Plot: What’s it about?
Christopher Leiningen (Charlton Heston) has a sizable plantation in South America, but his estate wasn’t handed to him on a silver platter. No, he ventured into dangerous, isolated stretches of jungle to stake his claim. He then battled the elements, wild animals, and nature itself to carve out a place he could call his own. Some locals even joined him in his crusade, in order to see this land taken back from the wilds. What was once worthless land at the bottom of the river now stands as his lush plantation, which allows him a comfortable lifestyle. The toil remains, but he has time to relax and enjoy life, to some extent. But a void remains in his life, as he has no woman to share his land and love with. To solve that concern, he contacts an agency in America that offers mail order brides, so his love is soon to arrive. When she does get there, she turns out to be not exactly the kind of woman Christopher expected. Joanna (Eleanor Parker) is strong willed and clashes with him often, much to his displeasure. After countless fights and the discovery that she is a widow, he demands that she return to America. But as she waits to go back, she learns that a massive wave of destructive ants is headed toward the plantation. She rushes back and stands by her husband’s side, but can they fend off this invasion?
We’ve seen Charlton Heston in mortal combat against evolved apes, cannibals, and even left wing radicals. But in The Naked Jungle, Heston takes on a vicious gang of killer ants and tries to find romance at the same time. This was a George Pal (The Time Machine, When Worlds Collide) production, with Byron Haskin (Robinson Crusoe on Mars, The War of the Worlds) in the director’s chair and the tandem was the ideal choice. The two are able to use backgrounds in fantasy films to add a slight mystical edge to the subject matter. The film is based on real life events, but the filmmakers do add in dramatic contest, as expected. The movie still plays like a standard peril laced drama, but Pal and Haskins drop in just a hint of monster movie flair in regard to the ants, though just enough to notice. So don’t come into this picture and expect Them!, as you’ll be let down, as that isn’t what The Naked Jungle wants to be. Instead, we have a “man vs. nature” epic with gorgeous locations, top notch production design, cool scenes of demolition, and a solid blend of romance and action. The romance is well handled, thanks to solid turns from Heston and his female costar Eleanor Parker. The Naked Jungle isn’t a movie classic, but it is a fun, well made motion picture that deserves to be better known. Paramount’s disc is as bare as Old Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, but the price is so cheap, it balances out.
Video: How does it look?
The Naked Jungle is presented in full frame, as intended. I didn’t have high hopes in this case, but Paramount has come through. The print is in good condition, with few signs of debris and grain, which is impressive, given the film’s age. The image is also a little soft, but for a movie that is five decades old, we have to expect and understand that. The image is sharp enough, age and all, with solid detail levels throughout. The colors look good too, if a pinch faded at times, while contrast is acceptable at all times. As I said, the visuals are a little soft and worn, but The Naked Jungle still looks damn good here.
Audio: How does it sound?
The materials have some signs of age at times, but that’s to be expected in this case, at least to an extent. The music sounds piped in of course, but aside from that is solid in tone and sound effects are in fine form, no real complaints there. The dialogue is rich and clean also, with no distortion or other errors at all to report. This won’t make your head spin by any means, but this is as about as good as it gets, which is good enough. This disc also includes English subtitles, should you ever need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes no bonus materials.
