Captain Horatio Hornblower Blu-ray review
Aug 09, 2026- Permalink
2026 marks the 75th anniversary of Raoul Walsh’s 1951 swashbuckler Captain Horatio Hornblower and Warner Archive has just released a new restoration of it on Blu-ray. Gregory Peck has the title role in a cast that includes Virginia Mayo, Robert Beatty, Terence Morgan, and James Robertson Justice. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, Hornblower commands a Royal Navy vessel on a secret mission to Central America to support a rebellion against France’s Spanish allies and their colonial authorities. Besides dealing with war and geopolitics, Hornblower must take on a female passenger (Mayo) and finds romance is added to the mix. Thanks to Warner Archive and Allied Vaughn, I had a chance to take a look at this release. The WB likes disclaimers, so here goes: Though Warner Brothers provided me with a copy of this release to review, the thoughts and opinions below are mine.
The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The Blu-ray transfer is from a 4K scan of the original Technicolor nitrates. It’s just stunning. When you’ve only seen some of these movies decades ago on TV or on a DVD, you forget how good they look as you approach a quality equivalent to their original theatrical release with a fresh print. Details are everywhere, in the faces of Peck and his sailors, the uniforms, and the ship itself. The Technicolor palette is wide from the muted tones of the uniforms to the occasional popping primary and blue skies. Black levels are nice and deep.
On the audio side, we get an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono soundtrack with English SDH subtitles. Dialogue is clear in the mix and both audio effects and Robert Farnon’s score add drama and adventure to the soundscape.
The Captain Horatio Hornblower Blu-ray does not come with a digital code. As always, Warner Archive does give us a nice selection of extras. We get the 1954 Merrie Melodies short Captain Hareblower which pits Bugs Bunny against a pirate Yosemite Sam. There’s also the 1950 Oscar-nominated short documentary My Country ‘Tis of Thee, which gives a brief look at US history, a Lux Radio Theater broadcast of the story with Peck and Mayo, and the theatrical trailer.
The Captain Horatio Hornblower Blu-ray combines the dashing Gregory Peck and beautiful Virginia Mayo, adds a serving of swashbuckling adventure, a great audio and video presentation and a nice dose of bonus materials. Recommended.