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USA 1958

 

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! out of

 

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Theatrical Release: October 1st, 1958

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Comparison:

MGM - Region 1 - NTSC vs. MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray vs. Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

 

1) MGM - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT

2) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray MIDDLE

3) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT

 

Box Cover

Also now available via Amazon.com (same transfer):

    

Distribution MGM Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC MGM Home Video - Region FREE - Blu-ray Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 2:46:28 2:46:54.045 2:46:55.338
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

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 46,170,003,074 bytes

Feature: 34,111,279,104 bytes

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Total Video Bitrate: 23.97 Mbps

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

Bitrate:  MGM Blu-ray

Bitrate: KINO Blu-ray

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

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1559 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1559 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps

Subtitles French, Spanish, None English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish or none English, None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: MGM Home Video

Aspect Ratio:
 2.32:1

Edition Details:

• Theatrical Trailer (2:50 - widescreen - non -anamorphic)
 

DVD Release Date: March 20th, 2001
Keep Case
Chapters: 16

Release Information:
Studio: MGM Home Video

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
Standard
Blu-ray Case
Chapters: 16
 

Release Information:
Studio:
Kino

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 46,170,003,074 bytes

Feature: 34,111,279,104 bytes

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Total Video Bitrate: 23.97 Mbps

Edition Details:

• Audio Commentary by Noted Cultural Historian Sir Christopher Frayling
• Directed by William Wyler - 60 Minute Documentary (58:09)
vWyler Doc Outtakes with Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston and Billy Wilder (22:46)
• Interviews with Cecilia Peck, Carey Peck and Tony Peck (12:26)
• Interview with Fraser Heston (11:05)
• Interview with Catherine Wyler (12:44)
• Fun in the Country - Featurette (5:13)
• Larry Cohen on Chuck Connors (2:46)
• Original Theatrical Trailer (2:56)
• TV Spot (0:59)
• Two Animated Image Galleries
• Reversible Blu-ray Art)
 

Blu-ray Release Date: June 5th, 2018
Standard
Blu-ray Case
Chapters: 8
 

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

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

 





 Menus

 

(MGM - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT vs. MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray RIGHT)


 
 

 

 

Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray


 


CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

Subtitle Sample

 

MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP

Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

Screen Captures

1) MGM - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray MIDDLE

3) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) MGM - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray MIDDLE

3) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) MGM - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray MIDDLE

3) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) MGM - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray MIDDLE

3) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) MGM - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray MIDDLE

3) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) MGM - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray MIDDLE

3) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


More Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray Captures


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

 

Check out more in "The Library"


Box Cover

Also now available via Amazon.com (same transfer):

    

Distribution MGM Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC MGM Home Video - Region FREE - Blu-ray Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

 




 

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