1297 Captain Blood

[Finch]

With this spectacular romantic adventure, a new era of Hollywood swashbuckling was born, as was a devilishly dashing star named Errol Flynn. He brings boundless charisma to the role of an idealistic Irish physician who, declared a traitor to England and sold into slavery in the New World, takes his revenge by transforming himself into the notorious pirate Captain Blood. The groundbreaking symphonic score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, marking the emergence of the Warner Bros. music department as a vital element in the studio’s moviemaking; the spitfire chemistry between Flynn and Olivia de Havilland in the first of their iconic pairings; the rousing naval-battle finale—all come together under the expert direction of Michael Curtiz to form an exemplar of classic film craftsmanship sailing full speed ahead.

Film Info
United States
1935
119 minutes
Black & White
1.37:1
English
Spine #1297
4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
Audio commentary featuring Alan K. Rode, author of Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film
Documentary from 2005 on the making of the film
Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of the film from 1937, starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, and Basil Rathbone
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by critic Farran Smith Nehme

New cover by David Talaski

[jazzo]

I chuckled to myself when I saw this film was getting three releases; 4K, Blu-ray and good ol' DVD for the core audience of this picture who have refused to update their tech or want it from the library.

[yoloswegmaster]

Is that commentary new? DVDCompare doesn't show a commentary on any of the previous editions.

[DimitriL]

I see a lot of writing from Alan K Rode on Captain Blood, but no indication that he or anyone else ever did a commentary. (Though I suppose it could be a previously recorded but unused commentary, which is maybe why it omits the NEW designation.)

[domino harvey]

It wasn’t on the DVD, the featurette and radio program were though. Can’t believe they’ve sat on this for a decade and only commissioned a commentary (or, more correctly, of course I can)

[FrauBlucher]

What’s the running time of the doc?

[domino harvey]

23 minutes

[captveg]

Can’t believe they’ve sat on this for a decade and only commissioned a commentary (or, more correctly, of course I can)

I imagine the wait was mostly due to the film elements.

The wait allowed it to get a UHD, so that's at least something. There are many Warner licensed titles they have to go back and upgrade in the collection (hopefully).

[FrauBlucher]

It wasn’t on the DVD, the featurette and radio program were though. Can’t believe they’ve sat on this for a decade and only commissioned a commentary (or, more correctly, of course I can)

I feel like the recent Warner releases have been skimpy on supplements. Especially for the old Hollywood films

[domino harvey]

I’ve said this before but Criterion really doesn’t understand stars when it comes to classic Hollywood, and focusing on Curtiz over the genre here is equally odd. But, like, how hard is it to commission a piece about swashbuckler Hollywood films and another one about Flynn?

[yoloswegmaster]

I imagine the wait was mostly due to the film elements.

The wait allowed it to get a UHD, so that's at least something. There are many Warner licensed titles they have to go back and upgrade in the collection (hopefully).

Dom't they also have to work on Warner's schedule since all the WB titles have to be scanned by MPI? It would be interesting to know how many scanners they have.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

Is this also Criterion’s first Erich Korngold film with no feature on that?

I saw Alan K. Rode introduce Robin Hood back in 2017 or 2018 and he made explicit that Curtiz was a studio director and emphasized the importance of all other parties involved with the final film. I have to agree with Domino that Criterion’s insistance on all films being viewed from a strictly auteurist perspective doesn’t make sense with a film like this.

[hearthesilence]

I wish they'd do The Flame and the Arrow, that would've been my first choice for a swashbuckler film. (Does anyone say "swashbuckle" anymore?)

[FrauBlucher]

DVDBeaver

[omegadirective]

Didn't want to call the link "Beaver Blood"?

[Noiretirc]

I chuckled to myself when I saw this film was getting three releases; 4K, Blu-ray and good ol' DVD for the core audience of this picture who have refused to update their tech or want it from the library.

So, the core audience is...old people? Poor people? Tell me more!

(I still have a shitload of dvds. I buy Blu these days. I have zero 4k.)

[MichaelB]

I know very few people offline who own a Blu-ray player of any kind. It’s always been a minority pursuit compared to DVD.

[Noiretirc]

I know very few people offline who own a Blu-ray player of any kind. It’s always been a minority pursuit compared to DVD.

Well, ok. But I'd still like to hear more about "the core audience" assumptions for this picture.

[FrauBlucher]

Didn't want to call the link "Beaver Blood"?

I have other ways I entertain myself than with silly puns and in this case a nasty one

I know very few people offline who own a Blu-ray player of any kind. It’s always been a minority pursuit compared to DVD.

Well, ok. But I'd still like to hear more about "the core audience" assumptions for this picture.

I just assume when I see Criterion releasing DVDs now is for institutional purposes

[Noiretirc]

...like prison?

[domino harvey]

Libraries. But I imagine Criterion is well aware a classic Hollywood film like this is going to have a large older audience who is fine with a DVD and WB’s has been unavailable for a while

[Noiretirc]

So we are still assuming that older = more likely dvd, and also the core audience for this film because it is 90 years old?

[FrauBlucher]

What's the obsession?

[Noiretirc]

What's the obsession?

How old are you, and are you getting this dvd?

Edit: Some assumptions here (and chuckling) rubbed me the wrong way.

I'm out.

[jazzo]

Jesus, it was just an innocuous share about a private chuckle I had with myself when the Captain Blood release formats were announced and you’re acting like it was hate speech.

Yes, I think the core audience for a black and white Errol Flynn swashbuckler from 90 years ago is slightly more geriatric than the audience interested in seeing Anyone But You, or any superhero film, or even, if you want to link genres, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (who, themselves, are now an older audience and probably the last generation of media consumers who remember actually being able to buy physical media on a large scale in box stores).

Yes, I was noting the DVD option because I don’t think it’s a secret that a lot of older media collectors never updated their system or collection to the high definition formats.

Yes, a lot of older film fans, if they aren’t buying for their own collections, get their media from public libraries and it’s my understanding that libraries only carry DVDs for more universal accessibility for patrons.

And, yes, I think Criterion fully understood both of these factors when they decided to release this particular film in a format they haven’t produced for years.

I’m 55 this year. I’ve been collecting movies since the VHS days, and much to the chagrin of my wife, I also have a lot of DVDs, as well as blu-rays and 4Ks. I will eventually get the blu-ray of Captain Blood because I quite like this and most of Curtiz’s pictures.

I also remember a time when there was nothing at all except film prints, and it’s still kind of a miracle to me that this is all so available in any format, and that I don’t have to check the tv guide each week and hope something interesting is being programmed on the late show or public television.

I’m fairly certain that all of us on this board are the anomaly when it comes to this stuff, and that the majority of younger people don’t give a flying fuck about Errol Flynn, Michael Curtiz or accumulating and curating a personal film library in any format, nevermind a physical one. That’s not even a criticism. It is simply something that is not important to them.

The older people who lived through the dry decades where no pathways were available for film collections other than prints or recordings off of televised broadcasts, and film obsessives like the folks on this board, are different. We always want the option to choose but we’re also always worried that option will go away someday.

I’m still not entirely certain why any of this is so offensive to you, but I guess I apologize for…chuckling…?