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Stars:
Robert Shaw, Bruce Dern, Marthe Keller, Fritz Weaver, and Bekim Fehmiu
Writers:
Ernest Lehman, Kenneth Ross, and Ivan Moffat
Based
On The Novel By: Thomas Harris
Director:
John Frankenheimer
Feature
length: 143 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and English and French Monaural Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions
Packaging:
Amaray Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 24
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Monaural Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1976/DVD Release: 2003
Theatrical
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Paramount Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: R
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Long
before Thomas Harris introduced the world to “Dr. Hannibal Lecter,” Producer
Robert Evans and Director John Frankenheimer bought his novel “Black Sunday”
to the big screen in 1976. Sufficed to say, the film is more timely than ever as
it focuses on a terrorist attempt to assassinate the President of the United
States and 80,000 other people at the Super Bowl with an explosive that yields
thousands of armor piercing darts. Their method of delivery is through using a
Vietnam veteran, (Bruce Dern), whose mind was broken after six years as a POW.
Now he pilots the Goodyear Blimp for sporting events and his girlfriend (Marthe
Keller) is a part of a middle eastern terrorist group that calls themselves
“Black September.” The plan is to use the blimp to disperse the explosives
during the game. The only hope for stopping this fiendish plot lies in the hands
of an Israeli Commando (Robert Shaw), who has become a bit emotionally torn
after years of covert operations that have involved the deaths of many in order
to preserve the security of Israel and the democratic relations shared between
his country and the United States.
I
remember seeing TV commercials for “Black Sunday” when I was about 6 or 7
years old and not fully comprehending what the film was about, all that stuck in
my mind were the scenes of mass panic as the Goodyear Blimp loomed low above the
stadium like some monster. I am embarrassed to admit this, but it actually
scared me to a point that I saw it as being akin to a monster like “The
Blob” or something. I had no idea what the film was really about, but I have
to admit even as an adult today, I have never looked at a blimp in the sky
without once remembering those scenes from the film. So perhaps for that alone
one might think that “Black Sunday” is a memorable thriller, but as
effective as the sequence is there is a lot more to admire about this film.
Frankenheimer’s
screen direction is great. I actually think the choreography for the Israeli
raid on the terrorist compound in Beirut is better than larger than life
spectacle of Robert Shaw trying to place a hook on the surface of the blimp in
mid air from a helicopter. John Williams’ score starts off somewhat dated, but
picks up nicely as the film progresses. The score for the film’s final action
filled twenty minutes has touches to it that reminded me a bit of some of the
music Williams would use to accent the appearance of Stormtroopers hurrying
through the Death Star in search of the heroes in “Star Wars.” As much as
Robert Shaw tries to deliver a somewhat world-weary if not conflicted heroic
performance for the film, I think Bruce Dern steals the film in every scene he
appears in as the deranged if not mind controlled veteran who knowingly now
expects to give his life against his country.
Those
expecting anything along the lines of a slick polished action thriller like
“Diehard” should look elsewhere. “Black Sunday” is more akin to the
gritty action spectacles like “The French Connection” that established new
standards in thrillers during the heyday of 1970s filmmaking. Frankenheimer
directed the underrated sequel to “The French Connection” too.
As
a bare bones DVD release, Paramount Home Entertainment presents “Black
Sunday” in an anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio that preserves the
manner in which the film was exhibited theatrically as close as possible for
home video users. The film has gritty look to it that seems indicative of the
kind of filmmaking that was in vogue in the early to mid 1970s, but the source
print used for the transfer is also quite grainy throughout the entire feature
film presentation, which is a disappointment.
The
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is actually better than many 5.1
remixes done for films from this era, but it is obviously not up to the quality
of contemporary 5.1 film mixes. Occasionally there’s some nice use of the left
and right channels and a little for the surround in terms of sound effects, but
the actual voice tracks and whatnot are not very discrete. If anything I’d say
John Williams’ score for the film benefits the most from this 5.1 Soundtrack.
The film’s original English Monaural Soundtrack has been restored beautifully
for those who prefer to hear the film’s soundtrack as close as can possibly be
duplicated for home theater sound systems as it sounded theatrically. In fact
with the analogue background noise and hissing all but gone, this might actually
sound better than the original theatrical experience though only those who
remember seeing this on the big screen back in 1976 will know for sure. A French
Language Monaural Soundtrack and English Captions and Closed Captions for the
hearing impaired are also encoded onto the DVD as options.
The
DVD menus are standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate.
“Black Sunday” is available on DVD-Video now from Paramount Home
Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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