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USA 1958
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I love William Wyler films. Pretty much all of them. You always know you are
in for a well-balanced and professional presentation.... with a little humanity
kick. In this, a return to westerns for the veteran director, he takes the
testosterone out, and leaves in the unassuming protagonist. Returning home sea
captain, James McKay (Gregory Peck), looks out-of-place as seen by the seasoned
Texans of the open west. He seeks his lot with fiancée (Carroll Baker) yet all
think he is a nancy-boy - unable, and unworthy. Future father-in-law and land
baron (Charles Bickford) feuds with similar cattleman (Burl Ives) over the water
for their cows owned by school marm Julie Maragon ( sexy Jean Simmons) - another
character not given her deserved respect by the rough and rugged gun-toting,
horsemen. Ives steals the show and wins the Oscar, as does the soundtrack. Chuck
Connors and Charlton Heston lead the respective gangs. The film is masterpiece
material convincingly ranking with the best westerns of all time. A personal
favorite! |
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Theatrical Release: October 1st, 1958
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Comparison:
MGM - Region 1 - NTSC vs. MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray
(MGM - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT vs. MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray RIGHT)
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Also now available via Amazon.com:
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| Distribution | MGM Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC | MGM Home Video - Region FREE - Blu-ray |
| Runtime | 2:46:28 | 2:46:54.045 |
| Video |
2.32:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.43 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,333,063,955 bytes Feature: 46,949,351,424 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 31.99 Mbps |
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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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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0), DUB: French (Dolby Digital 2.0) | DTS-HD Master Audio English 1981
kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1981 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps /
24-bit / DN -4dB) DTS Audio French 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / 24-bit / DN -4dB DTS Audio German 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / 24-bit / DN -4dB DTS Audio Italian 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / 24-bit / DN -4dB DTS Audio Spanish 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / 24-bit / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / DN -4dB |
| Subtitles | French, Spanish, None | English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish or none |
| Features |
Release Information:
Edition Details: • Theatrical
Trailer (2:50 - widescreen - non -anamorphic)
DVD Release Date: March 20th, 2001 |
Release Information: 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,333,063,955 bytes Feature: 46,949,351,424 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 31.99 Mbps Edition Details: • Fun in the Country (5:12 in 480i) • TV Spot (:53 in 480i) • Theatrical
Trailer (2:53 - 4:3 in 1080P)
Blu-ray Release Date:
June 10th, 2011 |
| Comments: |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray - August 11': I know this is available through one of the brick-and-mortar stores in the US as an exclusive - but I had a dickens of a time trying to get it. I'll wager this German offered Blu-ray is EXACTLY the same as the one now available from Amazon.com. The reason I suspect that is that the region FREE disc has only a English pop-up menu, plenty of foreign language options (subs and DUBs) and the extras are in 480i NTSC (not 576 PAL.)The appearance is a revelation as compared to the 2001 MGM DVD which looks decided weak beside the dual-layered 1080P. You can see from the captures that there is some significantly varying amount of information in the frame (all 4 sides). For the most part the Blu-ray has much more - but it varies and this is probably because the 2:32:1 DVD was zoomed-in without consistency. The Blu-ray also looks brighter, much more detail and some depth creeps in. The 'scope ratio was far more evident and I think this is a tremendous advancement over the SD. As Martin (in email) points out the Blu-ray is slightly horizontally stretched ('Cinemascope mumps'?) Audio is in the form of a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel at 1981 kbps. Jerome Moross, who orchestrated more than composed for film has a score that adds a nice crisp edge and sounds quite wonderful. There are a bunch of DUBs and optional subtitles on the region FREE disc. Supplements even advance upon the DVD with an original featurette entitled Fun in the Country with behind-the-scenes shots running just over 5-minutes and a brief TV Spot (:53 seconds) as well s the trailer found on the DVD but now in 1080P. Essential release in my opinion. I LOVE this film and it looks and sounds fabulous -especially compared to the old DVD. Don't hesitate this is a classic looking and sounding far better than ever before! ***
ON THE DVD: DVD image is
acceptable for MGM, if not Warner standard. Sharp through most, it has
moments of dullness in both detail and colors lean to a greenish haze. No boosting and black
levels are convincingly good.
No English subtitles, original
audio and only a trailer as an extra. I am biased, but the film surely
deserves better, but as far as MGM goes - this is a one of their
superior titles - HD film sourced and dual layered. Only 'good enough',
not magnificent. I'll live.
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(MGM - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM)
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(MGM - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray 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 |
The Western (Inside Film) by David Lusted |
Red River (Bfi Film Classics) by Suzanne Liandrat-Guigues |
Check out more in "The Library"
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Also now available via Amazon.com:
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| Distribution | MGM Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC | MGM Home Video - Region FREE - Blu-ray |
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Gary Tooze
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