‘Seven Brides For Seven Brothers’ Blu-Ray Review – Dazzling Spectacle Outweighs Dated Values

Things are different for the Pontipee men now that big brother Adam’s fetched a bride and brought her to their cabin. Indeed, the unwed brothers are so inspired they raid the town and carry off brides of their own! Like a favorite flannel shirt, everything fits right in this rugged whoop-for-joy directed by Stanley Donen, choreographed by Michael Kidd, and featuring an exhilarating Gene dePaul/Johnny Mercer score that won an Academy Award *. Jane Powell and Howard Keel star, supported by a cast of buckskinned dancers and petticoated danseuses. And what steppin’! The barn-raising sequence alone — backflipping, plank-leaping athleticism — leaves a daylong smile. “Bless Yore Beautiful Hide,” all you brides and brothers!

For thoughts on Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic: 

[youtube https://youtu.be/N8ZbDLCZ6pg?si=qQ-zwe0MAGqJ4uIJ&t=1330]

Video Quality

Warner Archive brought Seven Brides For Seven Brothers to Blu-Ray in 2018 with a sterling 1080p master transfer sourced from a 2K scan of an Interpositive that was unearthed in a pretty remarkable way after years of settling for a different source that was in much rougher shape. While it is disappointing that the Original Camera Negative is basically unusable at this point, a nearly untouched Interpositive can yield excellent results, and that happens to be the case here. The spotlight presentation is presented in 2.55:1 CinemaScope which thrives in high definition. This visually sumptuous film has not looked this good since it was first exhibited in theaters. 

The film features some spectacular colors within the costumes and settings that radiate off the screen with an immense vibrancy. Black levels are incredibly deep with excellent stability throughout. Highlights are luminous without succumbing to any blooming. The level of detail and clarity feels like something of a minor miracle with the ideal amount of natural film grain intact and resolved without issue. The restoration seems to have eradicated nearly all dirt and damage, which gives the feature a fresh appearance that allows it to feel timeless. There also does not appear to be any unwanted digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding, or any other such nuisances. This presentation is a fabulous effort from Warner Archive on all fronts. 

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a dynamite DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that tastefully expands the four-track stereo roots. With music being one of the standout elements in the film, it is worth pointing out that the track executes these elements amazingly. It balances sonorous vocals with the raucous dance numbers and the accompanying music with magnificent clarity. Dialogue emanates clearly from beginning to end. There are kinetic moments when the track is pushed to its limits with all of the competing elements, but the fidelity never falters. The surround speakers complement the main thrust of the sonic experience without stealing focus. Warner Archive has provided a terrific audio presentation that does not exhibit any signs of age-related wear and tear. The disc also comes with optional English (SDH) subtitles.

Special Features

Disc One

• Audio Commentary: Director Stanley Donen provides a terrific commentary track that reveals a good amount about the production, working with the performers, the combination of location and set shooting, constructing the musical numbers, the framing of the film, and much more that is well worth a listen. 

• Sobbin’ Women – The Making of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers: A great nearly 44-minute archival documentary hosted by Howard Keel in which various participants discuss the film’s creation, the inspiration for the narrative, the casting of the ensemble, the ambitious musical numbers, and much more. 

• 7/22/1954 Radio City Music Hall Premiere: A two-minute look at the premiere of the film with narration about the film’s legacy. 

• MGM’s 30th Anniversary Newsreel: A two-minute look at the 30th anniversary celebration for MGM with commentary from Jane Powell and Ann Miller. 

• MGM Jubilee Overture: A ten-minute short that shows an orchestra paying tribute to some of the signature scores from MGM’s history. This has been beautifully restored in HD. 

• Theatrical Trailer: The four-and-a-half-minute trailer is provided here. 

Disc Two

• Alternate Widescreen Version: This version of the film is presented in 1.78:1 and was created due to MGM not having faith in Cinemascope. This was scanned in 2K, but it was not given the level of restorative care as the main Cinemascope version on the first disc. It still looks quite nice, but you can see much more color fluctuation and other subtle deficiencies that make you appreciate the main presentation even more. This is also presented in DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio split mono instead of the more robust DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track. It is incredibly cool to have this available as a choice, but it will not be our go-to version of the film. 

Final Thoughts

Seven Brides For Seven Brothers is a bit dated in its values, but the film undoubtedly offers a great amount of spectacle in the form of breathtaking dance numbers and some catchy tunes. The amount of care put into all of the craft categories is awe-inspiring, as the CinemaScope frame lovingly showcases the elements well. All of the performers deliver really good work with what they are asked to do, and the narrative handles the tonal balance between comedy and drama with a deft hand. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring a stellar A/V presentation and a deep array of supplemental features. If you are a musical fan, this is a fun one to add to your collection. Recommended 

Seven Brides For Seven Brothers can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or various other online retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Warner Archive 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.