaglen (MacChesney) and Douglas
Fairbanks Jr. (Ballantine) as a trio of
mischievous knockabout British officers who
stumble upon the murderous Thugee cult in 19th
century India (one can see where Steven Spielberg
borrowed his idea for "Temple of Doom"). When the
inhabitants of a nearby village mysteriously
disappear, this bombastic sect of musketeers set
out for truth, justice and revenge -- not
necessarily in that order. The outstanding and
poignant performance by Sam Jaffe as the
turban-and-loin clothed title character, Gunga
Din, is a naïve and imperialist incarnation, but
carried off with such panache that its hard to
resist. Joan Fontaine gets the thankless role of
the romantic ideal for Ballantine, working against
type as the sometimes headstrong Emaline. A
handsome and enthralling screen spectacle, "Gunga
Din" is what Hollywood used to mean by grand
entertainment!
Warner's DVD transfer is a mixed blessing. Though
much of the film looked far younger and is more
perfectly realized than ever before on any home
video format, the print source material is riddled
throughout with age-related artifacts (dirt,
scratches, tears and mis-registration) and a
considerable amount of film grain in spots. The
grayscale has been very nicely rendered with solid
blacks and generally clean whites. There are no
digital anomalies (aliasing, pixelization, edge
enhancement) for an image that is otherwise quite
smooth. The audio is mono and, at times, somewhat
muffled. Extras include a brief but comprehensive
making-of documentary, a fine audio commentary and
two theatrical trailers. |
