King Solomon's Mines (1950) Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

In 1885 Sir H. Rider Haggard wrote the novel King Solomon's Mines. So popular was this novel that film companies wanted to adapt it to the silver screen. So the novel has been adapted to film at least seven times over the years. Starting with the silent era and running till the 2006 when The Librarian's series would return to King Solomon's mines.

As adaptions go probably one of the best would have to be the 1950 version starring Deborah Kerr and Stewart Granger. Now the good folks at Warner Archive Collection have released this film on Blu-ray and classic physical media fans will not doubt be ecstatic.

Adventurer Allan Quartermain leads a search party across the continent and through the terrors of jungle, swamp and desert. Their ultimate destination is the fabled lost mine of Solomon, a source of unimaginable wealth and deadly danger.

Helen Deutsch adapted this screenplay masterfully. Expertly directed by Compton Bennett and Andrew Marton and featuring superb acting. It is so tremendously shot that no wonder Robert L. Surtees won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, while Ralph E. Winters and Conrad A. Nervig won for Best Film Editing. The film was so good that it was nominated for Best Picture as well!

Warner Archive transfers King Solomon’s Mines to Blu-ray in 1080p in the original 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The audio is a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio. There is also the English subtitles for the deaf or hard of hearing. The best part of this transfer is that it is sourced from the brand new 4K scan taken from the original nitrate Technicolor negatives.

I saw this film many years ago and while it looked nice, this new Blu-ray blows any previous release out of the water. It looks amazing! The picture quality of this release is stunning. The colors are vibrant and the audio is clear. But a very nice looking transfer of the film is not all that is included here. Warner Archive added some cool bonuses on this Blu-ray.

* Jungle Safari: An MGM making of featurette that runs ten-minutes. This is a really nice feature that tracks the journey of the production across Africa and all of the trials and tribulations faced.  

* Theatrical Trailer: The three-and-a-half minute trailer is provided here. 

King Solomon's Mines is great adventure that keeps you invested from the opening credits all the way the "The End". And on this Blu-ray it never looked better and than put in addition of the making of featurette and the theatrical trailer. This makes a Blu-ray release that I highly recommend for the classic film fan.

So if you love adventure films, Deborah Kerr or Stewart Granger this new Blu-ray of King Solomon's Mines is the release for you. Head over to Amazon or MovieZyng and order your copy today.

Out of 4 Film Reels (4 Being the Best) the Blu-ray release of King Solomon's Mines receives...