Big Picture Big Sound

The Film

When I was in high school, I had a literature class in either the tenth or eleventh grade (time has made the memory a bit hazy now) called Classics into Film. The premise of that class was to read the great works of literature and then watch the film adaptations and compare them to each other. One of the classics we studied in that class was The Diary of Anne Frank. I am not afraid to admit that I found Anne Frank's diary and the film quite disturbing and, not unlike the scene in the film where Anne (Millie Perkins) awakes from a nightmare screaming, it did disturb my sleep for a couple of nights.

The entire era of World War II, the Nazis and the holocaust is a stain on human history that can and should never be forgotten. The Diary of Anne Frank remains relevant today even as time has moved us decades away from the period that it documents. George Stevens' film, just as Anne Frank's Diary, is less a document of the war, the holocaust, and a specific ethnic group than it is the experience of people trying to retain their humanity under the cruelest of circumstances. It is important to remember, after all, that with an estimated eleven to seventeen million people killed by the Nazis during the holocaust, that the groups affected were not limited to the Jewish people, but also included homosexuals, mentally and physically disabled, Freemasons, Jehovah's Witnesses and other religious groups.  It was virtually any group that the Nazis deemed subhuman or subversive.

Working under the directive of filming in widescreen, Stevens had the nearly impossible task of making the format feel claustrophobic, like the attic that the Franks, the Van Daans, and Mr. Dussell hid in for two years. He succeeded by using a unique three-level set design based on the original blueprints of the building in Amsterdam. The result is a sense of tension that is only heightened by Stevens' use of authentic sounds of cathedral bells and sirens recorded in Holland.

The Diary of Anne Frank is a timeless story that should be seen by everyone. It still holds weight, even today, and it is pertinent far beyond the Jewish community.


The Picture

Fox has done a decent, but not great job bringing this classic black and white Cinemascope film to Blu-ray Disc. Its 2.35:1 aspect ratio has been preserved and the black levels are deep and stable. The source, however, shows its wear, and Fox has not gone the extra mile in the restoration process to remove some of the dirt and scratches present in the frames. Still, the AVC/MPEG-4 encoding looks rather film like with a good amount of grain, even if detail does at times waver, but this release cannot stand up to some of the best catalogue release from the same era that have been released to Blu-ray from Criterion and Tartan, for example.

The Sound

Anne Frank is provided with a both a restored DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio mix and its original theatrical 4.0 mix in a Dolby Digital encoding. The DTS-HD MA mix is sufficiently open and clean for this mostly dialogue-driven film. The emotional score from Alfred Newman is airy and sounds not unlike some of the RCA Red Seal SACD (Super Audio CD) classical reissues. Surprisingly, the many sound effects of bombings fill the room and offer some relatively deep bass. The 4.0 mix is also quite nice and obviously offers more authenticity. It does show a little more clipping and compression effects, but it still has a good open soundstage.

The release is also provided with Castilian Spanish DTS 2.0, Latin Spanish Dolby Digital 4.0, German, Italian, and Polish DTS 2.0.

The Extras

This Blu-ray release of The Diary of Anne Frank comes with a ton of extras delving into the history of the creation of the film, Anne Frank herself, and filmmaker George Stevens. They all offer wonderful background information and historical perspective on this tumultuous and important moment in history and will be a fascinating watch.

The extras available on this release are:

• Audio Commentary with George Stevens Jr. & Millie Perkins
• George Stevens in WWII (1.78:1; 480i/60)
• The Making of The Diary of Anne Frank: A Son's Memories (1.78:1; 480i/60) -- George Stevens, Jr. relates his memories on the production of the film.
• The Diary of Anne Frank: Memories from Millie Perkins and Diane Baker (1.78:1; 480i/60) -- The two actresses who played the Frank sisters in the film reminisce on their time filming The Diary of Anne Frank and offer up memories of George Stevens.
• Shelley Winters and The Diary of Anne Frank (1.78:1; 480i/60) -- A 1983 interview with Shelley Winters by George Stevens, Jr.
• The Sound and Music of The Diary of Anne Frank (1.78:1; 480i/60)
• The Diary of Anne Frank: Correspondence (1.78:1; 480i/60) -- George Stevens, Jr. reads letters of correspondence on the film between his father, George Stevens, and Anne Frank's father Otto Frank.
• Fox Movie Channel Presents Fox Legacy with Tom Rothman (1.33:1; 480i/60)
• The Diary of Anne Frank: Echoes from the Past (1.33:1; 480i/60) -- This featurette narrated by Burt Reynolds explores the historical importance of Anne Frank and studies some of what the historians describe as inaccuracies.
• The Diary of Anne Frank Excerpt from George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey (1.33:1; 480i/60)
• George Stevens Press Conference (1.78:1; 480i/60) -- This archival press conference shows George Stevens speaking about the search for an actress to play Anne Frank.
• Millie Perkins Screen Test (1.78:1; 480i/60)
• Fox Movietonenews (1.33:1; 480i/60) -- News reels related to The Diary of Anne Frank:
  • Millie Perkins, 18, to be Anne Frank in Film of Diary
  • Nobel Peace Prize to Belgian Priest
  • Anne Frank Diary Star Readies for Film's 1st Nights
  • Academy Award Highlights
  • Millie Perkins Visits the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
  • Brilliant Turnout for L.A. Premiere Anne Frank Diary
• Theatrical Trailer (2.35:1; 480i/60)
• International Trailer (2.35:1; 480i/60)
• Interactive Pressbook Gallery
• Behind-the-Scenes Gallery

Final Thoughts

The Diary of Anne Frank holds significance in the annals of literature, stage, film, and history. It is sad to know that the young girl responsible for this historical document did not live to see its influence on the world. Fox has done a competent job bringing this classic to Blu-ray Disc, it's not perfect, but it is certainly strong enough and packed with enough thoughtful extras to warrant a very strong recommendation.

Where to Buy

• The Diary of Anne Frank on Blu-ray Disc (Amazon.com)

Product Details

• Actors: Diane Baker, Richard Beymer, Del Erickson, Dody Heath, Gusti Huber
• Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
• Language: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Dolby Digital 4.0, Castillian Spanish DTS 2.0, Latin Spanish Dolby Digital 4.0, German, Italian, and Polish DTS 2.0
• Subtitles: English SDH, English Commentary, Castillian Spanish, Castillian Spanish Text, Castillian Spanish Commentary, Danish, Danish Commentary, Dutch, Dutch Commentary,Finnish, Finnish Commentary,  French, French Commentary,Italian, Italian Text, Italian Commentary, German, German Text, German Commentary, Latin Spanish, Latin Spanish Commentary, Norwegian Commentary, Polish, Polish Text, Swedish, Swedish Text
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• Blu-ray Disc Release Date: June 16, 2009
• Run Time: 179 minutes
• MSRP:$34.98