From John Farrow, the acclaimed director of Wake Island, Calcutta, The Big Clock, Night Has a Thousand Eyes and Alias Nick Beal, comes this explosive wartime epic starring Loretta Young (The Stranger, The Farmer’s Daughter) and Alan Ladd (O.S.S., This Gun for Hire). Ladd plays an American gasoline salesman in 1941 China who supplies his wares to the highest bidder—in this case, the enemy Japanese. His unbiased business philosophy is tested on a trip to Shanghai when he meets an American schoolteacher (Young) and her Chinese students who tell him of Japanese cruelty. In a surprise show of fierce allegiance, he joins a band of Chinese guerrillas on a daring heist. Co-starring William Bendix (Lifeboat) and featuring masterful cinematography by Leo Tover (Hold Back the Dawn), this action-packed tale carried a Hollywood record of using seventy pounds of precious, rationed gunpowder.
For thoughts on China, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic here.
Video Quality
China makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to Kino Classics with a 1080p transfer from what appears to be a well-worn older master. For a film that has never been shown much care or support over the years, this is about what is to be expected without a fresh master. There is a pleasing amount of detail present with nice textures on the clothing and within the production design. The transfer shows off some amount of depth and enhanced detail within the film’s composition. The black-and-white photography looks decent in high definition with thick natural grain throughout. Black levels are pretty weak with very little in the way of fine detail in shadows. The contrast is not that well defined, and the track experiences a consistent amount of flicker and specks of damage throughout. There are also some stray, faint vertical lines that make appearances without ruining the overall aesthetic of the film. Kino Classics has rescued a film that has not been easy to find for many years, but do not expect the picture quality to be a flawless effort. .
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a pretty decent DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that serves this movie well for what it is trying to accomplish. This track does present with a minor amount of age related wear and tear including some faint hissing and crackles that likely date back to the source elements. Dialogue and background noises are represented in pleasing harmony with all competing elements. The music never overpowers the dialogue or other important information, but it does sound a little fragile at its highest peaks. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film. The good folks at Kino Classics have done their best to provide the most stable track possible for this one.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Film Historian Eddy Von Mueller provides an immensely informative commentary track in which he discusses the film in the context of WWII, the diverse cast, the career of director John Farrow, the American attitude of this period, details about the performers in the film, the cinematography of Leo Tover, the politics of the film and more. This is a truly wonderful listen that should be sought out by those who enjoy the film.
- Trailers: The two-minute trailer for China is provided here. There are also trailers provided for O.S.S., Calcutta, The Stranger, The Accused, Because Of You, Wake Island, Night Has A Thousand Eyes and Alias Nick Beal.
Final Thoughts
China is a bit blunt in its political leanings, which is to be expected from this time period, but it does provide a pretty entertaining journey filled with action and intrigue. The aspect of this feature that works the best is the standout performance from the enchanting Loretta Young. The material does not seek to challenge you in any meaningful way, but it makes for a decent watch. Kino Classics has released a Blu-Ray featuring an A/V presentation that gets the job done and a really great commentary track. If you are a fan of the talent involved it is worth checking out. Recommended
China is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
