"Hud" Paramount - Region 1 NTSC

directed by Martin Ritt
USA 1963

"Well, I always say that the law was meant to be interpreted in a lenient manner, and that's what I try to do. Sometimes I lean to one side of it, sometimes I lean to the other." - Hud

This is the story of Hud Bannon (Paul Newman), a Texas rancher with little to no moral fiber. It seems to have been burnt out of him by his cattleman father Homer (Melvyn Douglas) who always does what's "right" regardless of the outcome to Hud's eventual inheritance. In this case it means the worst type of trouble a cattleman can have: foot and mouth disease, picked up from some steer purchased in Mexico.

Hud is an anti-hero, arrogant, selfish, rude and irresponsible... he embodies the type of male stereotype that is often associated with a Texas 'badman'. Written as a book by iconoclastic western novelist Larry McMurtry, the film does not deviate much from his story, excepting that no one was to be aware of Newman's over whelming charisma and how even horrible characters he would play would have some appealing qualities for the audience. The film is as much Newman's as the stellar cast supporting him. Patricia Neal, I always thought, never got the credit she deserved or maybe I just like her because she is so damn sexy... all the time. This film has an "it" quality that prohibits strict definition and genre classification. A western focusing on a very bad man seems to be far too limited. Step back into the early 60's and enjoy another film that helped catapult Paul Newman to his larger-than-life status... both on and off the screen. out of

Gary W. Tooze

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 29th, 1963 - New York City

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Recommended Reading for Western Genre Fans (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)


The Crowded Prairie: American National Identity in the Hollywood Western (Cinema and Society) by Michael Coyne	The Invention of the Western Film : A Cultural History of the Genre's First Half Century (Genres in American Cinema S.) by Scott Simmon	The Searchers (Bfi Film Classics) by Edward Buscombe	The Western Genre by John Saunders	Westerns: Films through History (AFI Film Readers) by Janet Walker	The Encyclopedia of Westerns (The Facts on File Film Reference Library) by Herb Fagen, Tom Selleck	Gunfighter Nation: The Myth of the Frontier in Twentieth-Century America by Richard Slotkin	The Western (Inside Film) by David Lusted	Red River (Bfi Film Classics) by Suzanne Liandrat-Guigues

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DVD Review: Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC

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Distribution	Paramount Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:51:32
Video	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.18 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
Bitrate:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), DUB: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Paramount Home Video Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 DVD5 DVD Release Date: December 2, 2003 Keep Case Chapters: 24	Edition Details: • None
Comments:	Aside from a little dirt in the opening sequences this is a deceptively tight image for a single layered disc. I'm not ecstatic, but I am happy. The sound is restored and clean and has a bumped 5.1 option (as well as French mono). There are no Extras which is a little strange as this is a highly regarded film with quite a following among Newman fans. Still the video portion is fine, the audio is very good. out of Gary W. Tooze