The Wild One

BUY IT	RENT IT

General		Extras
Category	Drama	Theatrical Trailer(s)	Yes, 1
Rating		Other Trailer(s)	None
Year Released	1953	Commentary Tracks	None
Running Time	75:57	Other Extras	Filmographies-Cast
RSDL/Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region	2,4	Director	Laslo Benedek
Studio Distributor	Columbia TriStar	Starring	Marlon Brando Mary Murphy Lee Marvin Robert Keith Jay C Flippen
RRP	$34.95	Music	Leith Stevens

    For those unfamiliar with the film, this is the story of Johnny and his motorcycle gang descending upon a small town in California looking for action. The gang is not well received in general by the locals when they cause trouble with a motor vehicle accident whilst dragging to the nearest bar. Naturally, the bar is the focus of much activity, but Johnny falls for a local girl, Kathie (Mary Murphy) who works at the local cafe and also happens to be the daughter of the local cop. The goings on of the gang incite trouble amongst the locals, especially after a fight in the street between Johnny and Chino (Lee Marvin), when Chino is arrested for hitting a local businessman whilst no action is taken against the local for running over a biker. One thing leads to another and you end up with vigilante groups seeking out Johnny to teach him a lesson, and what starts out as a few people having a raucous beer ends up with one man dead and Johnny accused of the death.

    Which took as long to write as the film lasts! In light of the changes over the past 45 years, it has to be said that this film has not suffered well at the hands of time. Banned in many cinemas upon release because of the likely element it would attract, and banned in the United Kingdom for fourteen years for fear of it inciting youths to riot, it has to be said that this is really tame stuff nowadays. Such graphic violence as a few motorcyclists having a few beers in the local bar with a few local ladies is hardly the stuff of mass mayhem and the end of civilization as we know it. But in 1953 this was really heady stuff! And the start of the Brando legend, the inarticulate mumbling that reached its climax in the 1970's and 1980's.

    As a piece of film history, it has to be admired but nowadays the film is so dated that this is hardly gripping stuff at all.

Video

    The transfer is presented in Pan & Scan format.

    In general, the transfer is fairly sharp, although there are a number of sequences where soft focus has been used (most notably whenever Mary Murphy is on screen). This is how the film was originally shot I believe and is not a mastering problem in the transfer. Shadow detail is quite exceptional given the age of the film, but it needs to be borne in mind that this is black and white which in my view inherently makes the shadow detail better than in a colour film. Overall, this would have to be considered a quite vibrant transfer.

    Obviously with a black and white film, colours are not an issue. However, the need for quality film development in black and white films is imperative and from what we have on offer here, this is a very good example. Whilst lacking the ultimate depth in the extreme black and white, the gradation of the grey scale is most convincing.

    There were no MPEG artefacts noted. Video artefacts comprised some aliasing (notably 38:10) and some colouration of the video in the form of a green line down the extreme left hand side of the picture (most notably around 46:30). Whilst these do not overly interfere with the film, the sudden green is noticeable. There is also some bleed in the headlights of the motorcycles between 39:45 and 40:00; this may be a problem with the original film and not a mastering issue. Film artefacts are quite prevalent throughout the film, but this is expected in a film of this age and are not especially intrusive. There are a number of jumps in the film, but these are again problems with the original film and not mastering problems.

Audio

    There are five audio tracks on the DVD. The default is an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack, the other options all being Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtracks: French, German, Italian and Spanish. Since Marlon Brando is difficult enough to understand in English as it is, I felt a little reticent to try anything other than the default soundtrack.

    The dialogue was clear and easy to understand at all times.

    Audio sync was not a problem with the transfer at all..

    The music score by Leith Stevens added little to the film and is very unimaginative. In its way it must have been effective, as it left little of an impression upon me.

    The surround channels did not seem to be used at all during the film and it would seem that this is a very straight left/right mastering. Since the original source is obviously mono, there is not too much that we could expect in this regard however.

    You will not need a subwoofer to listen to this film at all, as it is completely superfluous in the soundtrack.

Menu

Theatrical trailer

Photo Gallery

Filmographies

• Photo Gallery

    The overall video quality is very good given the age of the film.

    The audio quality is quite good for a film of this age.

    The extras were a little disappointing, and it is a pity that the opportunity to get a film historian to chat about the film's importance was not taken, as this would have been a real bonus.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Ian Morris
30th August 1999