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

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (August 2022): Criterion have transferred Sidney Poitier's Buck and the Preacher to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "New 4K digital restoration". It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. The HD image quality is very pleasing - with occasional, impressive, detail, strong contrast and the image is blemish free. Colors appear true and there is frequent depth. The 1080P provides a superior presentation for the format. 

NOTE: We have added 68 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Buck and the Preacher has aggressive sequences with plenty of gunfire. Western effects including horses are present. The score is credited to jazz great Benny Carter (Night Gallery, A Man Called Adam, Too Late Blues) with notable blues musicians Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and Don Frank Brooks. It was adept at shifting with the film's moods for light-hearted to deadly serious. There is consistent dialogue in the uncompressed transfer. Criterion offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'A' / 'B' (depending on your region) Blu-ray.

The Criterion Blu-ray offers new extras. There is a new, 25-minute, interview with Mia Mask, author of Black Rodeo: A History of the African American Western. She discuses the making of Buck and the Preacher, actor-director Sidney Poitier's often overlooked filmmaking career, and the rich cinematic history of Black westerns. Also included are three television appearances in which actor-director Sidney Poitier and actor-producer Harry Belafonte discussing Buck and the Preacher. The first, a behind-the-scenes segment running a dozen-minutes, was shot on location for the film in Durango, Mexico, and it originally aired on New York's WNET in 1971, as part of the program The Great American Dream Machine. There are also 1972 episodes of Soul! for 1/2 hour and The Dick Cavett Show running over an hour. Lastly is a new 15-minute interview with Gina Belafonte, daughter of Harry Belafonte and she recalls being on set during the shooting of Buck and the Preacher and discusses the film as part of the lifelong commitment of her father, actor-producer Harry Belafonte, to the fight for civil rights. The package has a liner notes booklet with an essay by critic Aisha Harris. 

Sidney Poitier's Buck and the Preacher has welcome moments of humor (Belafonte’s performance) along with some gravely serious topics. "This film broke Hollywood Western traditions by casting black actors as central characters and portraying both tension and solidarity between African Americans and Native Americans in the late 19th century." (h/t Wikipedia) Buck and the Preacher was shot in only 45-days and Poitier edited the film during the shooting of The Organization, the actor's third (and final) appearance as Lt Virgil Tibbs. Civil rights themes can be seen throughout Buck and the Preacher with frequent allegorical parallels drawn between the film's storyline and the important doctrine of the 60's Civil Rights Movement - as well as sharing portrayals in Blaxploitation films in regards to its depiction of white people - although Buck is a significantly different protagonist hero as found in, ex. Shaft or Coffy. The Criterion Blu-ray has impressive a/v and some important extras. Buck and the Preacher also has a lot of western genre appeal. Absolutely recommended.

Gary Tooze