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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (April 2025): Kino has transferred Kirk Douglas's Posse to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "Brand New HD Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative". Directed by Douglas in his second (and final) directorial effort, Posse showcases a professional, if occasionally uneven, visual style that benefits from Fred Koenekamp’s (The Towering Inferno, Patton, The Swarm, The Amityville Horror) cinematography in Technicolor and Panavision. Filmed in Arizona’s Old Tucson and Southern Pacific’s Hayden branch (standing in for Texas), the film captures the dusty, expansive landscapes typical of the Western genre, but with a grittier, less romanticized lens. It benefits immensely from this restoration, bringing out the vivid yet gritty aesthetic that defines the film’s revisionist take on the Western genre. This Blu-ray delivers a marked improvement in clarity and detail compared to earlier releases, such as Paramount’s 2004 DVD (noted for minor speckling and age-related wear.) It is on a dual-layered disc with a maxed out bitrate and I only notice one instance of damage HERE - and it was specific to one frame. The 1080P image quality was very strong - colors, depth, and detail.

NOTE: We have added 62 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino uses a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. The audio presentation is serviceable and faithful -- delivering a clean, undistorted experience that respects the film’s original sound design. The mono track - horses, gunfire, the train’s whistle, the crackle of flames during the hideout ambush, the murmur of Tesota’s townsfolk - are well-balanced, though the mono format limits their spatial depth, keeping the soundstage flat and centered. The score by Maurice Jarre (Eyes Without a Face, Is Paris Burning?, The Train, Gambit, Crossed Swords, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, The Tin Drum, The Man Who Would Be King, The Black Marble, The Damned, etc.) with its ironic Western motifs benefits from the lossless audio -- its strings and brass retaining their texture without overpowering the dialogue. Authentically flat with moments of buoyancy via the lossless. Kino offers optional English subtitles on their Region 'A'-locked Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Steve Mitchell - who is always a welcome addition, providing context and insight into a film that’s often overlooked in the Western canon. He brings his expertise as both a filmmaker and a genre historian, offering a perspective that balances production details with broader cultural analysis - delving into Posse’s place within the revisionist Western trend of the 1970s, a period when the genre was being deconstructed in the wake of Vietnam and Watergate. He comments on the cast and crew, Koenekamp’s cinematography, the Panavision framing, and how the Technicolor palette contribute to the film’s gritty aesthetic, and he always makes commentaries interesting. The inclusion of the original theatrical trailer for Posse is appreciated. There are also trailers for other films - Man Without a Star (1955), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), The Last Sunset (1961), Lonely Are the Brave (1962), Will Penny (1967), Doc (1971), Chato’s Land (1972), Joe Kidd (1972), and Valdez Is Coming (1971.)  

Kirk Douglas's Posse unfolds as a tightly constructed, 92-minute revisionist Western that subverts traditional genre expectations through a cynical lens. It is deeply rooted in the post-Watergate cynicism of the 1970s, using the Western genre to explore themes of political corruption, the blurred line between law and lawlessness, and the fickleness of public opinion. Nightingale’s pursuit of Strawhorn is less about justice and more about self-interest, reflecting a profound mistrust of authority figures - a sentiment resonant with the era’s political scandals, like Nixon’s resignation. The film challenges the traditional Western dichotomy of hero versus villain by revealing Nightingale as an opportunistic demagogue and Strawhorn as a charismatic anti-hero who, despite his criminality, exposes the marshal’s hypocrisy. It is a subversion of the lawman-outlaw dichotomy. The HD master from a 4K scan is the highlight on Kino's Blu-ray, delivering a visually impressive transfer that respects the film’s gritty aesthetic while revealing new details in Koenekamp’s cinematography. Mitchell’s commentary adds intellectual value, situating the film within its cultural and cinematic context, which is particularly useful for a lesser-known title like Posse. Fans who have read this far know that this is a western title they will want in their digital library.

Gary Tooze