ADDITION: Criterion 4K UHD (January 2025): Criterion have transferred Anthony Mann's "Winchester '73" to 4K UHD and Blu-ray. It is described as a "New 4K digital restoration, undertaken by Universal Pictures in collaboration with The Film Foundation." This 4K UHD package has one 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. The included Blu-ray is also available separately.

Like 4K UHD transfers of The Long Wait, and I, the Jury, and many others below, Criterion's 2160P transfer of Winchester 73' does not have HDR applied (no HDR10, HDR10+, nor Dolby Vision.) We have seen many other 4K UHD transfers without HDR; Mondo Macabro's Dr. Jekyll and the Werewolf, Cult Film's Django 4K UHD, Umbrella's 4K UHD transfer of Peter Weir's The Last Wave and Criterion's 4K UHD transfers of The Mother and the Whore, I Am Cuba, The Others, Rules of the Game, Branded to Kill, In the Mood For Love, Night of the Living Dead and, further examples, Masters of Cinema's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and Kino's 4K UHDs of Bob le Flambeur, Last Year at Marienbad, Nostalghia, The Apartment, For a Few Dollars More, A Fistful of Dollars, In the Heat of the Night, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as well as Koch Media's Neon Demon + one of the 4K UHD transfers of Dario Argento's Suspiria.

It's hard to believe that "Winchester '73" is 75 years old. The Criterion 2160P transfer is immaculate. We compared captures form two DVDs and the German Blu-ray back in 2019 HERE and below. This BD couldn't hold a candle to this new 4k restored transfer that has sublime contrast, it has removed the unnatural 'thinner face' ratio distortion, with fine / consistent grain texture. The image is brilliantly clean and a pure pleasure in view in this format.  

NOTE: 62 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

On their 4K UHD, Criterion use linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original English language - with a few words of Spanish spoken. Winchester '73" has plenty of gun violence, horses, a battle with Indians and other aggression that remains authentically flat although has enough bass to punctuate scenes with surprising depth via the lossless. The musical director for "Winchester 73'" is credited to Russian-born Joseph Gershenson (Monsters on Campus, Games, Madame X) but the film has stock music by Daniele Amfitheatrof (Edge of Eternity, The Damned Don't Cry, Human Desire, The Capture, An Act of Murder, The Last Hunt, I'll Be Seeing You, Time Out of Mind, The Lost Moment, The Desperate Hours, Undercover Girl, Letter From An Unknown Woman), Hans J. Salter (Undercover Girl, Man Without a Star, The Killer that Stalked New York, The Strange Door, Cover Up, Man Without a Star, Scarlet Street, The Land Unknown, The War Lord, The Mole People, The Strange Case of Doctor Rx), Paul Sawtell (It! The Terror From Beyond Space, Five Steps to Danger, Island of the Blue Dolphins A Game of Death, Inferno, Silver City, The Fly, Denver and Rio Grande,  Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea etc.) Frank Skinner (Back Street, The Sleeping City, The World in His Arms, Arabian Nights, The Lady Gambles, The Appaloosa, Madame X, Magnificent Obsession, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, All That Heaven Allows, Thunder Bay, and The Naked City), Leith Stevens (The Scarlet Hour, Syncopation, The Gun Runners, World Without End, The Night of the Grizzly, I Married a Monster From Outer Space, Hercules and the Captive Women, 20 Million Miles to Earth, The Garment Jungle) and others. This music works well in supporting this, sometimes, complex, western. Both discs offer optional English (SDH) subtitles - and the 4K UHD is region FREE, playable worldwide and the second disc Blu-ray is Region 'A'.

The Criterion the 4K UHD and Blu-ray offer a commentary by actor James Stewart and veteran publicist Paul Lindenschmidt that I believe was originally on the MCA LaserDisc from 1987! Paul states that the film is considered by film historians for directing the standard western to one with complex themes and a "whole new generation of the genre". It's amazing that 79-year old James Stewart is present and commentating as the film runs. It has been cited as the first commentary with a major star. They discuss "Winchester '73" being paired with Harvey - which was thought to have the bigger hit potential. Stewart talks about his image in the film as "Lin McAdam", and his vulnerability as compared to, ex.  John Wayne. It was shot mostly in Arizona, after Stewart had been in the war, married, two children, and how this affected his work ethic. He talks about westerns being visual, trends, extensive practicing with the rifle, Anthony Mann, Will Geer etc. and it is more like an interview as they rarely address the on-screen action. It's wonderful, regardless - a fabulous addition and the sound quality is excellent. The rest of the supplements are on the second disc Blu-ray. There is a new 18-minute interview with film programmer Adam Piron on the portrayal of Native Americans in the western genre and the role of Rock Hudson. Forces of Nature: Anthony Mann at Universal is a 47-minute 2019 program on that explores a key period in the career of film director Anthony Mann. It focuses on his time working at Universal Studios in the 1950s including Winchester '73 (1950), The Naked Spur (1953), The Man from Laramie (1955) etc. It has input from C. Courtney Joyner, Alan K. Rode, Michael Preece, Michael Schlesinger and Rob Wood. It was produced, directed, edited and shot by Daniel Griffith (Ballyhoo Motion Pictures.) Included is an hour-long Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of the film originally broadcast 11/12/1951 with James Stewart and Stephen McNally in their original roles as well as Julia Adams as Lola Manners (the Shelley Winters part in the film.) Plus a worn trailer is included.  The package has an essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith (author of In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City.)           

Anthony Mann's "Winchester '73" is a deeply layered psychological western with an strong connection to film noir . It centers around a Winchester 1873 repeating rifle offered in a keen shooting contest hosted by, non-other than, Wyatt Earp. We follow the much-coveted rifle through an adventures path of death with an obsessed man seeking vengeance (for the cold-blooded murder of his father) an Indian raid (including Rock Hudson as a Native American!,) a fearless showdown... brilliantly unfolded by a master craftsman. This set-off the classic Stewart / Mann collaborations that established a darker on-screen persona for the actor; edgier, disillusioned, vulnerable, unflinchingly violent, but still, a sympathetic character that carved a huge niche within the genre. The Criterion 4K UHD - its stellar a/v, Stewart commentary and more make this irresistible for serious digital librarians. Our very highest recommendation.

Gary Tooze