ADDITION: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - June 18': the biggest difference is the horizontals stretching of the image - as seen on the MGM Blu-ray - has been corrected. This is a relief to many fans who were adamant that this was not a reflection of 'Cinemascope Mumps' but rather a flaw in the 2011 transfer. Despite the Kino having a lower bitrate, on the dual-layered disc, it looks brilliant in their new '60th Anniversary Special Edition' 1080P. Detail sharpens, contrast - black levels improve, skin tones warm and the visuals looks impressive especially in the film's many Vista sequences.

Kino scrimp a shade on the audio with a DTS0-HD Master 2.0 channel (16-bit) but the western effects - horses, guns, have support as does the excellent score by Jerome Moross (The Valley of Gwangi, notable for wholesome western tracks for The Jayhawkers, Have Gun - Will Travel (TV) and large productions like The War Lord and The Cardinal). There are optional English subtitles on the Region 'A' Blu-ray disc.

Kino add significantly more extras including a revealing audio commentary by noted cultural historian Sir Christopher Frayling who has written a number of western books including Once Upon a Time in the West: Shooting a Masterpiece and Once Upon a Time in Italy: The Westerns of Sergio Leone). His knowledge is extensive and he is a pleasure to listen to. There is also the hour-long documentary 'Directed by William Wyler' by Aviva Slesin from 1986. It is a tribute to director William Wyler consisting of interviews with Bette Davis, Greer Garson, Audrey Hepburn, Charlton Heston and others and excerpts from his many classic films. Some will enjoy the Outtakes from that documentary, also included - running 23-minutes. There are more interviews with Gregory Peck's children Cecilia Peck, Carey Peck and Tony Peck, plus Charlton's son Fraser Heston and an interview with Catherine Wyler. Plus there is a short featurette Fun in the Country, Larry Cohen talks about Chuck Connors and there is an original theatrical trailer, TV Spot and two animated Image galleries and the package has a reversible cover (see below.)

Finally, this masterpiece western gets an upgraded Blu-ray release... and it's a great one. Brilliant storytelling from a master - about honor, pride, masculinity, revenge and self-respect. In my consideration an absolute must-own. Buy with extreme confidence.

***

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. Unfortunately, it is horizontally stretched and its does not appear to be caused by Cinemascope Mumps ("The CinemaScope lenses were optically flawed, however, by the fixed anamorphic element, which caused the anamorphic effect to gradually drop off as objects approached closer to the lens. The effect was that close-ups would slightly overstretch an actor's face, a problem that was soon referred to as "the 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.  out of   

Gary W. Tooze