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Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
QB VII (1974)

QB VII (1974) (NTSC)

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Released 7-Aug-2019

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category TV Miniseries None
Rating Rated PG
Year Of Production 1974
Running Time 304:36
RSDL / Flipper No/No
Dual Disc Set
Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 1,2,3,4,5,6 Directed By Tom Gries
Studio
Distributor
ViaVision Starring Anthony Hopkins
Ben Gazzara
Leslie Caron
Juliet Mills
Lee Remick
Robert Stephens
Anthony Quayle
Jack Hawkins
Joseph Wiseman
Edith Evans
Julian Glover
Dan O’Herlihy
Case Amaray-Transparent-Dual
RPI ? Music Jerry Goldsmith


Video (NTSC) Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

     QB VII stands for Queen’s Bench Courtroom 7 in London, the court in which Polish born surgeon Sir Adam Kelso (Anthony Hopkins) sues American author Abraham “Abe” Cady (Ben Gazzara) who, in a book, named Sir Adam of having performed experiments, including forced sterilisation, on Jews in a German concentration camp during WW2.

     QB VII is a TV mini-series in three parts, shown over two nights in 1974. Part 1 follows the career of Kelso from 1944, when the Jadwiga concentration camp in Poland is overrun by the Russians, until 1973. After the war Kelso marries nurse Angela (Leslie Caron) and, as a refugee, moves to London. But when the new Polish Communist government seeks to have Kelso extradited to Poland to face charges of being a war criminal, but fails, Adam, Angela and their young son relocate to the British protectorate of Kuwait where Adam works tirelessly for over a decade with the desert Arabs to improve their diet and to rid them of preventable diseases, including diphtheria. His work is recognised and in 1959 he is knighted by the Queen and the family move back to England where Kelso opens a clinic in a poor part of London to help working class people.

     Part 2 concentrates on Abe Cady, an American non-practising Jew who volunteered for the RAF in WW2. An air ace, in 1945 he is shot down and badly burned when bailing out of his aircraft but he recovers and after the war marries English aristocrat Samantha (Juliet Mills). In 1946 they move to Beverly Hills to live with Abe’s widowed orthodox Jewish father Morris (Joseph Wiseman) who dreams of living in Israel. Over two decades Abe becomes a successful pot-boiler novelist and screenwriter, winning 2 Oscars, but he is dissatisfied, drinking heavily and having affairs. In 1967, Morris moves to live in Israel and in an attempt to save the marriage Abe, Samantha and their teenage son move to London, where things do not improve because Abe falls in love with Margaret (Lee Remick). But when Morris dies in Israel Abe flies out, buries his father, visits the Wailing Wall and the Holocaust Museum and becomes inspired to write about the Jewish people rising from the ashes of the concentration camps to become the people of Israel. His novel, Holocaust, in which he names Kelso as a participant in medical experiments conducted on the Jews in Jadwiga Concentration Camp in Poland during the war, becomes an international best seller.

     The longer Part 3 (159 minutes as compared to the total of the first two parts of 145 minutes) follows the trial that results when Sir Adam sues Abe and his publishers for libel although scenes take place in Israel, London and Poland (Belgium standing in for Poland) where Abe travels in search of witnesses and records. Sir Adam is adamant, against the advice of his counsel who had helped defend him against the extradition 20 years earlier, Robert Highsmith QC (Robert Stephens), that an apology and damages is not sufficient; Adam wants to be publically exonerated in court. Abe is equally determined; “this is one Jew you’re not gonna castrate” he states, and he is defended by Tom Banniester QC (Anthony Quayle), who had prosecuted the extradition; so old foes meet again. And in the end, after much distress to everyone, the jury’s verdict contains surprises for both men.

     QB VII is based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Leon Uris who was himself sued in a London court. Directed by Tom Gries in an unfussy manner, the mini-series follows a traditional chronological format which allows for a separate and leisurely look at the two protagonists in Parts 1 and 2 although here, as in Part 3, there is little subtlety in the message. Contrasting the first two parts it is clear who seems to be the better man. Sir Adam devotes his life in Kuwait and East London to treating those most in need and is a good father; Abe becomes rich writing pot-boiler novels and screenplays, drinks heavily, commits adultery and is disparaging of his father and his Jewish faith. If Uris based the novelist upon himself it is an unflattering portrayal but in Part 3 the roles are reversed; Abe after visiting Israel becomes committed, writes his novel and becomes a decent man, at least in the eyes of his son, now a pilot in the Israeli air force. Sir Adam’s character does not change, but because the mini-series lingers on the unimaginable and terrible horrors of the holocaust and the concentration camps, showing Jewish memorials and having a long sequence in a concentration camp, it is clear where our sympathies must lie because Sir Adam, although a prisoner of the Germans, was, at least, complicit in some of their experiments.

     Courtroom dramas can be dramatic viewing and QB VII is no exception. The court scenes, especially Sir Adam’s cross-examination, are compelling. The court scenes are broken up by sequences where Abe in Israel seeks an important witness and, especially, in Poland where there is a cloak and dagger sequence in which the records of the surgery conducted in Jadwiga are discovered. This is dramatic but not how the documents really became available for the actual trial, but, hey, this is not a documentary but a drama. QB VII was nominated for 13 Emmy Awards and won 6, including Best Supporting Actor for Anthony Quayle, Best Supporting Actress for Juliet Mills, editing, sound design, graphic design and for the music of Gerry Goldsmith. And it must be said that with this stellar cast, which includes Jack Hawkins, Edith Evans, Julian Glover and Dan O’Herlihy as well as those named previously, QB VII is always worth watching.

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Transfer Quality

Video

     QB VII is in the original 1.33:1 broadcast ratio, in NTSC and 4x3.

     Interiors, including the courtroom scenes, are detailed, as are close-ups, although exteriors, especially long shots and establishing shots, can be quite soft. Colours are natural although rather dull with the exception of a vibrant blue shy in Israel as Morris is buried. Blacks and shadow detail are firm, skin tones natural, brightness and contrast consistent. Wide establishing shots are quite grainy and there are frequent small marks and vertical scratches throughout the series, but nothing too distracting.

     The layer change on Disc 1 was not noticeable. On Disc 2 the layer change at 83:05 in the middle of a scene was noticeable.

     No subtitles are provided.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     Audio is English Dolby Digital 2.0 at 224 Kbps, mono.

     Dialogue levels varied, sometimes within a scene, with the result that dialogue could on occasion be hard to hear. While there was no hiss or crackles, there is minor distortion when the score by Jerry Goldsmith soared. Effects, such as galloping horses in the Kuwait segments, are reasonable.

    Lip synchronisation was fine.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

     Nothing.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

     DVD releases in other regions of QB VII look to be similar.

Summary

     The cast list of QB VII is exceptional and its themes including inhumanity, the holocaust, survival and guilt are worthy and important. It does lay some of these themes on rather heavily, but they are no less important now than when the mini-series was made over 40 years ago, perhaps even more so, if this were possible.

     The video and audio are acceptable for a 30 year old TV mini-series. There are no extras.

     QB VII was supplied for review by Via Vision Entertainment. Check out their Facebook page for the latest releases, giveaways, deals and more.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Ray Nyland (the bio is the thing)
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Review Equipment
DVDSony BDP-S580, using HDMI output
DisplayLG 55inch HD LCD. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderNAD T737. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated.
AmplificationNAD T737
SpeakersStudio Acoustics 5.1

Other Reviews NONE