Diary of Anne Frank, The (Blu-ray)

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Audio:

Alfred Newman was nominated for an Academy Award for his original musical score and while he did not bring home the Oscar, his score sounds amazing on the remastered English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio score and the sound effects spread throughout the film are handled rather nicely. The disc contains a less impressive English 4.0 Digital Dolby mix and foreign language support in Latin Spanish mono and Castilian Spanish stereo. Subtitles are provided in Spanish, French and English SDH. There are not a great deal of directional effects present in the film, but the occasional ambulance siren, cat screech or warfare explosion are handled nicely. The .1 LFE channel is not used heavily, but bass is present during some of the heavier explosions. Most of the sound is pushed through the three front speakers, but this is a dialogue driven film that delivers its best moments from silence. Dialogue is very strong. The new mix sounds very good and you won´t find much to complain about with the sound mix of the "50th Anniversary Edition" of "The Diary of Anne Frank."

Extras:

The new "50th Anniversary Edition" of "The Diary of Anne Frank" is a feature packed special edition that features a good deal of involvement with the surviving filmmakers and especially Associate Producer George Stevens, Jr., who is the surviving son of the film´s director. One thing I found particularly interesting was the inclusion of a Play All (1:26:47) menu item that allowed many of the supplements to be played together. This did not include the largest items and I didn´t go through them to see exactly what was included, but I think this kind of thing is a good idea. All of the features aside from the Audio Commentary with George Stevens, Jr. & Millie Perkins are stand-alone items that need to be played from the menu. The commentary, however, is excellent. Stevens and Perkins recorded the track together and while it isn´t the most exciting commentary track, it is wonderfully detailed and to hear the two discuss the film is well worth enjoying the film a second time.

George Stevens in WWII (7:40) has George Stevens, Jr. discussing his father´s service as a photographer as a Lieutenant Colonel through World War II. This gives a brief look at the Signal Corps, newsreels and his father´s experiences during the War. This is a good vignette. The Making of The Diary of Anne Frank: A Son´s Memories (25:05) finds Stevens, Jr. recounting his experience serving as the 2nd Unit Director and Associate Producer on the film and how it was a wonderful experience to work with his father on this very personal project. This was a unique and nicely done making of featurette. The Diary of Anne Frank Memories from Millie Perkins and Diane Baker (25:53) is the second half of "A Son´s Memories" and has child actors Perkins and Baker recounting their experiences along with Stevens, Jr. There are some good moments from the making of the film, including an interview with Perkins, who was a model.

The next few supplements were recorded a few years back and are included on the new release. Shelley Winters and The Diary of Anne Frank (7:00) was filmed seventeen years ago, but has the familiar actress talking about working with George Stevens and remembering her work on the film as she is interviewed by Stevens, Jr. The Sound and Music of the Diary of Anne Frank (7:54) talks about the theatrical score used in the film and how it is important to the film and how the score is used to show Anne Frank´s maturation through the film. The Diary of Anne Frank: Correspondence(13:12) is another new supplement and has Stevens, Jr. reading some of the letters written by his father about the story, Millie Perkins and other aspects of the production.

The supplements continue with Fox Movie Channel Presents: Fox Legacy with Tom Rothman (14:08) is a fairly brief promotional clip that discusses "The Diary of Anne Frank" and was used to introduce the film when it was played on the Fox Movie Channel. It talks about the sobering nature of the film and compares it to other films that looked at the Holocaust. The Diary of Anne Frank: Echoes From the Past (1:30:07) is narrated by Burt Reynolds and is a very good retrospective documentary that looks at the film and discusses the relevant topics to the film. The documentary talks about the diary itself, discusses the history of the story in various forms and how "The Diary of a Young Girl" went to stage and then screen. It talks about how the film was one of the first major discussions of the Holocaust. This is an exceptional making of documentary.

There truly are a large number of features crammed on this disc. Diary of Anne Frank Excerpt from George Stevens: A Filmmaker´s Journey (7:59) is a collection of scenes from an older documentary on either the film or Stevens´ career as a filmmaker. The eight minutes contained here are quite good and I would have liked to have seen the entire documentary. The George Stevens Press Conference (5:01) spends much of its time trying to find the lead role for Anne Frank and is a nice little vintage piece. The Millie Perkins Screen Test (2:20) had segments in the earlier "Memories from Millie Perkins and Diane Baker," but expands the interview by another minute and a half. I´m surprised this feature was only two and a half minutes.

The final supplements are fairly short and promotional in nature. The Fox Movietonews (6:44) are six vintage clips used to promote the production and theatrical release of "The Diary of Anne Frank." These can be played individually or with a "Play All" menu item. The clips are your typical late Fifties movie news clips and serve to inform and promote the picture. A lot of the time spent in these clips is used to promote young star Millie Perkins. The vintage Theatrical Trailer (3:11) is included and is so much better than today´s horrid examples of promotion that give away far too much and show the film´s best scenes. An International Trailer (4:32) is even longer. The supplements end with the menu based Interactive Pressbook Gallery and a good Behind-the-Scenes Gallery.

Closing:

"The Diary of Anne Frank" was first shown to me before I entered high school and it was an educational lesson on the Holocaust. I learned a great deal about humanity from this film and while the years have passed and I cannot remember exactly when I first watched young Millie Perkins portray Anne Frank, I remembered much of the film. It had a powerful effect on me as a young man and is still a powerful film fifty years after it was first released into theaters. The film is not perfect, but I´m not sure I would want it done any other way. Leave this as it is, a historical masterpiece. The new release takes days to go through the supplements and fully appreciate all of the bonus offerings. This is a wonderful special edition. The sound and video are also very good and it is almost a travesty that it took me so long to watch this film again after having only ever seen it on pan and scan VHS. I highly recommend this title.

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