Captain Newman M.D. (Blu-ray Review)

Reviewed By Jason Lockard

In the 60s many films were made with stories revolving around the war armies soldiers and the effects of combat. Some were real dramatic takes on war, where others we a little more lighthearted. 1963's Captain Newman M.D. lies a little somewhere in between.

Kino Lorber Studio Classics have recently released some great war pictures, The Train, The Secret War of Harry Frigg and Beach Red. Now Captain Newman M.D. gets it's turn to shine on Blu-ray!

The film follows Captain Josiah Newman (Gregory Peck) a doctor in charge of a neuropsychiatric ward, at an Army Air Corps hospital in Arizona. The hospital is horribly understaffed, so Newman does what he needs to do to help of his staff accomplish their tasks. At the facility Newman is generally given six weeks to cure them or send them on to another facility.

This film was far ahead of it's time. It was one of the first films to explore the issues of service men face like PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome also known as "Battle Fatigue"), "Battle Neurosis" and "Shell Shock." It is very difficult to bridge between the horrors of war and comedy. M*A*S*H* did it very well and on most accounts I think this film achieve what it set out to do.

Director David Miller really bring a realistic look to war and it's effect on people. Showing that sometimes you got to laugh through trouble or it will drive you insane. The cast is tremendous starring the legendary Gregory Peck, the amazing Tony Curtis and beautiful and talented Angie Dickenson. Than there is amazing supporting cast featuring Bobby Darin, Eddie Albert, Robert Duvall, Dick Sargent and Larry Storch. Such a stellar cast.

The film is presented in widescreen format in 1.85:1 aspect ratio and in 1920x1080p. The audio is DTS-HD master audio 2.0. I was really impressed with the film transfer here. There is no damage to the picture and the audio was crisp. It really looks and sound pretty amazing! There is also English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.




As for the special features there is the Theatrical trailer and trailer of other Kino Lorber releases. Than there is the brand new Audio Commentary by Film Historian Samm Deighan. She talks about everything from the screenwriting aspect of trying to balance drama and comedy. The amazing cast including a lot of background information about the great Eddie Albert, which was a highlight!

If you enjoy M*A*S*H* I think Captain Newman M.D. is going to be a film you are going to want to check out. It is truly as they say "just want the doctor ordered". If you would like to get a copy of this amazing Blu-ray release head over to Amazon.com and get your copy today!

Out of 4 Film Reels (4 being the best) We would score Captain Newman M.D. Blu-ray release..