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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"What Price Glory" is a
World War I lovers' triangle set against the
ravaged backdrop of French countryside circa,
1918. Drama aside, the film is not what one might
expect from the directorial likes of John Ford.
James Cagney is a bit over the hill to be
believable as Capt. Flagg, a stoic commander of a
motley troupe of conscripts. Flagg's ill-at-ease
postulating does not bode well with his men, so he
turns to disrespectful and disreputable Sgt. Quirt
(Dan Dailey) for a little bit of hard knock
military strength. But the tensions between Flagg
and Quirt are pressed to the breaking point when
they both fall for the same girl, Charmaine
(Corrine Calvert) -- stop me if you've heard this
one before. Strong performances elevate this film
above the tripe that it generally is.
The transfer is not up to snuff. Although the
overall color scheme has retained much of its
original luster, the picture quality is a
disappointment. There is an excessive amount of
film grain and age-related artifacts throughout
for a not very smooth visual presentation.
Fluctuations in color balancing are -- at times --
severe and distracting. There is a minor amount of
digital grit that further detracts from the image.
Black levels are weak. Contrast and shadow
delineation is poorly balanced for a very unstable
looking presentation.
The audio has been cleaned up but remains strident
sounding and lacking in bass. As with the other
war films in this batch from Fox, you get nothing
to augment your experience. "What Price Glory"
isn't recommended either as a war film, or for its
transfer quality. Seek satisfying your thirst for
conquest elsewhere. |
