Robert Ryan and Brian Keith face off around the salmon hunting grounds by the Alaska Seas! New to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.
The Film
I’ve never liked a Robert Ryan character I’ve watched in a film. Not the actor but the characters he plays. There’s something inherently prick-ish about the man. Like he would sell anyone including his friends up the river. A slimeball CEO or Billionaire. No other film is this more apparent, maybe in The Wild Bunch, or Bad Day at Bad Rock than in Alaska Seas. A film where he plays a three-time loser with friends who are way too understanding of his abhorrent behavior that is oftentimes illegal in nature and at a minimum anti-social.
Alaska Seas is meant to be a rip-roaring fun times adventure picture. The Jerry Hopper (Secret of the Incas) directed film is so acutely aware that Ryan’s Matt Kelly is such a sociopath that it gives him no sympathetic qualities. Every action or motivation is selfish but played for in certain moments for “laughs” (as the score will tell you) and an “oh that’s just Matt”. Even during the fantastically staged “ice shelf collapse” set piece his best friend Jim (Brian Keith) is giving him the benefit of the doubt to an audience’s rage. It is only when Kelly takes it to the next level putting in with the criminal fishing element (you got to love that whole phrase) that people begin to see what a truly wicked vile man Kelly is.
The film feels more modern than it has any right to be because Matt Kelly is essentially the hoods in suits of the modern era. A bully who cares nothing but what he can gain and even when caught knows that “friends” will bail him out. Though, Kelly apparently has a change of heart at the end. This gives the film its 1950s “aww shucks” semi-happy ending that should have never been. The script by Walter Doniger and Daniel Mainwairing has done too good of a job villainizing Kelly that it feels scripted rather than organic.
Alaska Seas is more complex in its moral compass than many films of the era or even currently that present themselves as Action-Adventure Yarns. Alaska Seas is downright Noir-ish in its overtone and style, one that translates better than most of its time because of it.
The Transfer
The all-new HD Master by Paramount Pictures is a delight. Yes, there’s a small bit of “wear and tear” but all of those issues are during the Optical FX scenes which is to be expected. Other than those minor issues the film looks beautiful on Blu-ray with its Black and White photography looking sharp and with wonderfully balanced contrast levels.
The Extras
They include the following;
- NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian David Del Valle and Film Historian/Archivist Stan Shaffer
- Trailers
The all-new Audio Commentary by Film Historian David Del Valle and Film Historian/Archivist Stan Shaffer begins with the fact this is a remake of a Henry Hathaway film from the 1930s Spawn of the North. Some of the details include the politics of salmon fishing and how it has not changed very much; the casting changes that were made right before production; Robert Ryan – his performance here, his career, and how it compares to the original; the career and personal history of actor Jan Sterling; the career and personal history of actor Brian Keith – including his stage family and his first film in the 1920s; the career of Jerry Hopper – including his work as an Editor, and his work as a director Secret of the Incas; an anecdote about Jean Berry by Del Valle; a discussion of actor Timothy Carey –his eccentric behavior, his relationship with Ryan, and his career; the work of the screenwriters and one of which was blacklisted; the success of the film; their respective thoughts on the film itself and its success as an elevated B-Movie; and much more. Del Valle and Shaffer deliver an informative entertaining track about his Programmer.
Rounding out the special features include Horizons West (2:22); Odds Against Tomorrow (3:05); Jivaro (2:17); The Rare Breed (2:12); Those Red Heads from Seattle (2:11); Naked Alibi (2:18)
The Final Thought
Alaska Seas is a wonderful piece of action-adventure storytelling with a truly magnetic villain at its center. Kino has given this a great edition. Highest Recommendations!!
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Robert Ryan and Brian Keith face off around the salmon hunting grounds by the Alaska Seas! New to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.
The Film
I’ve never liked a Robert Ryan character I’ve watched in a film. Not the actor but the characters he plays. There’s something inherently prick-ish about the man. Like he would sell anyone including his friends up the river. A slimeball CEO or Billionaire. No other film is this more apparent, maybe in The Wild Bunch, or Bad Day at Bad Rock than in Alaska Seas. A film where he plays a three-time loser with friends who are way too understanding of his abhorrent behavior that is oftentimes illegal in nature and at a minimum anti-social.
Alaska Seas is meant to be a rip-roaring fun times adventure picture. The Jerry Hopper (Secret of the Incas) directed film is so acutely aware that Ryan’s Matt Kelly is such a sociopath that it gives him no sympathetic qualities. Every action or motivation is selfish but played for in certain moments for “laughs” (as the score will tell you) and an “oh that’s just Matt”. Even during the fantastically staged “ice shelf collapse” set piece his best friend Jim (Brian Keith) is giving him the benefit of the doubt to an audience’s rage. It is only when Kelly takes it to the next level putting in with the criminal fishing element (you got to love that whole phrase) that people begin to see what a truly wicked vile man Kelly is.
The film feels more modern than it has any right to be because Matt Kelly is essentially the hoods in suits of the modern era. A bully who cares nothing but what he can gain and even when caught knows that “friends” will bail him out. Though, Kelly apparently has a change of heart at the end. This gives the film its 1950s “aww shucks” semi-happy ending that should have never been. The script by Walter Doniger and Daniel Mainwairing has done too good of a job villainizing Kelly that it feels scripted rather than organic.
Alaska Seas is more complex in its moral compass than many films of the era or even currently that present themselves as Action-Adventure Yarns. Alaska Seas is downright Noir-ish in its overtone and style, one that translates better than most of its time because of it.
The Transfer
The all-new HD Master by Paramount Pictures is a delight. Yes, there’s a small bit of “wear and tear” but all of those issues are during the Optical FX scenes which is to be expected. Other than those minor issues the film looks beautiful on Blu-ray with its Black and White photography looking sharp and with wonderfully balanced contrast levels.
The Extras
They include the following;
The all-new Audio Commentary by Film Historian David Del Valle and Film Historian/Archivist Stan Shaffer begins with the fact this is a remake of a Henry Hathaway film from the 1930s Spawn of the North. Some of the details include the politics of salmon fishing and how it has not changed very much; the casting changes that were made right before production; Robert Ryan – his performance here, his career, and how it compares to the original; the career and personal history of actor Jan Sterling; the career and personal history of actor Brian Keith – including his stage family and his first film in the 1920s; the career of Jerry Hopper – including his work as an Editor, and his work as a director Secret of the Incas; an anecdote about Jean Berry by Del Valle; a discussion of actor Timothy Carey –his eccentric behavior, his relationship with Ryan, and his career; the work of the screenwriters and one of which was blacklisted; the success of the film; their respective thoughts on the film itself and its success as an elevated B-Movie; and much more. Del Valle and Shaffer deliver an informative entertaining track about his Programmer.
Rounding out the special features include Horizons West (2:22); Odds Against Tomorrow (3:05); Jivaro (2:17); The Rare Breed (2:12); Those Red Heads from Seattle (2:11); Naked Alibi (2:18)
The Final Thought
Alaska Seas is a wonderful piece of action-adventure storytelling with a truly magnetic villain at its center. Kino has given this a great edition. Highest Recommendations!!
Kino Lorber’s Blu-Ray edition of Alaska Seas is out now
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