ADDITION: Paramount - Region FREE Blu-ray - December 2010': The HD Master used for the 2007 DVD has found its way to the new Blu-ray. So it supports the same color scheme (without the green haze) - although a more passive, and possibly realistic, palette. Skin tones are notably more authentic. Detail bumps a few notches but the print still looks a bit dirty at times and background grain can be clunky. Overall though - a decent presentation - may be a shade below what I was expecting but the outdoor Fall colors are impressive and visuals aren't overly glossy. The flat video-like DVDs can hold a candle to this new digital appearance even with a smidgeon of DNR. It remains in the 1.78:1 framing.

Audio rises up sounding very healthy. This is prevalent in the gun shots echoing in the open spaces and anxious rattler shakes. Elmer Bernstein's score includes Glen Campbell crooning and it's winner in lossless. Subtitles are a more civilized white than the gaudy yellow of the DVDs.

Same extras - also in SD. Solid commentary, and standard featurettes - pretty good stuff actually.

Fabulous western with brilliantly outrageous Rooster Cogburn as a walking caricature. The Duke certainly deserved his Oscar. 

The film is getting some exposure due to the forthcoming Coen Brothers remake with Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper. This is a classic story and Bridges has some big shoes to fill. I can't wait - I'm expecting greatness... as is the original. Fans shouldn't hesitate but some may dislike the digitized image and lack of grain. It's kind of a shame.

***

ADDITION: Special Collector's Edition - May 07': I was anticipating that this transfer might actually be the same as the original, but it is in fact quite different. Still anamorphic, progressive and 16X9'ed to 1.78 from the original 1.85 but for about 2/3's of the film it shows a definite improvement in clarity but near the final 1/3 we start to see the heavy greenish haze of the CE start to impinge upon the detail. The screen captures below begin to bear this out to some degree. It borders on some digital deficiencies like moiring and edge enhancement but not prevalent enough for most to point fingers. Overall I would say the CE is a strong improvement with less artifacts and colors that do not bleed as much as the original, but it is shame what happens near the conclusion. Mostly the new CE has more information in the frame - mostly on both edges.

The audio has a bumped 5.1 option which sounded a shade dynamic and more buoyant in some of the later scenes (gunshots, snake hiss etc.)

Supplements are quite extensive on the new CE. Worth the extra $5 alone. First we have a commentary. It is fairly good. Three knowledgeable individuals sharing opinions and answering each other's queries. They discuss and compare the film incongruities to the novel and one even makes a representation to the narrative approaching a kind of Shakespearean cadence. Casting details such as Mia Farrow being the first choice for Mattie Ross' character - the comparison of Darby's performance to that of a female Huck Finn etc. There are a few gaps but overall it seems relatively prepared and certainly informative.

There are also 4 featurettes - True Writing runs 4:29 and focuses on the strong Charles Portis story of which the film is based. Next we have Working With the Duke, a little over 10 minutes, and it looks very familiar to me and I may have seen it as an extra on another DVD but anyway - individuals discuss what John Wayne was like off screen and the general consensus is that he wasn't too far from most of his larger-than-life characterizations. Another 10 minute featurette is Aspen Gold: Locations of True Grit which talks about Colorado where the film was shot and some of the details behind the sites where filming took place. Finally we have a very interesting 5 minute ditty called The Law and the Lawless - it discuses some of the real badmen and noble law enforcement of the west and their memorable nicknames. It is kind of fun how he lauds The Duke as such being able to have his performances be recognized on the same level as these western legends. Finally we have some the same theatrical trailer as found in the original and some other Wayne-DVD previews.

Great film - that one tends to forget until you bother to see it again. It has a real western nostalgia-ode to it and Wayne is at his flamboyant best though the real strength is in the story.

***

On the original: Again, this is the same transfer of the original Paramount release - exact same disc in fact. The DVD has simply been reissued and repackaged to be included in a few Boxset options (of which we recommend the 10-disc'er, exclusive to Amazon, if you don't own any part of these or just one or two already). The image appears to be in need of a good cleaning but otherwise looks very strong. The film is certainly a candidate for a thorough cleaning/restoration, but certainly now is quite passable - original audio - those awful yellow subtitles and a trailer as the only extra, but the price is right - especially when bundled in one of the boxsets. For western fans this will be another of Wayne's solid and enduring performances. A bona-fide must own for his fans... and don't forget Glen Campbell too! 

Gary W. Tooze