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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (June 2023): Kino have transferred Tom Gries' Will Penny to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "Brand New HD Master - From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative". It looks quite strong in 1080P. The outdoor locations in Tucson, Arizona and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Big Pine, California are showcased beautifully by Lucien Ballard's cinematography. Contrast is well-served with decent black levels. There is strong detail in close-ups and there are instances of depth. All good on the HD 4K-restored image presentation.

NOTE: We have added 56 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Will Penny has aggressive sequences with rifle and gun fire, cattle drives, horses and physical conflicts. It comes through with healthy depth in the lossless. The score was by David Raksin (Night Tide, Forever Amber,The Bad and the Beautiful, The Day After, Separate Tables, Laura, Bigger Than Life, The Big Combo) who had more than 100 film scores and 300 television scores to his credit. The music is supportive of the onscreen action and there is a final song, by Raskin, in the closing credits; The Lonely Rider sung by Don Cherry. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by author/screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner (author of The Westerners: Interviews with Actors, Directors, Writers and Producers,) film historian Henry Parke (The Greatest Westerns Ever Made) and Will Penny script supervisor Michael Preece. Preece is 87 years old but still remembers stories of working with cinematographer Lucien Ballard, director Tom Gries, Sam Peckinpah, actors Donald Pleasence, Bruce Dern, Slim Pickens, Lee Majors and Heston himself as well as some of the many films that he worked on; How the West Was Won, The Getaway, True Grit etc. Joyner and Parke fill in some fact-gaps and I thought it was a highly interesting commentary. There are also a couple of vintage featurettes; Remembering Will Penny with Charlton Heston and Jon Gries and The Cowboys of Will Penny with Heston listing many of his co-stars in the film. Lastly is a theatrical trailer.  

Tom Gries' Will Penny was based upon the director's own written episode of the 1960 Sam Peckinpah TV series The Westerner. It was called "Line Camp" with Brian Keith, Slim Pickens (also in Will Penny) and Robert Culp. Will Penny is famously known as Heston's favorite of all his own films - appreciating the pioneering realism that it portrayed. It has a great cast with Joan Hackett, Donald Pleasence, Ben Johnson, Bruce Dern, Lee Majors, and Pickens. We get a slow building character study situated in the Olde West - a wonderful example of the genre. The Kino Blu-ray has the strong film, an appreciated 4K restored image, new commentary and two featurettes. Fans of westerns will really enjoy this one. Absolutely recommended! At the writing of this review it is 50% OFF at Amazon.

Gary Tooze