Directed by
Delmer Daves
USA 1956
Like Broken Arrow, a liberal Western, but contriving some complexity around the Widmark character: the son of a white missionary brought up by Comanches, he exacts revenge on the four brothers who raped and killed his Indian wife and children, falls in with the more or less racist members of a wagon train, and is left with the survivors on his hands after an Indian attack. Stylishly directed, superbly shot on location, and with a first-rate performance from Widmark, it retains a certain fascinating ambiguity: its hero, displaying an inflexible sense of purpose and charismatic qualities of leadership, could equally well be defined as an embryo Fascist.
Excerpt from TimeOut located HERE
Posters
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Theatrical Release: September 21st, 1956
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: 20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC
DVD Box Cover |
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Distribution | 20th Century Fox Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC | |
Runtime | 1:39:03 | |
Video |
2.35:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.43 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate: |
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Audio | English (Dolby Digital 4.0), DUBs: French (Dolby Digital 4.0),. Spanish (mono) | |
Subtitles | English, Spanish, None | |
Features |
Release Information:
Edition Details: • Poster
and still gallery |
Comments: |
The image is fairly detailed with good sharpness. There is some dirt and digital noise but no glaring artifacts. Colors are quite acceptable. The extras are equivalent to bare-bones with some superfluous galleries and trailers. The disc is 2 sided with one side sporting the cinemascope version and the other a ridiculous 'pan and scan' version (see below for example of the quantity of missing information). Overall this is a must-own for western fans, especially with the price tag at less than $10 - there is great value here. I enjoyed the film - it purports the simplicity of a standard western but there is definitely something beneath the surface. Widmark is excellent and the supporting cast plays there one dimensional supporting roles well. Cinematography shows some stunning vistas. |
DVD Menus
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Subtitle Sample
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Screen Captures
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Pan and Scan version (on one side) TOP vs. Widescreen version (opposite side) BOTTOM
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Recommended Reading for Western Genre Fans (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
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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 |
Red River (Bfi Film Classics) by Suzanne Liandrat-Guigues |
Check out more in "The Library"
DVD Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: |
Distribution | 20th Century Fox Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC |