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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Budd Boetticher
USA / Mexico 1951

 

"American sportsman Johnny Regan (Robert Stack, Written on the Wind) goes to a bullfight while holidaying in Mexico and witnesses the great matador Manolo Estrada (Gilbert Roland, She Done Him Wrong) in action. The two men meet later that evening, and Johnny becomes entranced by Anita (Joy Page, Casablanca), a friend of Manolo’s. Impressed by the world of bullfighting, and seeking to impress Anita, Johnny becomes Manolo's pupil so that he, too, may become a champion torero.

Produced by John Wayne, and based in part on Budd Boetticher’s experiences as a novice bullfighter, Bullfighter and the Lady was initially released in a shorter 87-minute cut, reputedly edited by John Ford. In 1986, with the aid of Boetticher and Stack, the complete 124-minute version was restored, revealing the film to be a true masterpiece. Both cuts are presented on this edition, alongside Boetticher’s final work as a director, the 1985 documentary My Kingdom For… which is part autobiography, part history of the bullfighting art of rejoneo."

***

Robert Stack (TV's The Untouchables) stars as Chuck Regan, a brash American skeet shooting champion whose visit to Mexico introduces him to two irresistible forces: the exotic Anita de la Vega (Joy Page) and the lure of the way of the matador. Unflinching in his confidence, Regan sets out to conquer both. He arranges to learn bullfighting from an icon of the Mexican corrida, Manolo Estrada (Gilbert Roland). But Regan's headstrong assertiveness and desire to impress Anita gets the best of him when he debuts in the ring and knows there's only one way and one place he can redeem himself. The stellar cast includes Katy Jurado, Virginia Grey and John Hubbard. A John Wayne production - beautifully and stylishly directed by Budd Boetticher (Seven Men From Now), this was his breakthrough film and first under the name Budd, previously used the name Oscar Boetticher, Jr.

Posters

Theatrical Release: April 26th, 1951

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Comparison:

Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray vs. Indicator - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

  

 

or buy directly from Indicator:

Bonus Captures:

Distribution Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray Indicator - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime 2:04:58.491      2:04:41.557
Video

1.37:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 22,714,540,711 bytes

Feature: 22,634,240,064 bytes

Video Bitrate: 21.98 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 46,466,569,304 bytes

Feature: 28,981,251,456 bytes

Video Bitrate: 26.96 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

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

Bitrate Olive Blu-ray:

Bitrate Indicator Blu-ray:

Audio DTS-HD Master Audio English 918 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 918 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit)

LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 112 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 112 kbps / DN -30dB

Subtitles None English (SDH), None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: Olive Films
 

1.37:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 22,714,540,711 bytes

Feature: 22,634,240,064 bytes

Video Bitrate: 21.98 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Edition Details:

• None

Blu-ray Release Date:  July 30th, 2013
Standard
Blu-ray Case 
Chapters:
9

Release Information:
Studio:
Indicator

 

1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 46,466,569,304 bytes

Feature: 28,981,251,456 bytes

Video Bitrate: 26.96 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Audio commentary with critics and authors Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme (2022)
• My Kingdom For… (1985): Boetticher’s final film as director, a partly autobiographical documentary about bullfighting, featuring Bullfighter and the Lady actor Robert Stack (1:24:54)
• Interview with Mary Boetticher (2022) (35:42)
• An Evening with Budd Boetticher (2001): audio recording of the great director in conversation with film preservationist Robert Gitt
• Budd Boetticher: One on One (57:21)
• Trailer (2:03)
• Image Gallery
• Limited edition booklet featuring a new essay by Matthew Thrift, an archival letter from Budd Boetticher discussing his love of bullfighting, archival profiles of Katy Jurado, an overview of contemporary critical responses, new writing on My Kingdom For…, and full film credits.


Blu-ray
Release Date: August 1st, 2022
Transparent
Blu-ray Case

Chapters 12

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Indicator Blu-ray (August 2022): Indicator have transferred Budd Boetticher's Bullfighter and the Lady to Blu-ray. The Indicator offers two presentations of the film: the complete 124-minute version, restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive; and the original 87-minute theatrical cut. The Indicator fares much better in 1080P with richer black levels. The film still has some light scratches (notable in the stock footage) and speckles but the UK transfer is a notable upgrade in video despite the obvious weaker segments (*contrast and detail drop) that do surface throughout.

NOTE: We have added 58 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Indicator use an uncompressed linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. This advances upon the Olive films (16-bit lossless.) There are crowd sounds in  Bullfighter and the Lady has few aggressive moments plus there is a score by Victor Young (Arise My Love, Union Pacific, The Accused, Strategic Air Command, The Sun Shines Bright, Johnny Guitar, China Gate etc.)   sounding clean with consistent dialogue in the lossless transfer. Indicator offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'B' Blu-ray. But it should be note that much of the Spanish is not translated - as would have been accurate for the theatrical viewings. The bare-bones, Region 'A'-locked Olive had no subtitle options, nor extras of any kind.

The Indicator Blu-ray offer the original 87-minute theatrical cut in a 1080i transfer with a very low bitrate and it has optional English subtitles. On the 124-minute version is a new commentary by critics and authors Glenn Kenny (author of Robert De Niro: Anatomy of an Actor) and Farran Smith Nehme (author of Missing Reels: A Novel.) They discuss how deeply personal the film was for Boetticher, the mutilation of the 87-minute theatrical cut, Glenn shares anecdotes of the production, tidbits of Ford and Wayne, Farran mentions that Robert Stack was actually being a skeet shooter (as was his character of Johnny Regan in the film) - as well as Joy Page and her role in Casablanca... Glenn reads from a Schrader article where Bullfighter and the Lady is mentioned, the story it is based by Ray Nazarro, and briefly discussed is Ernest Hemingway's book on bullfighting Death in the Afternoon. There is much more. It's an excellent, revealing commentary. A notable addition to the Indicator Blu-ray is My Kingdom For… Boetticher’s final film as director, made in 1985, a partly autobiographical documentary about bullfighting, featuring Bullfighter and the Lady actor Robert Stack. In it the Boettichers (Mary and Budd) show off their exquisite Portuguese Lusitano and Spanish Andalusian horses, and Budd narrates the history of these magnificent horses which are paramount to the development of the "rejoneador" (bullfighting on horseback). It's education and runs almost 1.5 hours. There is a new 25-minute interview with Mary Boetticher and as well as An Evening with Budd Boetticher from 2001 which is an audio recording (plays to the film) of the great director in conversation with film preservationist Robert Gitt. We also get the hour-long Budd Boetticher: One on One where the director discusses 'his career, his attitudes about the film industry, and interesting experiences with friends as Randolph Scott and Audie Murphy. The interview is complemented with film clips and photographs from Boetticher's career.' Lastly are a trailer and image gallery plus the package has a limited edition booklet featuring a new essay by Matthew Thrift, an archival letter from Budd Boetticher discussing his love of bullfighting, archival profiles of Katy Jurado, an overview of contemporary critical responses, new writing on My Kingdom For…, and full film credits.  

Budd Boetticher's Bullfighter and the Lady uses a semi-documentary approach in examining the sport of bullfighting and the lives of matadors. It focuses on the realities of the dangers involved with some machismo courting of a young lady. It was reported that during production, one stunt man, actually, died. One could see some homo-eroticism between Johnny Regan (Stack) and his bromance with Manolo Estrada (Roland.) Boetticher had stated that the film got made because John Wayne liked the story. But he also says that Wayne and John Ford cut 42 minutes out of Bullfighter and the Lady so that it would be less than 90 minutes, making it essentially a "B" picture. He says "It took me forty years to get it back the way I wanted it.. It was a helluva blow, I tell you." The Indicator Blu-ray offers both cuts, a wonderful commentary, the valuable extra; My Kingdom For… , the revealing Budd Boetticher: One on One, a limited edition booklet and and more. This Indicator package is strongly recommended!

Gary Tooze

 


Menus / Extras

 

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Indicator - Region 'A' - Blu-ray


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Subtitle Sample - Indicator - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

 


1) Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Indicator - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Indicator - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Indicator - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Indicator - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


 

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Box Cover

  

 

or buy directly from Indicator:

Bonus Captures:

Distribution Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray Indicator - Region 'B' - Blu-ray


 


 

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