THE ROBE (Blu-ray)

In an attempt to deal with the serious impact the medium of television was having on the film industry, studios began to seek new ways to impress and pull in audiences. One new strategy was Twentieth Century Fox’s widescreen format CinemaScope, based on the work of French professor Henri Chrétien. It almost doubled the aspect ratio and created a much larger image to engulf viewers “without glasses” as the posters pointed out in a dig at 3-D.

Although it was not the first Cinemascope film to be completed, a designation that belongs to How to Marry A Millionaire, the biblical epic The Robe was the first to be released because its grand scale was considered more likely to make a better debut. While it must have been impressive back in 1953, the film is a bloated melodrama with a terrible script. It’s easy to see why, if IMDb’s claim is accurate, that “Richard Burton once said this was the least favorite of all his films.”

The Robe tells the tale of Roman military tribune Marcellus Gallio’s (Richard Burton) conversion to Christianity, an interesting topic but it is handled so foolishly it’s difficult not to laugh at its feeble attempt. In a marketplace, Marcellus runs into a woman named Diana (Jean Simmons) who he used to be friends with as a child and hasn’t seen since. They discussed marriage as children, and she is still curious if he is going to keep his promise, which he surprisingly agrees to. The main stumbling block is Diana is already betrothed to Caligula (Jay Robinson), nephew of and heir to Emperor Tiberius. In a game of one-upmanship, Caligula buys a pair of twins ladies off the auction block Marcellus was trying to get and vice versa in regards to Greek slave Demetrius (Victor Mature in quite a stiff performance).

Angered by this public slight, Caligula has Marcellus sent to Jerusalem. On their way into town, Jesus Christ is seen riding on a donkey and Demetrius is somehow compelled to be a follower just from seeing him. Marcellus’ tour of duty is about up, but before his return he must oversee the crucifixion of Christ. Demetrius wanders Jerusalem to find anyone who can help him warn Christ. One man tells him it is too late because Christ was betrayed. As the man leaves, he identifies himself as Judas, which is immediately, and laughably, punctuated by a loud thunderclap.

At the crucifixion, Marcellus wins Christ’s robe shooting dice and gets Christ’s blood on him. When the weather turns foul, Marcellus orders Demetrius to cover him with the robe, which burns Marcellus with its touch. Demetrius takes back the robe and runs away.

During the voyage back, Marcellus suffers nightmares. At a meeting with Tiberius, it is determined Marcellus is bewitched and must destroy the robe. His search takes him to Galilee where he poses as a merchant. He hears the apostle Peter is coming and is in the company of a Greek, who Marcellus rightly assumes is Demetrius. When Marcellus encounters Demetrius, he is unable to destroy Christ’s robe. After speaking with Peter, who admits he denied Christ three times, Marcellus converts and joins in the mission to spread His word.

As they make their way to Rome, Demetrius is captured and tortured to find Marcellus’ whereabouts. Marcellus and his fellow Christians break Demetrius out. Marcellus’ new faith causes him to be renounced by his father, a Roman senator. With options limited and history not being on the Christians side in Rome, it’s not difficult to see the outcome when Caligula puts Marcellus on trial as a traitor and demands he renounce Christ.

The Robe’s debut on Blu-ray is one of the most uneven video transfers I have ever seen. In an introduction by Martin Scorsese he talks about the film being restored; however, the video switches often from radiant rich colors and sharply delineated details that well recreate the opulent pageantry of Rome to faded colors and blurry images that look like old deteriorated movies shown on UHF channels.

The worst example of this is during fades. Understandably the frames that shared both black and the film images might not be able to be corrected with current technology, but a few moments before and after each transition it literally looks like a filter is turned on and off. There’s no denying the images are dazzling in the parts that work, but the parts that don’t are terrible.

Director Henry Koster blocked the scenes to take full advantage of the widescreen format, presented here in 2.55:1. Yet, some elements lose focus when they move to the foreground. This happens to Marcellus when first goes home and talks with his parents and when Demetrius is attending Marcellus in the bathing pool area. Another problem is that the high definition ruins the illusion of the matte paintings.

Much like the video presentation, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is also plagued with the misfortune of the technology excelling in some areas while failing in others. This Blu-ray is one of the best examples of the surround system placing characters in space. When a character speaks on the left side of the frame, he is heard only from the front left with support from the left surround and slightly the front middle. Where the technology fails the film is during the scenes, like large outdoor sequences, where the dialogue was later replaced in a recording studio because it sounds very hollow and flat with no ambiance added.

Composer Alfred Newman delivered a dynamic and emotive score, but some of the softer dialogue gets lost in the music. Film composer David Newman and film historians Jon Burlingame, Julie Kirgo, and Nick Redman deliver the commentary track and devote time to Newman’s work, which can be fully appreciated with the isolated audio track option.

Regardless of the flaws with the film and its presentation are, Fox deserves high marks for the Special Features created for this historically significant film. “The Making of The Robe” offers a very in-depth featurette about the film and is filled with a lot of interviews. “The Cinemascope Story” is for serious film technology geeks. “From Scripture to Script: The Bible and Hollywood” finds religious scholars mainly focusing on The Robe. Courtesy of his family, screenwriter Phillip Dunne can be heard in what is labeled an “Audio Interview” but it’s really much more of a rather dry monologue.

There are two BONUSVIEW Picture-in-Picture features. In “The Robe Times Two: A Comparison of Widescreen and Standard Versions” it is amazing to see the differences in the presentations. There’s a great deal lost with the pan and scan of the image and the extra inserts required. It’s a perfect illustration against those who argue in favor of fullscreen over letterboxing. “A Seamless Faith: The Real-Life Search For The Robe” presents a historical look at the events and the film. This feature can be accessed on its own.

“Advertising The Robe” has celebrity introductions by actors like Robert Wagner, Susan Hayward, and Clifton Webb recommending the film even though they have nothing to do with it. There are also Movietone News, Trailers and TV spots, an interactive pressbook, a poster gallery, lobby cards, and publicity stills to feast upon.

While The Robe and its presentation make me want to discourage people from buying it, there’s no denying how well done the Special Features are and what they have to offer classic Hollywood fans. Renting it first might be a sound investment.

DANCING IN THE STREETS
by Barbara Ehrenreich

In her previous book Blood Rites: Origins and History of the Passions of War, Barbara Ehrenreich examined the nature and potential origins of man’s propensity for war. Now, in somewhat of a companion piece, Dancing in the Streets explores endeavors in an opposite area: the experience of collective joy. She ponders the questions, “if ecstatic rituals and festivities were once so widespread, why is so little left of them today? If the 'techniques' of ecstasy represent an important part of the human cultural heritage, why have we forgotten them, if indeed we have?”

Throughout history and different cultures, dance and celebration have been integral parts of life equal to hunting and procreating. We see it depicted in prehistoric rock art, vase paintings from archaeological sites, and the Old Testament. These traditions, though different in appearance, still continue today through religion and recreation in altered forms because people will always strive to make sense of why we are here in the universe and experiencing moments of ecstasy provides a glimpse of that which is greater than our individual selves.

However, the revelation that we are all equal in the universe throws a monkey wrench into the hierarchy of this world. If we are all one, it makes no sense for a prince to be more important than a pauper. And if anyone can tap into that which is larger than ourselves, what some people refer to as God, the hierarchy of religion becomes obsolete as well. The powers-that-be eventually realized in order to keep a grip on their power, they needed to tamp down and restrict these events.

We see a constant battle through the ages between people’s inclination to celebrate and those in charge wanting to control them. Rituals that had been filled with role reversal and mockery eventually lead to the aristocracy pulling away and separating themselves. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Catholic leaders purged the churches of dancing, giving rise to organized revelry on saints’ days before Lent, creating Carnival. Yet, that wasn’t enough for some. Dancing needed to be stopped altogether, so Protestantism, especially the Calvinists, convinced people “that festivities were positively sinful.” Two hundred years after the Luther Reformation, Islam went through a similar attempt to purify itself as Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab reacted to the corruption he saw in Sufism.

In more modern times, collective ecstasy continues to make itself apparent on a large scale because as Ehrenreich writes, “what has been repressed, no matter how forcibly and thoroughly, often finds a way of resurfacing.” Rock and roll of the 1950s and ‘60s, particularly Elvis and The Beatles, had the ability to drive teenagers, especially young females, to hysterical frenzy. This frightened the grown-ups, causing civic leaders to “denounce rock as an indictment to juvenile delinquency, violence, and sex.” The popularity of the counterculture in the late ‘60s saw drugs, such as marijuana and LSD, and free love being used as gateways. Modern sports fans take part in a variation of carnival by dressing up in costume, painting their faces, and eating and drinking. The 20th century closed out with the rise of the rave scene, all-night dance parties where the drug of choice was MDMA, whose street name was “Ecstasy.”

The most interesting chapter in the book is straight out of a comparative religion class as Ehrenreich illustrates the rise of Jesus and Christianity and the fall of Dionysus and the similarities between the two from their origins to their works. Each was a son of a god and a human mother; they were healers and promised salvation; and wine played an important role in their stories. Marketing is everything, so while it may be considered blasphemy to some, Ehrenreich does make the case that those spreading the word of Jesus Christ might very well have taken aspects of the very popular Dionysus to help their cause and make him more appealing to help the transition

Dancing in the Streets is a great read for those with a passion for history and sociology. It distills a lot of information collected from hundreds of resources and will be dry read to those who only know Ehrenreich from her journalistic work in “Nickel and Dimed” and “Bait and Switch,” but for those who want to learn more about themselves and the human race, this book was an absolute joy.