DVD Corner

China Gate Blu-ray Review

“China Gate” is a so-so Samuel Fuller film.

The plot: Set in 1954 during the Vietnam War, the film involves a well known and desirable Eurasian smuggler (Lady Legs) helping a group of rag-tag mercenaries travel to the Chinese border (China Gate) in order to destroy a communist weapons depot.

Before he made critically acclaimed films such as “Shock Corridor” and “The Big Red One,” writer/director Samuel Fuller made a rare big budget, Hollywood film with “China Gate.” Truth be told, the film is not one of his strongest cinematic efforts. The cast is stacked with talent such as Gene Barry, James Hong, Lee Van Cleef, Angie Dickinson, and Nat King Cole, but it’s a very strange and almost random assortment of actors and actresses. Nat King Cole playing a Sergeant and Angie Dickinson playing the Eurasian Lady Legs sounds like a complete miscast and yet the two cast members manage to be the best part of the cast. Most of the other cast is wasted here as they are given largely underdeveloped characters.

A majority of the issues with “China Gate” lie with the scattershot and clumsy screenplay. The script is stuffed with exposition, a tired “men on a mission” plot, a convenient romance angle, an unconvincing mother/father/son subplot, politics, race issues, and poorly scripted dialogue.

Script problems aside, the film manages to be watchable due to Joseph F. Binoc’s cinematography and Samuel Fuller’s direction. However one may feel about the film itself, you can’t deny that the mercenary’s perilous trip isn’t intense (especially during the jungle shootout and in the final 20 minutes). Sure, some of the FX and sets haven’t dated well, but they were certainly impressive for the time.

Video/Audio:

The film, which is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen 1080p, looks sharp for the most part. Some Blu-ray aficionados may be put off by the presence of dirt specs and lines, but there’s no denying that this B&W print has been beautifully remastered.

The DTS-HD Mono track is surprisingly good for a Mono track. The track is a little mellow during dialogue centric scenes, but the battle scenes certainly put the speakers to life. Additionally, I am impressed by the lack of pops or crackles here. Simply put, this is a very clean track.

No extras have been included.

April 3, 2013 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Angie Dickinson, China Gate Blu-ray Review, Nat King Cole, Olive Films, Samuel Fuller