The Red and the White

Set in central Russia shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Miklós Jancsó's 1968 film effectively captures the protracted skirmishes fought between Russia's “red” soldiers and the counter-revolutionary “white” militia in the hills along the Volga River. While the broad landscape is panoramically filmed in b&w CinemaScope, the marginal film-to-disc transfer too often renders the magnificent cinematography difficult to watch. Compression-related problems cause picture shimmering (otherwise known as “aliasing”) in numerous shots containing detailed backgrounds, while minor source-print damage (slight scratches, specks, etc.) and hard-to-read original subtitles also detract. Given the presentation, this otherwise recommendable film is strictly optional. (T. Rich)