Review of D Day, The Sixth Of June / The Young Lions

Introduction

D-Day: The Sixth of June
This 1956 movie stars Robert Taylor, Richard Todd, Dana Wynter, Edmond O`Brien, John Williams and Jerry Paris and tells the story of two soldiers who are in love with the same woman.

The Young Lions
This 1958 movie stars Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Dean Martin, Hope Lange, Barbara Rush, May Britt and Maximilian Schell and tells the story of two soldiers on opposing sides during the Second World War.

Video

D-Day: The Sixth of June
D-Day: The Sixth of June is presented in colour 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, and has reasonable picture quality for a 47 year old movie, despite the colours looking a little dark and washed out. The image is quite clean, with limited dirt on the print, and is also relatively free from grain. In truth, I prefer older movies in black and white, as the image quality stands the test of time better - as demonstrated below.

The Young Lions
The Young Lions is presented in black and white 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and given the 45 year vintage of the film has a remarkably sharp picture with excellent contrast. There is some dirt on the print, but limited grain and the restorers have done an excellent job. There is some use of stock news footage, which is of a noticeably lower standard, with variable picture quality including the dreaded vertical lines, but these are offset by the quality of the main movie footage. The filmmakers made good use of location, which still makes the film look credible in the 21st century.

Audio

Both movies are presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, which is effectively a mono track replayed through two channels. As you might expect from movies approaching fifty years old, the soundtrack isn`t going to set the world alight, however, the sound is well reproduced and the dialogue is relatively clear and understandable throughout. Similarly, the soundtrack and effects are replayed competently, and don`t detract from the movies in any way.

Features

The only extra feature on each disc is the trailer, accessible from static and rather unexciting menus.

Conclusion

I`m a fan of World War 2 movies, but just couldn`t get overly excited by either of the two movies in this double-pack - there`s nothing wrong with either of them, there just wasn`t enough excitement or drama to hold my attention over their duration.

Both are competently made, and still look credible half-a-century later and both have good visual and sound quality. The extras are limited to the trailers, but two films for the price of one still represents relatively good value for money.

In summary, two competent but unexciting movies, well presented and fans of either will not be disappointed.