The Fearmakers
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Synopsis
A Korean veteran cooperating with a Senate committee uncovers subversives.
Picture 7/10
Jacques Tourneur’s The Fearmakers debuts on DVD through MGM’s burn-on-demand series, the MGM Limited Edition Collection. The film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 on a single-layer DVD-R.
My third disc of this type, I’m again a bit surprised by what we get. My first experience was with MGM’s How I Won the War, which presented a botched presentation; despite a decent looking print the digital transfer was laced with artifacts that significantly impacted viewing. But with Park Row and now The Fearmakers I’m starting to warm up to these discs.
The Fearmakers looks rather good, maybe even better than Park Row in some respects, which I thought looked great all things considered. Its source is actually in far better shape with very few marks scattered about and the digital transfer actually looks a bit sharper. There are areas where it looks to be smoothed over but in general definition and detail is very strong, particularly in close-ups. Blacks and whites are decent and there are times where blacks can come off fairly inky. There are some noticeable halos here and there, but nothing anywhere near as bad as How I Won the War and they are easily dismissed.
In all a pleasant presentation and a bit of a surprise.
The Fearmakers - Screen Captures
Audio 6/10
The 2-channel mono track is adequate and not much else. Dialogue is clear and easy to hear but the track is generally flat and lifeless, and the music is a bit edgy. Some noise is noticeable in spots but its rather clean overall.
Extras 0/10
There are no supplements to speak of for this release.
Closing
I was curious about this one since it was directed by Tourneur (Out of the Past) and I have to say it’s not particularly great but interesting enough. It shockingly reflects our present time rather well, its plot centering on lobbyists and polls manipulating popular opinion to aim the public towards certain political ideals, and in ways it plays like an early Manchurian Candidate, though I should stress a very poor distant cousin to that film. And while this aspect is interesting the film is unfortunately nothing more than your typical piece of “Red Scare” propaganda and has aged poorly in this regard (the villains want world peace! Those damn Commies!) The ending is also a bit of a stretch, cleaning everything up nicely. It’s also, in all honesty, a bit of a bore, coming off too stagey. But Mel Torme is surprisingly good in this film!
Yet again I’m still questioning these burn-on-demand discs as they are expensive and look cheap: the disc is an obvious DVD-R and the artwork looks to be printed off of a cheap inkjet. But the quality of the presentation is rather good, well above average and for those who want to pick up the film they certainly shouldn’t worry about the presentation.
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