For an epic from the silent days, we go to 1925’s The Big Parade. Set in 1917, we view the United States right before the nation’s entry into World War I.

The son of a wealthy mill owner (Hobart Bosworth), Jim Apperson (John Gilbert) lives a life of pampered ease. When the US joins the war, however, this changes – though not immediately. Initially Jim resists the call to duty, but encouraged by the passion of his lifelong love Justyn Reed (Claire Adams), he enlists.

From there we follow Jim through training, where he befriends working class stiffs Slim (Karl Dane) and Bull (Tom O’Brien). Before long, they get deployed to France, where they reside in a farmhouse and initially find themselves stuck with menial tasks.

With time on his hands, Jim finds himself attracted to Melisande (Renée Adorée), the daughter of the farm’s owner. They develop a gradual courtship with complications due to language and Jim’s prior relationship with Justyn. They attempt to overcome the odds only to be separated when Jim gets sent to the front. We follow his battle career as well as further developments with Melisande.

Going into Parade, I didn’t know what to expect. Would it provide an action melodrama ala Wings or an anti-war effort like All Quiet on the Western Front?

As it happens, Parade touches on both genres, though it emphasizes the former. Much of the film concentrates on ordinary life and Jim/Melisande, with slow pacing along the way. Indeed, to paraphrase a Dr. Ian Malcolm, I occasionally wondered if they eventually planned to have war in their war movie.

Those elements arose roughly midway into the film and they dominated the second half, but don’t expect anything as gritty as All Quiet - or as thrilling as Wings. Parade tends to play it down the middle, as it provides some dramatic moments but never quite enters the realm of harrowing or disturbing.

Part of the problem comes from its excessive comic relief, especially as embodied by Bull and Slim. Those two characters come with such broad portrayals that it becomes tough to ever take them seriously. Even when peril and drama surround them, we don’t quite invest in their fates because they’re so cartoony.

That’s a problem, especially because the leads offer surprisingly strong work. Gilbert and Adorée occasionally go for the broad strokes typical of the silent era, but they usually give their roles a fairly natural feel, and that allows us to take to them more easily. Without wide-eyed hamminess, we grow to care about Jim and Melisande and relate to them better than we might.

It really does seem difficult to gauge Parade’s leanings, though. Parts of it feel like feel-good heroic fare while others come across as more bitter anti-war tones. Perhaps I should embrace the absence of a clear stance, but instead, I think the film seems wishy-washy, like it can’t decide which way to go. This doesn’t cripple the movie, but it creates some issues.

Though even with a more consistent tone, I don’t know how much I’d like Parade. At best, it’s a pretty good little war-related melodrama, and even with its slow pace, it remains reasonably entertaining. However, I think later movies handled the subject matter better, so it winds up as an inconsistent pleasure.

The Big Parade appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.37:1 on this Blu-Ray Disc. Given the age of the film, the image looked splendid.

Sharpness had uneven elements and could be slightly soft at times. Nonetheless, overall definition was quite good, as even the occasional instances in which the movie was a bit fuzzy didn’t cause real distractions. Clarity held up nicely during most of the flick, as even the wide shots looked pretty accurate and concise.

I noticed no signs of jaggies or moiré effects, and edge haloes were absent. The film lacked print flaws and came with natural grain, so I didn’t suspect any heavy-handed noise reduction. Like many silent films, Parade mixed black and white with color, but just one color at a time. These tones stayed subdued and seemed adequate for what they intended to represent.

Blacks appeared reasonably tight and dense, and low-light shots were pretty clear. Some opacity came with the latter, but not to a substantial degree, so the shadows remained concise and viewable. I felt impressed by the film’s restoration, as it made a nearly 90-year-old work look very good.

In terms of audio, the film came with a DTS-HD MA Stereo score recorded in 1988. It presented a perfectly appropriate accompaniment to the film. Stereo imaging was fine, as the work spread across the front in a pleasing manner.

The music came across as full and vivid as well. Highs seemed bright and tight, while lows were rich and dynamic. The score worked fine for the movie and sounded good.

When we move to extras, we find an audio commentary from historian Jeffrey Vance. In addition to his running, screen-specific discussion, we get four segments from an oral history director King Vidor recorded for the Director’s Guild of America. Between Vance and Vidor, we learn about the movie’s roots and development, World War I history, story, characters and performances, sets and locations, various effects, biographies for cast and crew, music, and some other areas.

Overall, the commentary works well. The addition of Vidor’s notes helps keep the track going; while Vance does fine, he occasionally threatens to sag, so the ability to give him a break allows the chat to remain productive. We get a nice mix of details about the production in this informative piece.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we get a featurette. 1925 Studio Tour runs 31 minutes, 59 seconds as it provides a silent look at the MGM lot. The program lets us see the physical plant as well as many actors, directors, executives and other workers. We don’t view much actual filmmaking, but this remains a cool archival glimpse of Hollywood circa 1925.

The package finishes with a 64-page book. In this, we see photos, production notes, biographies and advertising elements. Packed with a lot of good material, this is one of the better books included in a Warner product.

Nearly 90 years after its release, The Big Parade gives us a good but not great war movie. While it boasts some interesting elements and strong performances from its leads, it lacks consistency and moves too slowly. The Blu-ray brings us excellent visuals as well as solid audio and some useful bonus materials. While I don’t think this is a great flick, the Blu-ray impresses me.