Hunchback of Notre Dame, The (Blu-ray)

THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME [1939] [Blu-ray] Examples of Hollywood Expertise at Work! Big Beyond Words! Thrilling Beyond Belief! Magnificent Beyond Compare!With huge sets, rousing scenes and a versatile throng portraying a medieval Paris of cutthroats, clergy, beggars and nobles. ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ [1939] remains one of Hollywood’s all-time grandest spectacles.Charles Laughton endured a daily five-and-a-half-hour makeup session to become Quasimodo, the mocked and vilified bell ringer of Notre Dame. The result was one of his best performances: outsized yet nuanced, heartrending yet inspiring. Maureen O'Hara is the gypsy Esmeralda, whose simple act of pity frees the emotions within him. When she is wrongly condemned, he rescues her from hanging, sweeping all of Paris into a fight for justice.FILM FACT: Award Nominations: Academy Award® for Best Original Music Score for Alfred Newman. Academy Award® for Best Sound for John Aalberg. For this production RKO Radio Pictures built on their movie ranch a massive medieval city of Paris and Notre Dame Cathedral, one of the largest and most extravagant sets ever constructed. The characters of Claude Frollo and Jehan Frollo are changed as in the 1923 film: instead of being the bad archdeacon as in the novel. The only difference in this film is that Claude is portrayed as an archbishop and Jehan Frollo is portrayed as a judge.Cast: Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Thomas Mitchell, Edmond O'Brien, Alan Marshal, Walter Hampden, Harry Davenport, Katharine Alexander, George Zucco, Fritz Leiber, Etienne Girardot, Helene Whitney, Mina Gombell, Arthur Hohl, Curt Bois, George Tobias, Rod La Rocque, Spencer Charters, Kathryn Adams, Dianne Hunter and Sig ArnoDirector: William DieterleProducer: Pandro S. BermanScreenplay: Bruno Frank and Sonya LevienComposer: Alfred NewmanCinematography: Joseph H. AugustVideo Resolution: 1080p [Black-and-White]Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1Audio: English: 1.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, German: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono and Spanish [Latin]: 1.0 Dolby Digital MonoSubtitles: English SDH, French, German SDH, Spanish [Castilian], Spanish [Latin] and GermanRunning Time: 117 minutesRegion: Region A/1Number of discs: 1Studio: Warner Home Video / RKO Radio PicturesAndrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame,’ is the American dramatic film, released in 1939, that is widely regarded as the finest adaptation of Victor Hugo’s classic novel of the same name. It featured Charles Laughton in one of his most acclaimed roles. With his hunched back and deformed face, Quasimodo, the tragic hero of Victor Hugo's novel “The Hunch Back of Notre Dame,” has always been considered a mythical creation drawn from the depths of the author's imagination.Charles Laughton portrayed an unlikely hero: the kind, misunderstood, and pitiable hunchback Quasimodo, the bell ringer at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. He meets and falls in love with a beautiful Rom (gypsy) named Esmeralda (played by Maureen O’Hara). However, Quasimodo’s adoptive father figure, the sexually repressed Claude Frollo [Sir Cedric Hardwicke], is determined to destroy the girl. After she falls in love with the soldier Phoebus [Alan Marshal], the increasingly unstable Claude Frollo murders him. He then frames Esmeralda for the crime, and she is tried and sentenced to death. As she is being taken to the gallows, Quasimodo rescues her, and the two find sanctuary in the cathedral. Claude Frollo, however, is determined to see Esmeralda killed, and during a struggle Quasimodo throws him off the bell tower.‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ [1939] was RKO Studio's last release of the 1930s. It was also one of the studio's biggest and best films of 1939, the studio's most successful year ever. A sensitive adaptation of Victor Hugo's epic novel, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” told the story of a deformed bell-ringer whose love for a beautiful gypsy woman amidst the turmoil in France under King Louis XI. The film, made brilliant by massive production design, Alfred Newman's rousing score, beautiful camerawork, and performances to match, was a spectacular hit at the box office, despite being released the same year as ‘Gone With the Wind’ [1939]. The film's biggest asset is of course was Charles Laughton's performance as Quasimodo, still stands today as the most moving interpretation of Victor Hugo's tragic hero.The film adaptation is notably different from the novel. Although Claude Frollo is an archdeacon in Hugo’s book, filmmakers, worried that a negative portrayal of the clergy would run afoul of the Hays Production Code, made the character a chief justice. In addition, the movie’s happy ending is in sharp contrast to the novel, in which both Quasimodo and Esmeralda die. Despite such changes, the film received numerous accolades. Charles Laughton’s legendary costume and makeup, which took hours to put on every day and was hot and uncomfortable to wear, was kept a secret until the film premiered. His appearance shocked audiences and helped make the performance one of the most indelible of Charles Laughton’s career.The daunting task of translating Victor Hugo's literary masterpiece into a classic film that was entrusted to Sonya Levien, who was able to make the story relevant to contemporary times, particularly in the way she drew an obvious parallel between the persecuted gypsies of Paris and the treatment of Jews in pre-World War II Germany. The Russian-born Sonya Levien grew up in the United States, and began her prolific career by becoming a magazine editor and then a writer. After several pieces of her fiction were adapted for the screen in the early 1920s, Sonya Levien became an active screenwriter. She wrote many screenplays during the thirties, culminating with a script for ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ [1939], based on an adaptation by Bruno Frank. Sonya Levien earned many accolades during her long screenwriting career, including an Academy Award® in 1955 for Interrupted Melody. But it was the Screen Writers Guild (now known as the Writers Guild of America) that bestowed perhaps her most distinguished award.For Sonya Levien's adaptation of ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame,’ more than $2 million was spent on the production. It marked the screen debut of Maureen O'Hara [Esmeralda] and the recreation of Paris was built on a vast set in the San Fernando Valley. The famous Hunchback makeup, designed by Perc Westmore, took months to evolve due to Charles Laughton's sense of perfectionism and the actor also insisted that his hump have ample weight to which Westmore replied, “Why doncha just act it?” This comment made the temperamental Charles Laughton explode, shouting, “Don't you ever speak to me like that again, you hired hand!” The meticulous attention to detail and the long hours filming under the hot summer sun eventually paid off for Laughton because his performance was universally praised. Regarding the powerful scene when the Hunchback of Notre Dame is being punished on the wheel, his director, William Dieterle said, "when Laughton acted that scene, enduring the terrible torture, he was not the poor crippled creature expecting compassion from the mob, but rather oppressed and enslaved mankind, suffering the most awful injustice."The Charles Laughton version, directed by Wiliam Dieterle, is a masterpiece. Even worth highlighting for your attention here. A classic film that looks like it actually might have had a cast of thousands. The plot still holds surprises, including some a sublimated sexual undercurrent, as Esmeralda gets caught in a love quadrangle (she's that popular!). There's a superb cast, particularly the treacherous Claude Frollo, exceptionally played by Sir Cedric Hardwicke [‘The Ghost of Frankenstein’ and ‘Rope’]. Full honours have to go to the astounding performance by Charles Laughton [‘Night of the Hunter’ and ‘The Old Dark House’], in a flawless make-up. Charles Laughton plays Quasimodo deaf and dumb, struggling to communicate with everyone around him. Impressively he still acts up a storm without the power of clear speech and under a ton of make-up. The actor is almost completely unrecognisable, in a role reminiscent of John Hurt as Joseph Merrick in David Lynch's ‘The Elephant Man’ [1980].Blu-ray Video Quality – Warner Home Video facility has created a new transfer for this release, using the original 1.37:1 aspect ratio nitrate camera negative and that several portions of the negative had deteriorated past the point where restoration was possible and for those sections of the film, a second-generation source was used. The 1080p encoded image on this Blu-ray is the jewel in the crown. The elaborate Festival of Fools where Esmeralda dances and Quasimodo is "crowned" are stunning in their clarity, and the night scenes where Quasimodo chases Esmeralda through the streets of Paris feature deep blacks and precise shadows. Contrast and delineations of grey are excellent throughout. The grain pattern is fine, natural and film-like. Of the new 1939 titles that might get released eventually, this is the only one that Warner Home Video has mastered. This is the approach usually taken by the Warner Archive Collection, and one can only hope that it is a sign of things to come, because the results are excellent.Blu-ray Audio Quality – ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ original mono soundtrack is encoded as 1.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, and is really excellent. The sounds of Paris street life, the printer's shop, the halls of justice, the beggars' convention, Quasimodo's hideous public whipping and, most important, the clang of his sonorous "friends" in the bells in the tower, are effectively reproduced, even if the dynamic range doesn't have the breadth of a contemporary recording. Alfred Newman's classical score lends a kind of melodramatic dignity to the proceedings. All in all a great effort has been produced by Warner Home Video.Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:RKO Radio Pictures Vintage Feature: Interview with Maureen O'Hara [480i] [4:3] [12:08] The title of this piece is a bit of a strange. While comments from the Irish actress with Maureen O'Hara are indeed sprinkled throughout this piece, it's really a straightforward retrospective feature interview in which interesting facts are offset by the occasional unknown narrator. Ms. Maureen O'Hara praises the work of Charles Laughton and director William Dieterle, but also recalls her stressful audition for the role of Esmeralda, the magnificent sets built on the RKO Ranch that meticulously recreated medieval Paris, and how she performed her own stunts in the film, a few of which were quite dangerous. We also learn how Charles Laughton transformed himself into Quasimodo and how William Dieterle managed hundreds of extras in this informative look back at an epic production. To me this looked slightly short of its original interview and I am sure there was some time ago a longer filmed interview.Vintage M-G-M Academy Award® Winning Nominated B/W Short: Drunk Driving [1939] [480i] [4:3] [21.36] In this “Crime Does Not Pay” series entry, John Jones is an up and coming businessman who drinks too much but denies he has a problem. One day he mixes drinking and driving, and the tragic consequences hit very close to home. The hazards of drinking and driving are displayed through the retelling of a real life case, where the names have been changed to protect the innocent. "John Jones" has just received an unexpected promotion at work. To celebrate, he and a colleague go out for a few drinks. On his way home from the celebration, Jones is the cause of a fender bender. Despite taking the blame for the accident and getting fined for drinking and driving, Jones does not connect the accident with his drinking. Because he doesn't see the connection, he continues to drink and drive. Cast: Dick Purcell, Jo Ann Sayers, Richard Lane, Granville Bates, Edgar Dearing, John Dilson, Sarah Edwards, Harrison Greene, Robert Middlemass, Lee Phelps, William Tannen, Phillip Trent and Eddy Waller. Director: David Miller. Producer: Jack Chertok. Cinematography: Paul Vogel.Vintage Warner Bros. Cartoon: The Lone Stranger and Porky [1939] [480i] [4:3] [7:24] The Lone Stranger is sleeping when his faithful, if overly caricatured, Indian scout sees stagecoach driver Porky being robbed by a bad guy. The scout summons the Lone Stranger, who rides to the rescue. The bad guy goes after him (and, briefly, the narrator). But just in the nick of time, the Lone Stranger recovers and conquers the bad guy. Meanwhile, Silver and the villain's horse have been having their own close encounter, and Silver returns with several little colts. Voice Cast: Mel Blanc, Billy Bletcher, Pinto Colvig and Danny Webb. Composer: Carl W. Stalling.Theatrical Trailer [1939] [480i] [4:3] 1:48] This is the original trailer, that shows you why ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ was a great Hollywood Classic Film.Finally, this 1939 release of ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ is definitely the best version by far, and especially on this Blu-ray from Warner Home Video and for the most part looks very impressive. This 117 minutes film is transferred to a dual-layered disc with a very high bitrate. The image quality shows some minor grain, but I would say contrast, a function of detail, is the most pleasing attribute of the 1080p encoded image transfer. It is very clean with a modicum of waxy softness that does not seem inconsistent with a strong replication of the original film. Daylight scenes are striking in their high level of sharpness and the darker scenes later in the film show no noise at all. Maureen O'Hara's Esmeralda is as enchanting as I have ever seen her! This Blu-ray is artefact-free and provides a truly amazing video presentation for this wonderful film! It's a memorable Hollywood Classic Film that never tarnishes with age! Highly Recommended!Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film FanLe Cinema ParadisoWARE, United Kingdom

For those who have never seen this version the cast is fantastic! Young Maureen O'Hara is stunningly beautiful even in black and white! Edmund O' Brien in one of his earliest roles. But it is the great Charles Laughton in the lead role that puts the movie on his hunchback shoulders and takes an old story to a new level. This movie came out in 1939 considered by many as the greatest year of movies and holds up still!

I have an older DVD of this movie, but this newer restored Blu-ray version is far superior. I actually watched the old standard DVD, and then this Blu-ray version for comparison, and it was like night and day. All of the artifacts had been removed, and the quality of the picture is superb.

Victor Hugo's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame(1831) has been the subject of at least a dozen Hollywood film adaptations over the years from the first silent version in 1905 right up to an animated Disney version in 1996. But of all the film versions of this famous story, two stand out: the Lon Chaney Universal silent from 1923 and the Charles Laughton RKO sound version from 1939. Warner's(which owns the RKO catalog) has finally brought the latter film to Blu-ray and the results are simply stunning. Those who own the VHS or standard DVD of this great film may want to donate them to their local library because this new Blu-ray puts those inferior versions to shame. Sourced from the original camera negative, Warner's has given the film a high Bitrate(32.90) which makes for a pristine video and one of the best Blu-ray releases this year. RKO studios and producer Pandro S. Berman spared no expense(almost two million dollars) in bringing their version of Hugo's classic story to the screen and the results are not only impressive but even more so now on Blu-ray. Recreating 15th Century Paris on 15 acres of the RKO back lot in the San Fernando Valley, the set designs are so vivid that you actually feel like you're in the streets with the crowds or viewing the whole city of Paris with Quasimodo from the top of Notre Dame cathedral. It's that cathedral where most of the story and action is centered around and the RKO set designers outdid themselves with a nearly exact replica of the famous landmark. Warner's new Blu-ray is so clear that individual crowd members are clearly visible whenever they interact with the main actors. Detail is very strong with shops, buildings, carts, animals, props and costumes being especially vivid now on Blu-ray compared to the standard DVD. Image stability, which was a problem with the standard DVD has been corrected and cleaned up(by MPI) and fans of the film will be more than pleased. There are no vertical lines, dirt, torn or damaged frames that were problems with previous video versions of the film. The cinematography by Joseph H. August is eye popping with blacks, whites and grays being evenly balanced. Close-ups are especially detailed, so much so that you can feel all the suffering in Laughton's face whenever his Quasimodo character is on the screen. Director William Dieterle was born in Germany and was heavily influenced by the expressionistic style of the time and he makes great use of it. This is very apparent in the many nighttime scenes where shadows and light are prominent and make many of those scenes feel more authentic. . All the acting is top notch, with star Charles Laughton giving one of his greatest and most memorable performances as Quasimodo, the deformed and deaf bell ringer of Notre Dame. At first bullied, ridiculed, and jeered by the crowds, Laughton brings great sympathy and sorrow to Quasimodo that will stay with you long after the film is over. Actor Daniel Day-Lewis said of Laughton: "He was probably the greatest film actor who came from that period of time". He gets great support from Maureen O'Hara as Esmeralda in her American film debut. Only 19 at the time, her beauty is another highlight of the film. Her features are so stunning on Blu-ray that viewers will not be able to take their eyes off her. The rest of the supporting cast is equally impressive including Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Thomas Mitchell, Edmond O'Brien and Walter Hampton who give solid performances. "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is 117 minutes(Aspect ratio: 1.37:1) and contains the following subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish. The Audio(English DTS-HD MA mono with Spanish in Dolby Digital mono) is crystal clear and free of any noise artifacts(hiss, pop, etc.) Special features include an interview with Maureen O'Hara, a short subject titled "Drunk Driving", a WB cartoon and the original theatrical trailer. The Blu-ray disk itself is housed in an eco-cutout case so anyone purchasing this new title may want to switch to a more solid Blu-ray case for added protection. "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is one of the great films from Hollywood's golden era and should be an essential part of any home film library now that it is finally out on Blu-ray. Warner's has outdone themselves with this one and it comes very, very highly recommended.

The great actor Charles Laughton brings us his portrayal of the hunchback in this 1939 classic. The Lon Chaney silent epic set the standard for Victor Hugo's novel brought to the screen, but Laughton's acting skills bring a greater pathos and sadness to the role, eclipsing Chaney by the thinnest of margins. No doubt the addition of sound aids to the measure of greatness.Enjoy a young Maureen O'Hara as the gypsy Esmeralda who shows empathy and compassion to Quasimodo. Cedric Hardwick is his villainous best.Like most films taken from novels, it does take a few liberties with the original Hugo text, but in all, a very enjoyable presentation, worth adding to your collection.

It's Been Filmed Many Times Before But This RKO 1939 Production Of Victor Hugo's Classic Novel Remains The Definitive Version. Charles Laughton is Quasimodo and Maureen O'Hara is Esmeralda Need I say more. The Film is a Masterpiece on all levels Laughton & O'Hara Had worked previously on The Hitchcock classic Jamaica Inn and both bring Their same Dynamic power To This classic production. we all know The story seen The Movies All I am going To add here The Blu ray is really worth replacing your DVD copy with The HD Transfer is crisp and clear as with The sound. Extras include The Theatrical Trailer for The movie and a short Porky cartoon kind of a supporting programme before your Main feature. The real find Though is an interview with The late Great Maureen O'Hara as Maureen Gives us some behind The scenes History on The making of The classic. Next To The Lon Chaney silent classic which we should not overlook This is The True screen version of Triumph and love set against The backdrop of Notre Dame. Laughton's Final spoken words in The Movie will stay with you long after The movie is over. A Bell Ringing Five Stars.

This is one of cinema's most underrated movies!The cinematography is stunning and the entire film has an incredible atmosphere to it. I watch it and I feel like it was made back in medieval Paris. The acting is superb by the incredible Charles Laughton, Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Maureen O'Hara.In terms of the adaptation, it's not entirely accurate and much is missed out - but still worth a watch, it's more accurate than A LOT of the other adaptations of it.If you're into gothic movies with a slightly eerie atmosphere or if you're a fan of this incredible story then give this a go! It's one of my all time favourite films since I was 12.

This Blu Ray took about 3 weeks to arrive from Canada, (which is fine). Cardboard packaging not as sturdy as Amazon offerings so the case is a bit battered. I want to confirm what another reviewer has said. This Blu Ray while advertised as A/1 - USA import plays perfectly on a Samsung Region 2 B/2 player Europe only player.I'll not rehearse the plot ; others have done a good job elsewhere. The print is much sharper that DVD copies I have seen, which can be quite soft in places. Also light and shade are well displayed. Best print yet of this very fine film. The acting is exceptional with Laughton's portrayal of the Hunchback lingering long in the memory.

Just a hopefully helpful point since there seems to be a spot of confusion on this site regarding the playability of an imported Warner Brothers Blu-ray release of this film in the U.K., not a review, though it's a smashing, recommended film, looking quite splendid in Blu-ray. My point being - the Warner from the U.S.A. release plays without bother on my Region B player, thus indicating in perhaps persuasive fashion this is more than Region 1 playable. The BR function of my player is impossible to be tinkered with, it's Region 2 to the core, any actual Region 1's are non-watchable.

What can I say about this classic? (After years of searching, I have finally got the bell ringer in my grasp.) The reproduction in sound and vision are very good.The acting of course superb. As for the film itself, well, based on Victor Hugo's book with the story 'adapted' as they were and sometimes still do, it is a charming tale of unrequited love, compassion, jealousy and bigotry. I first watched this on telly as a child sat between my mam and dad, so for me it's a reminiscence. Charles Laughton's Quassimodo shows a kind, loving person trapped within a distorted body more so than Lon chaney's portrayal simply because of the advantage of sound. If you like old movies, this is a must for your collection.