Emperor of the North, also known as Emperor of the North Pole, is an interesting little film no doubt. On the technical and acting front, it’s not a bad flick headlined by veterans Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine. The Blu-ray released by Twilight Time has good video/audio transfers however the bonus material is a bit limited.
Emperor of the North
(1973)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Drama
Twilight Time | PG – 120 min. – $29.95 | September 8, 2015
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Robert Aldrich Writer(s): Christopher Knopf (written by) Cast: Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Keith Carradine, Charles Tyner DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 2.0) |
** Click Here to Purchase Emperor of the North on Blu-ray from Screen Archives **
PLOT SYNOPSIS
Director Robert Aldrich and screenwriter Christopher Knopf bring us the Depression-era tale, Emperor of the North starring veteran actors Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine as, respectively, a jaunty hobo determined to ride a train and the vicious conductor equally resolved to prevent this eventuality.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.5/5
This release is relatively light with the usual 6-page Essay Booklet as well as an Audio Commentary with Film Historian Dana Polan; some TV Spots (1:32; HD) and the Original Theatrical Trailer (3:39; HD).
VIDEO – 4.5/5
Twilight Time releases Emperor of the North onto Blu-ray shown in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and sporting a 1080p high-definition transfer (MPEG-4 AVC codec). Sometimes TT’s releases can be spotty when it comes to the transfers mainly because it’s often that the original film negative, without usage of costly clean-up procedures, don’t lend itself to looking good in HD. So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that detail levels were sharp and clear and there were no apparent flaws like aliasing, pixilation, dust marks or scratches. Colors appear to be well balanced without seeming overpowering or pumped up.
AUDIO – 4.0/5
Nearly equally impressive is the included 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio track which offers up clear dialogue levels throughout while, as expected for a stereo track, is limited though the score by Frank De Vol as well as the various sounds on the track give this some decent to good depth.
OVERALL – 3.25/5
Overall, Emperor of the North, also known as Emperor of the North Pole, is an interesting little film no doubt. On the technical and acting front, it’s not a bad flick headlined by veterans Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine. The Blu-ray released by Twilight Time has good video/audio transfers however the bonus material is a bit limited.
Published: 09/22/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.