Adventures of Don Juan hits Blu-ray better than ever

Warner Bros. Pictures

Errol Flynn gained screen stardom portraying dashing heroes who clasped a sword in one hand and a maiden in the other. Audiences loved Flynn’s bravado, his athleticism, and his astonishing good looks. Adventures of Don Juan was his first swashbuckler in nine years — and a glorious reprise it is, directed with gusto by Vincent Sherman. In the title role, Flynn is a wiser, warmer, wittier version of his earlier characters as he rescues the Queen of Spain from the snares of an evil duke. Oscar winning costumes and superb sets create a lavish atmosphere for dalliances with married beauties, narrow dungeon escapes and duels a plenty.

REVIEW

Some people were just born to be movie stars. Maybe not particularly the best actors in town, but the leading men types who can carry a picture solely on their charisma, presence, and maybe even a good smirk or a darling wink. Think Cary Grant or George Clooney or Harrison Ford or Sean Connery. Sure, they had their performances here or there, but it’s not about that for the ticket buyer. We want star wattage.

Classic film star Errol Flynn also comes to mind. There’s a reason he played Robin Hood and Dr. Blood and pirates and rogues and cowboys and, in the case of this film, Adventures of Don Juan, the titular infamous F-boy. But on top of that charm, his athleticism, comedic chops and melodramatic tendencies made his movies money-printing machines when it came to the box office. Moviegoers love movie stars and even though he’s aged a good decade since his peak, that maturity mixed with the film’s swashbuckling make the film, recently revived on Blu-ray from Warner Archive, a smashing success.

Exactly 75 years after the film’s initial release, it’s easy to say ‘they don’t make ‘em like this anymore’ because, well, of course they don’t. We don’t do literally anything the way it was done 75 years ago. But they really. don’t. make. ‘em. like. this. any-more. We don’t have casts of thousands or build elaborate sets for every scene or make jovial films based on classic literature. And we definitely don’t make a ton of movies about Don Juan anymore, the womanizer and sexual libertine whose main characteristic is that he runs around on women.

Warner Archive’s bread and butter is giving these movies some tender loving care and this Technicolor wonder and swaggering romp is no different — it looks, sounds, and feels wonderful.

The plot, in brief, is that of the typical Don Juan story. Deceit, adultery, good-natured trickery and bad-natured everything else. There really isn’t much beyond that. The story begins with Don Juan running from several upset husbands as he just can’t seem to avoid gossip and scandal, running away to the arms of a new woman. When he introduces himself only to find out that they’ve had the pleasure of meeting before, he soon discovers the gig is up and he might need to skip town for a bit. His timing couldn’t be any better as he is then summoned back to his home country of Spain to fight in an impending war. Since he can’t seem to go more than an afternoon without some delight, he falls in love with his boss, Queen Margaret – because of course he does.

Love, sword fights, and valiance ensue.

But this is not a film about the plot. This $2 million picture is a vehicle for a 38-year-old Flynn to get back in the boots that he walks in so well. Sure, he would call in ‘sick’ after a few long nights or maybe he needed a stunt double to do some of the twists and turns, but it’s still cut from the same cloth as his hits They Died With Their Boots On or Gentleman Jim. It wasn’t that kind of hit with audiences, as the film was a box-office bomb and signaled the beginning of the end for Flynn, but audiences now can enjoy it with a little hindsight and a little appreciation, courtesy of the sterling disc from Warner Archive, a standard for their library and catalog.

VIDEO

Warner Bros. Pictures

As mentioned, Warner Archive rarely disappoints. Between the hard work they do to brighten these films up and the beauty that is their Technicolor base, the film looks fantastical. The period sets and costumes are elaborate and vivid. It’s a 1080p transfer of a 4K scan that gives us the joy of film grain and the character of texture. It’s presented the way it was photographed and meant to be seen, courtesy of another top-notch restoration.

AUDIO

The disc’s DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track sounds fine and only has the occasional hollow, tinny sound that’s more a product of 1948 filmmaking and not the work done by Warner. For the occasional dialogue kerfuffle, turn on the English subtitles provided.

SPECIAL FEATURES

There are special features galore on this release, with the best one being a feature commentary track quilted together from separate recordings from late director Richard Sherman and film historian Rudy Behlmer.

It also includes one of my favorite features Warner will give us from time to time, something that they call Warner Night at the Movies. Essentially, it’s a roughly 30-minute playlist that recreates what it would have been like to see this movie in cinemas. As you may or may not know, movies did not always start with State Farm ads or Maria Menounos bumpers — they had newsreels, shorts, cartoons, and more. On this disc, they have collected coverage of the 1948 Miss America competition, a short from comedian Joe McDoakes, a short about Canadian Native American history, and a Looney Tunes cartoon. Watch it before you watch the movie and you’ll be transported back to 1948.

OVERVIEW

The charming Errol Flynn. Beautiful Technicolor. A bombastic adventure. A swashbuckling time. And another top-notch disc from Warner Archive. What is there not to like? Classic film fans will be pleased. For those that feel that old-timers are akin to homework, discs like this may change your tune.

Warner Archive generously provided Hotchka with the Blu-ray for reviewing purposes.

Adventures of Don Juan has a running time of 1 hour 50 minutes and is not rated.