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Released by: Timeless Media Group
Released on: September 24, 2013.
Director: Stuart Rosenberg
Cast: Fay Dunaway, Orson Wells, Max Von Sydow, Lee Grant, Malcolm McDowell
Year: 1976
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The Movie:
Directed by the late Stuart Rosenberg, the same man who gave us The Amityville Horror, Coolhand Luke and countless TV shows, 1976's Voyage Of The Damned tells the true story of the tragedy of the S.S. St. Louis. In 1939, countless Jews were doing anything and everything that they could to get out of Germany. The writing was on the wall and already horrible things were happening. Countries that might have offered them refugee status were clamping down on the borders, the United States included.
In May of that year, it was said that Cuba was going to allow safe passage to a shipload of European Jews and so it was no surprise that the S.S. St. Louis filled up rather quickly. Under the guidance of Captain Schroeder (Max Von Sydow) over nine hundred Jews were ushered onto the boat and as the ship leaves from the port of Hamburg, all onboard look forward to starting over in a more friendly environment than the one that they're leaving behind. Many figured that from Cuba it would be easy enough to wait for the proper Visas to go through in order to grant them entry to the United States but as it turns out, the ship was turned away by the Cuban government. As such, the ship was forced to turn around and return to Europe where the Nazi's were able to then proclaim that the world didn't want to open up its borders to the Jews.
It's a tragic story, a completely sinister plan put together by Joseph Goebbels in order to further the Nazi's anti-Semite politics and essentially usher in the Holocaust. As such, this is a pretty grim movie and while most of us who know anything of history realize how it's more or less all going to play out, somehow that doesn't diminish the impact that the finale has. The movie is well shot, it's got excellent production values and has a fairly epic scope to it considering that much of it simply takes place on a boat, and it's all handled by an exceptionally talented cast. Not only is Von Sydow on hand as the captain but we get Malcolm McDowell as an (unusually British) German officer named Max Gunter. Orson Wells, James Mason, Jose Ferrer, Michael Constantine, Fernando Ray and plenty more appear in the movie as well. Special note should go to Lee Grant as a passenger named Lili Rosen. Her performance is memorable simply because she's so convincing once she starts to break down. Sam Wanamaker as her husband Carl also does good work. Faye Dunaway looks great here but as Denise Kriesler seems maybe a little bit out of place.
At the same time, the fact that there's so much talent here in front of the camera also works to the film's detriment. Rather than focus on a few people and let us get to know them in order for their story to become more personal, the movie crams in so many characters that at times it's hard to keep everyone straight. It's not that we don't care for them - we understand and realize that what's happening is obviously horrible and completely inhumane - but simply because so many 'stars' are dragged out to play parts here, the producers evidently wanted to give them as much screen time as they were able and so the movie does shift focus more than it needs to.
If nothing else, the movie succeeds in shedding some light on a very shameful part of world history. It does so with some tact and a good bit of style, it never comes off as crass or as cashing in on the storyline the way that it could have. Though it is flawed, it's definitely worth seeing.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Voyage Of The Damned looks decent on Blu-ray in AVC encoded 1080p high definition framed at 1.78.1 widescreen. It doesn't look like the elements used for the transfer have undergone any serious restoration as there are minor specks and bits and pieces of print damage evident throughout but for the most part things look pretty good here. There are some spots where the color is a little flat but these are few and far between. Skin tones look nice and natural and there is a reasonable amount of depth. Detail is considerably better than you get on DVD and black levels are okay, if never reference quality. All in all, this is a decent transfer.
The same can be said of the English language DTS-HD Mono track included on the disc - it's good. Dialogue is clear and crisp and there's some good presence to the score. At times things sound just a little thin in a few spots but overall the audio here is free of any hiss or distortion and the levels are properly balanced. A pretty decent mix overall.
Extras are slim, limited to a static menu with a trailer and still gallery. As this is a combo pack release, a DVD version of the movie with the same extras is also included in the case.
The Final Word:
Voyage Of The Damned should have been great, but it never really gets there. It's decent, far from bad, but it throws in so many different characters that none of the core participants are ever properly fleshed out. Instead of narrowing its focus the film simply throws in too many subplots, likely in an attempt to make the most of its A-list cast and to strive for an epic feel. This is worth seeing, however, as some of the performances are very good indeed and the production values are very strong. Timeless Media Group's Blu-ray looks and sounds quite good and even if it isn't exactly stacked with extras, it is generally a very nice presentation of an interesting, albeit very flawed, attempt at a seventies blockbuster.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
