Sabu! - Eclipse Series 30 (Criterion)

I simply cannot say enough good things about these three Sabu films and I expect Criterion's prints will be top-notch.

"The Elephant Boy" is his black and white debut, and while it involves heavy use of stock wild-life footage the frames themselves are rare indeed as they feature dramatic shots of elephants in their natural setting - very unusual for an early 1930s film. Sabu's accent is a little difficult to understand at times, but his winning smile and personality shine through. And wait til you witness the stampede of the films finale!

"The Drum" is a full color epic Indian frontier action/drama that has been sorely overlooked and not in commercial print since the 1990s. A young Sabu is the child prince of a remote area not under British rule whose father's kingship is coveted by his chief advisor. When Sabu meets a British army drummer-boy he makes a friend who will aid him in his time of greatest need as he struggles for his kingdom and life. An absolutley brilliant film, it watches like a mash-up of "The Four Feathers" and "The Thief of Bagdad" with a strong degree of "Gunga Din" thrown in for good measure. An intelligent, sentimental and good natured action/drama, certain to become a favorite.

But the real draw here has been only broadcast on TCM of late in a fine print: "Jungle Book". It's been said that "Thief of Bagdad" was the Korda brother's answer to "The Wizard of Oz", but this film is far more magical and fun. Sabu has an unusual degree of anger in this movie that is not evident in his other early films. This venality makes him much more exciting and dangerous and you'll thrill to his adventures as he explores strange ancient cities, flees angry villagers, courts a beautiful girl and speaks with his Jungle - all the while plotting his revenge against the killer tiger Shere Khan. The animal characters such as the python Kaa are wonderfully portrayed - just real enough to suspend disbelief and just human enough to delight and amuse. One for the whole family. I played this for my young niece and nephew who had only seen the Disney version and they liked this better. Oh! and it's in gorgeous rich color.

I am astonished at Criterion's value price for this three feature film release. Unless you purchased the three dvd 1936-1939 film serial set of "Flash Gordon" from Image for ten dollars, your money has hardly ever been better spent, I assure you.

Fans of 1930s cinema, rejoice!

Alexander Korda has produced numerous quality films under his London Films umbrella, the highlights being "The Private Life of Henry VIII" (1933), his first international success, "The Four Feathers" (1939), probably his greatest film and one of the all-time greats, and "Thief of Baghdad" (1940), arguably the best fantasy film ever made.

In this Criterion Collection Eclipse Series #30 are three films starring Sabu (who was also featured in "Thief of Baghdad"): "Elephant Boy" (1936), "The Drum" (1938), and "The Jungle Book" (1942).

"Elephant Boy" is a black-and-white semi-documentary, co-directed by Zoltan Korda and Robert ("Nanook of the North") Flaherty, and this crisp print handsomely preserves the introduction of Sabu, the first Indian film actor to gain international fame, here but a child of twelve, and filmed in his native land (albeit in English).

"The Drum" is the disappointment of this collection. As a film, it is the best of the three, being a fine adventure yarn in the time of the British Raj, shot in India's northwest frontier (now the Afghanistan/Pakistan border). However, the print looks no better than the U.S. and U.K. VHS versions that were available in the early 1990s; indeed, it is in need of restoration. Tears in the film are evident, as are many flaws: many images are blurred, and the colours are a bit washed out (especially in comparison to the sumptuous clarity and colour of "The Four Feathers" which was released the following year). It may be that this is the best available print at present (without cleanup/restoration).

"The Jungle Book", on the other hand, is in gorgeous condition, and its vivid hues are a far cry from the many cheapjack public domain prints that are being sold of this film. It is a fine retelling of five tales from Kipling's classic, and by far the best print of the three films offered in this Criterion release.

I have quite a library of Criterion DVDs and have come to expect quality transfers from this company. There have been a couple of duds, including the very bad transfer of The Scarlet Empress. But The Drum, one of the films in this set, is incredibly bad. It has terrible definition and colors that look like that have gone through a washing machine. Film is almost unwatchable. It looks like a third rate, public domain DVD that you can find at bargain basement prices.