Review for Rocketeer

Introduction

Decisions, decisions... What to buy again on Blu-ray? It was easy when it was DVD. Question... do you own a film on VHS? If answer equals yes, then buy again on DVD. Simple! But give me a good DVD and I can watch it through, up-scaled onto a high definition screen and not once wonder if it will look better on Blu-ray, even though it would. Generally DVD is just about good enough. So it becomes a more selective process. My absolute favourite films are shoe-ins for the HD double dip, and if a DVD is a letterbox version, then it makes sense to get it in HD. But for other discs it’s a matter of trial and error. Is the Blu-ray in a bargain bin? Will I actually watch it more than once? I’ve slowly been going through my DVD collection, watching them up-scaled to see how they look, and one or two really do fail the up-scale test. Films that looked great on a 28 inch CRT suddenly look like pants on a 40 inch screen, when compression and macroblocking suddenly hit like a ten-ton truck. There are surprisingly few DVDs like that in my collection, but they’re the ones that I really do want to double dip on. The original Rocketeer DVD is one of them.


Typically, after waiting for 2 years, Rocketeer still hasn’t been released on Blu-ray in the UK, except in a limited edition Steelbook version, which promptly sold out months before its release date, and has since shown up at twice the price on sites like e-bay and Amazon Marketplace. It’s just the same Region free disc that has been released around the world, albeit in shiny packaging. I got tired of waiting and imported the Australian release instead. My opinion of the film hasn’t changed, so text reworked from the review of the DVD is presented in italics.


When Howard Hughes’ prototype rocket pack is stolen by a group of mobsters, the FBI roars off in pursuit. The frenetic chase leads them to an airfield with bullets flying. Unfortunately, one of these bullets holes the racing plane of Cliff Secord, who subsequently crashes and barely escapes the burning wreck. The mobsters about to be apprehended by the feds, switches the rocket pack and hides it in a decrepit biplane. Cliff having seen his livelihood go up in flames finds himself in dire financial straits has to resurrect a flying clown act for the airfield owner to pay for the damages caused by the crash. It’s when he and his mechanic, Peevy go to check the old biplane for airworthiness that they discover the hidden rocket pack.


While Peevy works on the pack, Cliff goes to tell his girlfriend Jenny the good news. When he strays on to the film set where she has a bit part, his bumbling causes the set to collapse and results in an irate film star, Neville Sinclair to fire her. But when he overhears them discussing the rocket pack, he realises that it is the same device that he is after. Yes, Neville Sinclair is a spy, a fiendish one at that who had hired Eddie Valentine’s mobsters to steal the pack. He quickly gets Jenny her job back in order to seduce her and use her to get the pack. When Cliff returns late to the airfield, he sees that an old pilot friend in order to help Cliff has gotten into the clown make up and is attempting to fly, badly. As he drifts into the path of oncoming racers, Cliff sees no other way to save the day than to don the rocket pack and launch himself into the air. The Rocketeer is born.

Picture

Rocketeer gets a 2.35:1 widescreen 1080p transfer on this Blu-ray disc. It is a revelation compared to that DVD release, clear and colourful throughout, rich in detail and with strong consistent colours. There’s absolutely no problem with compression and the like, and print damage is non-existent. It’s a nice recreation of the original film source, with DNR light if non-existent. There is a decent level of grain, and during the end credit scroll you might see an infinitesimal wobble.


That said, it is a little soft and hazy, perhaps a deliberate choice to enhance the glamour of the period setting. It is a very glossy, Hollywood production, rich in period detail, although that detail is a little less in darker and smokier scenes. But you can definitely see the glitz in the South Seas Club, in Neville Sinclair’s home, in Howard Hughes’ offices. And as I often do with Blu-rays, I hit the pause button on one or two occasions to just take in the extra detail. You can read the text on the letter on Howard Hughes desk, extolling the virtues of the Cirrus X3 to the New York World’s Fair.

Sound

You have the choice between DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround English, and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo French, with optional subtitles in English HOH and French. I found the English audio to be stellar, really effective surround audio bringing across the effects and action in the film without flaw, really working the speakers with James Horner’s adventurous score, while keeping the dialogue clear throughout.

Extras

That original DVD release was a barebones affair, but this Blu-ray is the 20th Anniversary Edition. Surely Disney have rolled out the barrel for this one. You bet! They’ve included the Original Theatrical Trailer this time, presented in 4:3 480i and letterboxed. It lasts just over 2 minutes and gives most of the film away.


Anyway, the disc is coded for Regions A, B and C, presents the content with an animated menu, with the trailer is an info page which amounts to a disclaimer about the non-existent featurettes and commentaries, and if you pause or skip back and forth through the film, a progress bar appears on screen which you can’t get rid of without pressing play. My player also held in memory the last place I stopped the film after I ejected it. It doesn’t do that for just any disc.

Conclusion

The 1930s are a rich cinematic vein and that’s not just because of the Indiana Jones movies, although they play a big part in bringing to life that particular period. The world was at a turning point in more ways than one. With the Far East finally waking up to the twentieth century, the world was linked as never before. Mass production was bringing previously unattainable goods to the general public. It was truly a heyday for telecommunications, transport, entertainment and so much more. People were well off and that reflected in the fashions of the period. Design in the thirties was elegant and chic, whether it was clothes or architecture or even cars. Not only must a thing be functional, but also it must be aesthetically pleasing. Yet despite this apparent prosperity, the world also saw some terrible times, whether it was the Great Depression, Prohibition or most ominous of all, the rise of Fascism and Nazi Germany.


I’m sure I’ve only scratched the surface, but it’s a combination of such glamour and drama that make films like the Indiana Jones trilogy so attractive and many other films have explored that rich field of storytelling, to varying degrees of success. Rocketeer is one of them. Air travel was an industry in its birth throes in the thirties. Planes of all shapes and sizes took to the air as fledgling airlines explored this new frontier. Individuals could excel in this arena in a way that would be impossible today. Howard Hughes was one of these pioneers of aviation, building the largest ever airplane, the Spruce Goose. Made completely of wood, it was designed to carry over 700 passengers. Rocketeer credits Hughes with the fictional creation of a rocket pack, one that the Nazis would covet in their desire for world domination. On paper, Rocketeer has it all, fiendish spies, dashing heroes, beautiful damsels, henchmen mobsters and the FBI. Throw in some stirring action and some death defying stunts and you should have a fun movie for all the family.


On paper, this film seems to have it all. But on screen it comes up a little lacking. Despite the sumptuous thirties setting, the inclusion of exciting action and an exciting story reminiscent of Saturday matinees, there is one problem with Rocketeer, and that is the Rocketeer Cliff Secord himself. He’s played here by Bill Campbell and unfortunately, while he is the archetypal lantern jawed hero, as an actor he lacks an individual charisma that marks him as a leading man. He attacks the role with the necessary enthusiasm and wholeheartedly enters into the spirit of the thing, but again the chemistry between him and Jennifer Connelly as Jenny is minimal. Jennifer Connelly is gorgeous on screen and fits the part of a smouldering thirties screen siren. Alan Arkin is good as the nerdish mechanic Peevy, but Timothy Dalton as the duplicitous Neville Sinclair steals the show. He attacks the role of the film star cum spy with a tongue-in-cheek relish and hams up the bad guy persona to the best of his ability. Paul Sorvino also has a nice role as the gangster Eddie Valentine and plays a stereotypical movie mobster. Terry O’Quinn certainly looks like Howard Hughes but is certainly more charismatic than the real recluse probably was.


I certainly enjoy Rocketeer. It’s an action movie for all the family in the best tradition of Indiana Jones and as such I can easily recommend it. For me it has it all, the brilliant thirties setting, the wonderful old time airplanes, good old-fashioned heroes and villains, a world shattering invention that is stolen and the evil Nazis who’ll stop at nothing to use it to take over the world. This is the best stuff of comic book action and as such you will definitely be entertained. However, with a forgettable hero in the shape of Bill Campbell, this film will never be a memorable one. It’s a shame really, as the subject matter would have been ripe for sequels. Nevertheless, this film has a zeppelin in, and a real bona fide henchman in the looming shape of Lothar. Yes, this disc is fun for all the family.


Well, for a 20th Anniversary Edition, it isn’t up to much, but compared to that DVD, the audio-visual quality of this disc is more than worth it. I felt like I was watching it in the cinema, and I haven’t felt that way since I did, actually watch it in the cinema.