The Jungle Book
by Zoltan Korda
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Frank Puglia, John Qualen, Joseph Calleia, Rosemary DeCamp, SabuDirector: Zoltan Korda
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 109 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-02-19
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Alpha Video
Movie Reviews of The Jungle Book
Movie Review: It's a jungle out there kid!
Summary: 5 Stars
As I review this film, I can't help but think back to when I was a boy and how this film affected me when I first viewed it. As a boy, the introduction actually bored me, but the introduction is necessary to the story if you are to understand the character of the animals that are to appear in the story and what they mean.
Who did fascinate me was Mowgli. First off seeing Sabu again as a adult, it's clear Sabu was obviously born to play this role. Physically, he is one beautiful male to watch on the silver screen; a simply lovely specimin of the male human animal. The young man's sex appeal goes without saying in other words. As a boy I was aware of his physical beauty; but equally attracked to his pureness of heart in the character he played. But beyond that, the character of Mowgli, a boy born in the wild, raised by the animals, with the ability to communicate with them, while then experiencing the contrast of the civilized human world, intrigued my mind and heart as a boy, asking the question; how it might have felt to be him, experiencing what he did, next to the world I grew up in.
While Disney's animated version of the Jungle book was more a musical, this adaptation did a great job trying to capture the real ambiance of the original story in my view. The book had an even darker ambiance to it than communicated in this film. You can read the Amazon review if you want a summary of the story. I'm simply trying to add in things in my review I think will be an addition no one else has mentioned when considering this film for purchase. I actually enjoyed it greatly both as a boy and nearly half a century later. In short, I see this as a good film for the whole family.
Allot obviously went into the making of this film. The animal scenes are just marvelous to watch and the lessons the story teaches, about the vices and virtues of human nature, are timeless.
By no means is Mowgli a simple character to be dismissed by the viewer. There are complexities going on in this character that defy description in this review and must be viewed to be appreciated.
So if you want a somber, but delightful story one evening, this is one to watch. A great job was done in restoring this old classic: Looks almost new, like the day I first saw it back in the 1960's.
Summary of The Jungle Book
Disney has mined Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories twice, but it has never topped this elegant, lush classic by the British Korda brothers. Producer Alexander Korda brought director Zoltan and designer Vincent to California, where they used Hollywood's resources to create a storybook India of verdant jungles, beautiful lagoons, and modest peasant villages. Sabu plays Mowgli, the man-cub raised by wolves and schooled in the jungle who returns to civilization as a young man. When greedy villagers discover that he knows of a hidden treasure, they turn the town against him and follow him to the ruins of an ancient palace (a magnificent, crumbling temple of glowing blue stone overrun with vines and vegetation). Sabu gives a vital, energetic performance, leaping and climbing like he was born to the wild and innocent of corruption and fear that infects the village. As the treasure hunters turn on one another and resort to murder for the prize they all desire, the film gets darker and fiercer than Disney ever dared in its remakes. It's still the most glorious of all versions, a grandly realized epic vision with a sense of wonder and a magnificent fantasy landscape of deep, rich colors, like a painting come to life. Joseph Calleia plays the greedy villain with his usual conniving flair. Mikl?s R?sza wrote the gorgeous score. Be wary of inferior video copies: the film has fallen into the public domain and is available in a proliferation of substandard prints. --Sean AxmakerAction & Adventure DVD Video
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