Bataan

"MGM, which had been known for the handsomeness of its movies, got down and dirty with Bataan, a morale-boosting feature done in cooperation with the government's Office of War Information, under producer Irving Starr and director Tay Garnett. The Warner Home Video DVD is a good account of the movie, though it all reveals some considerable aging of the materials. The first 3/4 or so of the movie look great, and give an unimpeded high-resolution look at great action filmmaking, from Robert Taylor's tough-as-nails portrayal on down, and allows one to appreciate fully Warren Newcombe's special effects (nearly the equal of the Lydecker brothers at Republic, except in one poor shot involving a plane) and Sidney Wagner's photography. But the last 20 minutes shows increasing amounts of wear in the source material, which translates out as scratches and other marks on the image, and the final section has a distinct double vertical line going up and down the screen just off the center -- either whoever was doing the digital transfer either didn't pay attention or was told to ignore it, but the result is an uneven DVD release. It's still a worthwhile disc, even without any extras (other than an optional French language soundtrack and English and French subtitles), especially given the range of excellent performances. The Dolby digital mono sound is distinct up and down the volume range, and the price is right, but the last quarter of this disc isn't something you want to use to demonstrate the format -- it would be difficult to imagine Turner Entertainment (which used to own this library) allowing Bataan out with those visual flaws."