'The Carpetbaggers' Blu-Ray Review - Sprawling Melodrama Molds Hollywood History (2025)

Harold Robbins’ (Nevada Smith, Stiletto) bestseller about ’30s Hollywood comes to the screen in a torrent of frank, controversial and (for the times) sensational scenes that helped break the Production Code. George Peppard (Breakfast at Tiffany’s, P.J.) is the ruthless tycoon who (with amazing parallels to Howard Hughes) builds a multimillion-dollar empire. Carroll Baker (Baby Doll, The Big Country), who performs a razzle-dazzle striptease atop a glittering chandelier, is the Jean Harlow-type star. In addition to its depiction of the wild life in Tinseltown’s early days, the film also boasts Alan Ladd’s (Lucky Jordan, Shane) terrific final screen performance as the hero’s sidekick, Nevada Smith (later portrayed in the film’s prequel by a gunslinging Steve McQueen). Featuring Bob Cummings, Martha Hyer, Elizabeth Ashley, Lew Ayres, Martin Balsam, Ralph Taeger, Archie Moore and the daring direction of Edward Dmytryk (The Caine Mutiny, Mirage).

For thoughts on The Carpetbaggers, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/XVdHVOn5xZ0?si=ooUq_D2kTiaJ9c-M&t=1452]

Video Quality

Kino Classics presents The Carpetbaggers with a sumptuous new 1080p transfer sourced from a 4K scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative. The partnership between Paramount Pictures and Kino Lorber has once again rescued an overlooked feature for modern audiences. The film is free of dirt and damage for a lovely viewing experience that captures the ambitious photography impeccably. There do not appear to be any unwanted digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding, or any other such nuisances. The level of detail and clarity is awe-inspiring with the perfect amount of natural film grain intact and resolved well. The film features some deep colors within the environments and costumes that radiate off the screen. Black levels are deep with a forthright stability throughout. This presentation gives this one a second life that it does not waste.

Audio Quality

The film has been given both a DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio presentation that conveys this information really well. The surround sound presentation is a bit unusual for this time, but it fits the ambition of the narrative appropriately. Even with the film being about 60 years old, there are very few moments when the track shows any anomalies. Dialogue comes through clearly throughout without being covered up by any competing elements. The momentous score maintains righteous fidelity with no big swings when it comes to stability. The track showcases vocals in tandem with the environmental sounds with tremendous clarity. Kino Classics has provided a bustling audio presentation that presents the film as well as it deserves. The disc also comes with optional English (SDH) subtitles.

Special Features

• Audio Commentaries: There are two commentary tracks provided by film historians in which they discuss where Hollywood and America were at this period in time, the background details of this film, where this stood in relation to the production code, the real-life inspirations, technical aspects of capturing certain shots, the performances, the thematic details of the story and more. These are both very enlightening tracks that are well worth a listen.

• • Audio Commentary #1: Film Historian and Writer Julie Kirgo

• • Audio Commentary #2: Film Historian David Del Valle and Filmmaker David DeCoteau

• Trailers: The three-minute trailer for The Carpetbaggers is provided here. There are also trailers provided for Portrait In Black, Back Street (1961), What’s So Bad About Feeling Good?, Boy On A Dolphin, and Mirage.

Final Thoughts

The Carpetbaggers is a sprawling epic melodrama that does not always work, but when it does it is glorious. The offputting nature of the main character should be enough to put you off, but the way the story takes him along a journey of self-destruction is endlessly fascinating. The performances are strong across the board, and the lengthy runtime is used effectively so that you are never left checking your watch. This new Blu-Ray release from Kino Classics offers up a wonderful A/V presentation and a nice pair of commentary tracks. This is a good choice for fans of the ensemble or melodramas in general. Recommended

The Carpetbaggers is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.