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A view on Blu-ray by Gary W. Tooze

The New Frontier [Blu-ray]

 

(Carl Pierson, 1935)

 

 

Review by Gary Tooze

 

Production:

Theatrical: Republic Pictures

Video: Olive Films

 

Disc:

Region: 'A' (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player)

Runtime: 0:54:53.290

Disc Size: 10,882,005,587 bytes

Feature Size: 10,756,614,144 bytes

Video Bitrate: 24.00 Mbps

Chapters: 8

Case: Standard Blu-ray case

Release date: January 22nd, 2013

 

Video:

Aspect ratio: 1.37:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Audio:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 829 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 824 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit)

 

Subtitles:

None

 

Extras:

• None

 

Bitrate:

 

 

Description: John Dawson (John Wayne) becomes sheriff of a lawless town and goes up against a nasty saloon owner, Ace Holmes (Warner Richmond) who's been terrorizing the citizens of the new frontier town. Ace and his gang of outlaws are too much for one man, so Dawson deputizes a gang of friendlier outlaws lead by Kit (Al Bridge) and together they try to clean up the town. This was Wayne's second western under the new Republic Pictures banner. Muriel Evans co-stars as Wayne's Love interest. Written by Robert Emmett Tansey (Westward Ho) and directed by Carl Pierson (She Devil).

 

 

The Film:

The New Frontier is John Wayne's second Western for Republic. It's directed by Carl Pierson and written by Robert Emmett Tansey. Wayne plays trail herder John Dawson, a decent man who along with his dad Milt (Sam Flint) bring pioneers to the "Cherokee Strip" after the Act of Congress signed by President Benjamin Harrison in 1889 allows for settlement.

The pioneers find their small town lacking law and order due to the dance-halls run by the unscrupulous Ace Holmes (Warner P. Richmond). The leading citizens such as Tom Lewis (Murdock MacQuarrie) and the parson Shaw (Allen Craven) try to persuade Milt to become sheriff after four murders, but he refuses while saying as a private citizen he'll try to reason with Ace. Milt's shot in the back by Ace in the saloon while trying to reason with him. When John returns from leading a wagon train through hostile Indian territory, he learns from the leading citizens and his sweetie Hanna Lewis (Muriel Evans) of his father's death and is sworn in as sheriff--not waiting for help from the cavalry as called for by the locals. Just before arriving John stopped his party from being robbed by a gang led by Kit (Alan Bridges). It turns out that Kit's life was saved by John in the past and he owes him one.

Excerpt from Dennis Schwartz at Ozu's World located HERE

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

Of all the hour-long, early 'Duke'  B westerns from Olive Blu-ray we've covered; "Red River Range", "Three Texas Steers", "King of the Pecos", "The Night Riders" and "Frontier Horizon" - The New Frontier seems to be the most inconsistent and have the most damage. There are certain segments with extensive vertical scratches (see last capture).  Other parts seem quite strong with excellent detail in close-ups. Again we have improved contrast levels from SD on the single-layered disc. Most scenes are outdoor and look quite good considering the age. The damage is acceptable and doesn't heavily deter enjoyment of the presentation.

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Damage

 

 

Audio :

Audio comes in the form of a DTS-HD Master mono track at 829 kbps. There are a couple of songs on this one - in a wagon train and around a campfire. It remains unremarkable and a bit scattered but satisfies the presentation value. There are no subtitles offered and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.

 

Extras :

None - not even a trailer.

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
Similar, short adventure and fun. I have a new place in my heart for these one hour westerns - wondering about the people who watched them theatrically and the entertainment value back then. My complaint is the same - with the puny file size four could have snugly fit on one lone Blu-ray disc - making for a more reasonable price. Now that would have been cool to own a dozen 4-reelers of these in one 3-disc Blu-ray package. Perhaps one day - as for now - I am enjoying my collection. 

Gary Tooze

January 17th, 2013

 


 

About the Reviewer: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500 DVDs and have reviewed over 5000 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.

Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction.

Gary's Home Theatre:

60-Inch Class (59.58” Diagonal) 1080p Pioneer KURO Plasma Flat Panel HDTV PDP6020-FD

Oppo Digital BDP-83 Universal Region FREE Blu-ray/SACD Player
Momitsu - BDP-899 Region FREE Blu-ray player
Marantz SA8001 Super Audio CD Player
Marantz SR7002 THX Select2 Surround Receiver
Tannoy DC6-T (fronts) + Energy (centre, rear, subwoofer) speakers (5.1)

APC AV 1.5 kVA H Type Power Conditioner 120V

Gary W. Tooze

 

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