Like the poem, the movie is sentimental and corny and totally absurd, and we wouldn't want it any other way. This is grand and exhilarating filmmaking that's hard to resist.
Along the path of their adventures, the protagonists meet villainous murderers, stranglers, the worshipers of Kali; pits of venomous snakes; Indian temples with labyrinthine tunnels; rope-ladder bridges over deep, narrow gorges; minor brawls; major fights; and all-out battles. Does this remind you of anything? Do you figure George Lucas and his buddy Steven Spielberg might have seen "Gunga Din" more than a few times in their youth?
The mountainous desert region of Lone Pine, California, fills in admirably for India's Khyber Pass, and director George Stevens's previous experience as a cinematographer pays off with spectacular scenery and composition. Alfred Newman provides the familiar musical background, at once heroic and exotic. In addition, I've always enjoyed the big gong during the opening credits, lending a tongue-in-cheek note to the proceedings before they even begin.
Oddly, the fight scenes have a herky-jerky, fast-motion appearance to them reminiscent of silent films, but maybe it was intended to look that way for light relief. It seems a little dated at first, but you get used to it.
"Gunga Din" is filled with such silly hokum, it's hard not to like it. The cheeky humor goes a long way toward making it almost an outright comedy. When Cutter faces an entire assembly of the thugee cult in the bowels of a temple, he marches to the fore, confronts them and their leader, and proclaims, "You're all under arrest, the whole lot of you. Her Majesty is very touchy about having her subjects strangled." Wonderful stuff.
Video:
The opening credits are a bit more grainy than the rest of the picture, but things clear up considerably as the movie goes along. This is an archival restored print in that some twenty minutes of lost footage has been found and replaced, but it does not appear to be a digitally restored print in terms of film quality. Therefore, it is as good a print as Warner Brothers could find. Some grain is always present, some occasional age marks, and average definition for an older film. There are fairly good black-and-white contrasts in most scenes and good black levels throughout, but now and again one notices a particularly murky scene.
Audio:
The audio is 1.0 mono, reprocessed in Dolby Digital for added clarity. The entire frequency range is limited, especially the bottom end, and the sound spectrum seems more than a bit hard and thin at times. There is also a small degree of intermittent hiss accompanying some of the dialogue in quieter scenes. Most of the time, however, one never notices the sound at all.
Extras:
The primary bonuses are an audio commentary with film historian Rudy Behlmer, who provides his usual expertise in background information; and a newly made, eleven-minute, making-of documentary, "On Location With Gunga Din." The documentary includes interviews with the director's son, George Stevens, Jr.; the RKO chief in charge of production at the time, Pando Berman; and the late Doug Fairbanks, Jr. In addition, we hear screenwriter William Goldman pay tribute to the film, saying that nothing else had as big an impact on him as a writer than "Gunga Din." Finally, there's a 1939, black-and-white Porky Pig/Looney Tunes cartoon, "The Film Fan," that's cute and filled with puns; thirty-one scene selections; an original 1939 theatrical trailer, and a 1957 re-release trailer. English is the only spoken language available, but there are subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.
Parting Thoughts:
Practically every action-adventure ever filmed since "Gunga Din" owes a little something to this movie, from "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" to "National Treasure." "Gunga Din's" got it all: passion, romance, high good humor, and derring-do. The characters are unforgettable, the pacing is crisp, the scenery is gorgeous, and the music is elating. Like the poem, the movie is sentimental and corny and totally absurd, and we wouldn't want it any other way. This is grand and exhilarating filmmaking that's hard to resist.
The mountainous desert region of Lone Pine, California, fills in admirably for India's Khyber Pass, and director George Stevens's previous experience as a cinematographer pays off with spectacular scenery and composition. Alfred Newman provides the familiar musical background, at once heroic and exotic. In addition, I've always enjoyed the big gong during the opening credits, lending a tongue-in-cheek note to the proceedings before they even begin.
Oddly, the fight scenes have a herky-jerky, fast-motion appearance to them reminiscent of silent films, but maybe it was intended to look that way for light relief. It seems a little dated at first, but you get used to it.
"Gunga Din" is filled with such silly hokum, it's hard not to like it. The cheeky humor goes a long way toward making it almost an outright comedy. When Cutter faces an entire assembly of the thugee cult in the bowels of a temple, he marches to the fore, confronts them and their leader, and proclaims, "You're all under arrest, the whole lot of you. Her Majesty is very touchy about having her subjects strangled." Wonderful stuff.
Video:
The opening credits are a bit more grainy than the rest of the picture, but things clear up considerably as the movie goes along. This is an archival restored print in that some twenty minutes of lost footage has been found and replaced, but it does not appear to be a digitally restored print in terms of film quality. Therefore, it is as good a print as Warner Brothers could find. Some grain is always present, some occasional age marks, and average definition for an older film. There are fairly good black-and-white contrasts in most scenes and good black levels throughout, but now and again one notices a particularly murky scene.
Audio:
The audio is 1.0 mono, reprocessed in Dolby Digital for added clarity. The entire frequency range is limited, especially the bottom end, and the sound spectrum seems more than a bit hard and thin at times. There is also a small degree of intermittent hiss accompanying some of the dialogue in quieter scenes. Most of the time, however, one never notices the sound at all.
Extras:
The primary bonuses are an audio commentary with film historian Rudy Behlmer, who provides his usual expertise in background information; and a newly made, eleven-minute, making-of documentary, "On Location With Gunga Din." The documentary includes interviews with the director's son, George Stevens, Jr.; the RKO chief in charge of production at the time, Pando Berman; and the late Doug Fairbanks, Jr. In addition, we hear screenwriter William Goldman pay tribute to the film, saying that nothing else had as big an impact on him as a writer than "Gunga Din." Finally, there's a 1939, black-and-white Porky Pig/Looney Tunes cartoon, "The Film Fan," that's cute and filled with puns; thirty-one scene selections; an original 1939 theatrical trailer, and a 1957 re-release trailer. English is the only spoken language available, but there are subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.
Parting Thoughts:
Practically every action-adventure ever filmed since "Gunga Din" owes a little something to this movie, from "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" to "National Treasure." "Gunga Din's" got it all: passion, romance, high good humor, and derring-do. The characters are unforgettable, the pacing is crisp, the scenery is gorgeous, and the music is elating. Like the poem, the movie is sentimental and corny and totally absurd, and we wouldn't want it any other way. This is grand and exhilarating filmmaking that's hard to resist.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]14120[/release]