Will Penny Blu-ray - Charlton Heston

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Tom Gries
USA 1967

Hollywood legend Charlton Heston (Secret of the Incas, The Big Country, Ben-Hur) stars as Will Penny, an aging cowboy on a hard-luck streak. He’s out of work, out of money, and staked out to die in the desert by a gang of ruthless outlaws. Moments before death, Will is taken in by the beautiful Catherine (Joan Hackett, Support Your Local Sheriff), who is heading west with her young son to join her husband. As Catherine nurses Will back to health, he catches a glimpse of a lifestyle he’s never known. Suddenly, Will has two more problems to deal with: he’s in love with another man’s wife, and the outlaw gang is on its way back to finish him off. Heston’s favorite film in which he appeared, the elegiac Will Penny was written and directed by Tom Gries (100 Rifles, Breakout, Breakheart Pass), shot by Lucien Ballard (The Wild Bunch), and finely cast with Donald Pleasence, Bruce Dern, Ben Johnson, Slim Pickens, Clifton James, Anthony Zerbe, Jon Gries and Lee Majors.

***

Will Penny, an aging cowpoke, takes a job on a ranch which requires him to ride the line of the property looking for trespassers or, worse, squatters. He finds that his cabin in the high mountains has been appropriated by a woman whose guide to Oregon has deserted her and her son. Too ashamed to kick mother and child out just as the bitter winter of the mountains sets in, he agrees to share the cabin until the spring thaw. But it isn't just the snow that slowly thaws; the lonely man and woman soon forget their mutual hostility and start developing a deep love for one another.

Posters

Theatrical Release: December 14th, 1967

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:49:55.672
Video	1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 38,498,994,558 bytes Feature: 35,723,649,024 bytes Video Bitrate: 39.40 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1558 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1558 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 38,498,994,558 bytes Feature: 35,723,649,024 bytes Video Bitrate: 39.40 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • NEW Audio Commentary by Author/Screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner, Film Historian Henry Parke and WILL PENNY Script Supervisor Michael Preece • Remembering WILL PENNY: Featurette with Charlton Heston and Jon Gries (13:21) • The Cowboys of WILL PENNY: Featurette with Charlton Heston and Jon Gries (3:27) • Theatrical Trailer (3:09) Blu-ray Release Date: June 27th, 2023 Standard Blu-ray Case inside slipcase Chapters 9

Comments:

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.