Sony Pictures

Intro

‘Tis the season of bangs and booms it seems, as the release of big war movies of the past continues. This isn’t one of the best, but, produced as it is by Dino De Laurentis, it is big.

Synopsis

Robert Mitchum headlines as a war correspondent accompanying the Allied landing at Anzio, Italy, in 1944. The initial landing goes well, but then the opportunity to advance to Rome is missed, and the Allies find themselves encircled. A ferocious, months-long battle ensues.

Audio>

The audio is in mono only. While I have no huge objection to this, a number of other (and older) war films have been remastered into stereo, and Anzio is not exactly an untouchable classic, and so could have benefited from that treatment (except, that is, for the atrocious Jack Jones song that accompanies the opening credits – you’ll be glad for the mono then). As it stands, the mono is serviceable, clear and clean. Nothing spectacular, but nothing to complain about either.

Video

The video is, for the most part, very, very nice. The film dates from 1968, but the print has barely aged a day. There are occasional (very, very rare and sparse) speckles. There does seem to have been some slight problem in the transfer in the form of a slight skip about seven minutes in. Otherwise, the quality of the image itself is beyond reproach. The colours are deep and rich, truly wonders to behold. The film comes in both 2.35:1 widescreen and full screen formats.

Features

Not much in this department: a silent and still menu, and trailers for Anzio, The Guns of Navarone, The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia.

Closing Thoughts

This is another very basic disc. Still, the quality of the picture justifies the format – this still looks much better than any VHS release.

Special Features List

• Theatrical trailer(s)