Ulysses - Kino Lorber (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy/France/USA, 1954
Director: Mario Camerini
Writers: Franco Brusati, Mario Camerini, Ennio De Concini, Hugh Gray, Ben Hecht, Ivo Perilli, Irwin Shaw
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Silvana Mangano, Anthony Quinn, Rossana Podestà, Jacques Dumesnil, Daniel Ivernel, Sylvie, Franco Interlenghi

Release Date: November 17th, 2020
Approximate running times: 102 Minutes 12 Seconds (English Language Version), 104 Minutes 44 Seconds (Italian Language Version)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Versions)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English (English Language Version), DTS-HD Mono Italian (Italian Language Version)
Subtitles: English (Italian Language Version)
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

“After victory in the Trojan War, Ulysses embarks on a ten-year journey back to his kingdom. But before he can reunite with his beloved wife, he must defeat the brutal Cyclops, escape the spell of Circe who turns his crew into swine and outwit the Sirens who lure sailors to their death. Peril is everywhere—even at home, where the arrogant Antinous plots to steal Ulysses’ wife before he can complete his final quest in this powerful tale of heroism.” – Synopsis provided by the Distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Here’s the information given about the transfer, “Brand new 4K master”.

Ulysses comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42.4 GB

Feature: 20.8 GB (Italian Language Version), 20.7 GB (English Language Version)

The sources for both versions are in excellent shape; colors are nicely saturated, details look crisp, black levels look good, there are no issues with compression, and the grain retains an organic look.

Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono English - English Language Version, DTS-HD Mono Italian - Italian Language Version)

Each version comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix. Both audio mixes sound clean, clear, and balanced throughout. This release comes with removable English subtitles for the Italian language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include U.S. theatrical trailer (1 minute 9 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), alternate U.S. opening and closing credits (2 minutes 55 seconds, Dolby Digital mono) and an audio commentary with film historian Tim Lucas.

Other extras include trailers for The Vikings, Jack the Giant Killer, and The Magic Sword.

Summary:

Though sword and sandal films can be traced back to the silent film era of Italian cinema, Sword and sandal cinema saw its greatest success in the 1950’s when Hollywood started to make its own sword and sandal films. Many of the sword and sandal films made by Hollywood are co-productions with Italy. Sword and sandal cinema would reach its apex in the 1950’s with what is widely regarded as the genre's most notable films, Hercules and Hercules Unchained.

Predating Hercules by four years, Ulysses laid the template for the Italian sword and sandal films that followed. Ulysses, based on Homer's epic poem Odyssey, is a faithful adaptation of Odyssey. The well-executed narrative begins with Ulysses’ wife, Penelope, yearning for his return, while she fends off suitors who want to replace him. From there, the narrative retraces Ulysses's journey, beginning with his conquering of Troy via a Trojan horse. Along the way, he encounters a giant cyclops and gets seduced by sirens who destroy his boat. Later on, his body washes ashore, suffering from amnesia. And while he tries to remember who he is, he falls in love with another woman. When his memory finally comes back, he sets out to reunite with Penelope, only to discover there are many men wanting to replace him.

It was six years before Kirk Douglas (Paths of Glory) starred in Spartacus, which is arguably his most iconic role. With Ulysses, his first foray into sword and sandal cinema, there are many elements in his performance that foreshadow his Spartacus performance. Ulysses, like most Italian films, featured actors whose voices were dubbed into English by other actors. And though this can sometimes lead to the mouth not matching what’s being said, This usually only affects actors whose lines were not spoken in English on set. That said, this does not affect Ulysses since its lead, Kirk Douglas, speaks his lines in English and most of the other performances have limited screen time. Next to Kirk Douglas, Silvana Mangano (The Witches) has the most screen time. She has two roles, Penelope and Circe, a siren that looks exactly like Penelope. Though she delivers her lines in Italian, this does not prove to be an issue since she has a physical presence that’s entrancing. Another performance of note is that of Anthony Quinn (La Strada) in the role of Antinoos, one of Penelope’s suitors.

From a production standpoint, there’s not an area where Ulysses does not excel. And nowhere is this clearer than when it comes to the exquisite cinematography. That said, though, cinematographer Harold Rosson deserves a lot of credit for the look of the film. One must not overlook camera operator Mario Bava’s contributions, most notably the scene with the giant cyclops (reportedly, Mario Bava co-directed this scene). Though Ulysses had to replace its original director, Georg Wilhelm Pabst, who reportedly dropped out at the last minute. The result is an extraordinary film that far exceeds expectations.

Ulysses gets a first-rate release from Kino Lorber that comes with two versions of the film, strong audio/video presentations, and an informative audio commentary, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer