The Blue Max (Blu-ray)
(Twilight Time, 2.11.2014)
Relatively early in the life of Twilight Time, the company released Rapture, a masterful -- if little-known -- 1965 gem from John Guillermin, a director better known for relatively disposable efforts like The Towering Inferno and the notorious 1976 remake of King Kong. Looking for another Guillermin film worthy of Rapture, you might find yourself gravitating toward his ambitious follow-up from 1966. Fortunately, Twilight Time has now made that film available in an eye-popping new Blu-ray. Clocking in at 156 minutes, The Blue Max is a sprawling look at an unsympathetic German pilot determined to shoot down 20 planes and earn the coveted title medal during World War I. While this film ultimately lacks much of what distinguished Rapture -- rich characterizations, enigmatic metaphor, an utterly distinctive mood -- The Blue Max proves to be an accomplished film of another kind.
Whereas Rapture is intimate and personal, The Blue Max is grand and somewhat remote. James Mason delivers a typically strong performance, but George Peppard offers the same smug anonymity that characterized his problematic performance in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Where this film turns out to be far more distinguished is in its many aerial sequences, which include dangerous, intricately choreographed plane stunts, immersive first person perspectives, and intermittently convincing pilot close-ups. Even the shots from ground level display stunning feats -- an elaborate tracking shot in the final minutes is particularly impressive -- in their choreography of people, planes, and camera.
By all indications, Twilight Time was drawn to this film because of its historic score by Jerry Goldsmith. This was written and recorded during one of the legendary composer’s finest periods, around the time of his work on Von Ryan’s Express, The Sand Pebbles, and Planet of the Apes. While Goldsmith was always proud of his work on The Blue Max, he long expressed disappointment about Guillermin’s decision to excise much of his music. On this disc’s isolated score track, Twilight Time has reinstated the deleted cues, even including a few bonus cuts on the commentary track.
This commentary includes Julie Kirgo (who also contributes typically informative liner notes), Nick Redman, and Goldsmith aficionado Jon Burlingame. Understandably, they devote much of the track to Goldsmith, but they also discuss some of the film’s famous admirers, including Peter Jackson – who bought and refurbished one of the planes from the film – and George Lucas, who drew inspiration from The Blue Max in the making of Star Wars. This is an excellent commentary, but the disc’s greatest asset is a remarkable transfer that makes the film’s occasional shortcomings easy to forgive. As always with Twilight Time, this Blu-ray is limited to 3,000 copies, available exclusively through Screen Archives and the TCM store. -- Jonathan Doyle
