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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka 'The Last Hero')

Directed by David Miller
USA
1962

 

Academy Award winner Kirk Douglas ignites the screen with one of his most personal roles as a cowboy on a collision course with the modern world in Lonely are the Brave. After landing himself in jail trying to break out his friend, Jack Burns (Douglas) finds himself alone and on the run from the law. Leading the manhunt is Sheriff Morey Johnson (Walter Matthau), who must bring Burns to justice despite his own sympathy for the fugitive. Co-starring Gena Rowlands, George Kennedy and Carroll O’Connor, Lonely are the Brave is an unforgettable portrait of a lawless man defying life in an orderly world.

***

Dalton Trumbo wrote this elegy to the western. Kirk Douglas gives one of his finest performances as an out-of-place cowboy in the modern west--almost like a time traveller. The theme of the film is eloquently set up by the opening of the film in which we see Douglas reclining beneath a clear and spacious western sky. The peace and quiet is suddenly disrupted by the sound of a jet plane passing overhead. This brings a wry smile to the old cowboy's face. He rides his horse into Albuquerque to visit friends Kane and Rowlands. Rowlands tells him that her husband has been jailed for helping Mexicans enter the US illegally. Douglas starts a brawl in a saloon to get put into jail; there Douglas offers his friend Kane help in breaking out, but Kane tells Douglas that he wants to serve his brief time, intends to play out his hand with the law, and refuses to become a fugitive. Douglas is hurt but undaunted. He breaks out himself and heads for the hills, pursued by the compassionate technocratic sheriff Matthau and a posse.

Excerpt from TV Guide located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 24th, 1962

Reviews                                                                          More Reviews                                                                        DVD Reviews

 

Comparison:

Universal - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Koch Media - Region FREE - Blu-ray vs. Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

1) Universal - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Koch Media - Region FREE - Blu-ray MIDDLE

3) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT

 

Box Covers

Distribution Universal Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC Koch Media - Region FREE - Blu-ray Kino Media - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:47:08  1:47:17.430 1:47:29.651
Video 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 8.24 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s  

1080P / 23.976 fps Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 17,946,869,315 bytes

Feature: 15,556,706,304 bytes

Video Bitrate: 15.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 36,935,729,789 bytes

Feature: 33,691,557,888 bytes

Video Bitrate: 37.92 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

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

Bitrate:

Bitrate Koch:  Blu-ray

Bitrate Kino:  Blu-ray

Audio English (Dolby Digital 2.0)  DTS-HD Master Audio German 1039 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1039 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1081 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1081 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit)

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1554 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1554 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps

Subtitles English (SDH), French, Spanish, None German, English, None English, None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: Universal

Aspect Ratio:
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1

Edition Details:

• Lonely are the Brave - a Tribute (19:12)
• The Music of Lonely are the Brave (9:45)

DVD Release Date: July 7th, 2009

Keep Case
Chapters: 18

Release Information:
Studio: Koch
Media

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
 

1080P / 23.976 fps Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 17,946,869,315 bytes

Feature: 15,556,706,304 bytes

Video Bitrate: 15.99

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:
• 
Ein Tribute Den Film (19:13)

• Die Muzik Dum Film (9:45)

• Original US trailer (:54)

• Stills Gallery (5:45)

DVD of the Feature included.

Blu-ray Release Date:
March, 15th, 2013
Book style
Blu-ray Case

Chapters 12

Release Information:
Studio: Kino

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
 

1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 36,935,729,789 bytes

Feature: 33,691,557,888 bytes

Video Bitrate: 37.92 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:
• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger and Steve Mitchell
• A Tribute: Kirk Douglas, Gena Rawlands, Steven Spielberg and Michael Douglas Discuss the Film's Legacy (9:14 in SD)
• The Music of LONELY ARE THE BRAVE: A Look Back at the Film's Memorable Score by Jerry Goldsmith (9:46 in SD)
• Theatrical Trailer (0:54 in SD)
.

Blu-ray Release Date:
May 19th, 2020
Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 10

 

 

 

Comments:

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

 

ADDITION: Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray (May 2020): Kino breathe fresh air into a masterpiece with a, much deserved, dual-layered transfer with over double the bitrate of the Koch Blu-ray of seven years ago. Finally! The improvement is glaringly obvious with a darker image with richer black levels and more layered contrast. It looks magnificent in this 1080P. Grain is apparent and it looks pristine in-motion.

 

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel mono track (16-bit) in the original English language. There is a great simple western-ish score by the iconic Jerry Goldsmith (The Ballad of Cable Hogue, Breakout, The Salamander, The Mephisto Waltz, Seconds, Hoosiers, The Blue Max, Breakheart Pass, The Omen) and some may also note Stephen Foster's Oh! Susanna played during the film. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

 

The Kino Blu-ray include a new audio commentary by two of my favorites; film historians Howard S. Berger and Steve Mitchell who extol the film in many ways emboldening my own appreciation. They discuss 'the end of the west' westerns of the same timeframe, the theme of 'being free', Bill Raisch (the one-armed man notable in The Fugitive TV series), the black and white 'Ansel Adams'-reflective painterly cinematography of the poetic and peaceful environment and much more including the cast; Gena Rowlands, Walter Matthau, Carroll O'Connor, George Kennedy etc. It's filled with extraneous details and I found it very rewarding to indulge. There I also the previously published 10-minute "A Tribute: Kirk Douglas" with Gena Rowlands, Steven Spielberg and Michael Douglas discussing the film's legacy. Also included is another 10-minute featurette; The Music of LONELY ARE THE BRAVE: A Look Back at the Film's Memorable Score by Jerry Goldsmith. Lastly, is a theatrical trailer.

 

The late Kirk Douglas's favorite film. Nu'ff said. Order now - with extreme confidence.

 

***

 

ADDITION: Koch Media - Region FREE - Blu-ray (March 2013): Although less than double the bitrate of the 2009 Universal DVD - the image shows visible improvement mostly in the contrast. It's brighter, more detailed and shows a shade more information in the frame. It may not be overwhelmingly better - but I can see the 1080P visuals supply a better presentation. My only qualms are I saw some waxiness in the first 20-minutes that seemed to disappear as the film progressed and the vista shots of the last 45-minutes look highly impressive in the 2.35:1 HD rendering.

 

It is lossless sound - DTS-Master HD in original 2.0 channel stereo and offered in both English or a German DUB. There are maybe 3 or 4 moments of substantial depth. Goldsmith's excellent score benefits from the uncompressed transfer. There are both optional German and English subtitles and the Blu-ray is Region FREE which should please many fans of the western.

 

Supplements include both interesting video extras as found on the DVD (only with German subtitles), a stills gallery and a trailer. The unique Book style package contains a dual-layered PAL DVD of the feature with the same extras as the Blu-ray.

 

While I wish this transfer was more robust - I was so pleased to see this film (that I adore) again... but in the higher resolution. It took such a long time for Universal to put out the DVD I don't foresee a Blu-ray from them soon - this Koch Media disc is highly recommended!  

***

ON THE DVD: Pretty darn solid SD transfer from Universal - above-average actually. The dual-layered, progressive and anamorphic transfer exhibits good contrast and grayscale. It's tight with minimal noise and very clean. This is part of the 'Universal Backlot Series' - described as 'an ongoing collection of rare gems, overlooked, ground breaking work and films of historical and cultural importance - many for the first time ever on DVD' (although this has had both French and Spanish PAL DVD editions previously released.) Besides a very small touch of sepia or green infiltration I have no complaints with this image - I can't imagine Lonely are the Brave looking much better in this format.

Audio is an unremarkable 2.0 channel but very clean and I expect this also has had some beneficial work with no untoward pops or hiss noted. Dialogue is crystal clear and the score sounds resonant and uplifting. There are optional subtitles in English (SDH), French or Spanish.

Supplements include 2 new featurettes. Lonely are the Brave - a Tribute runs 20-minutes and has Kirk Douglas, his son Michael and director Steven Spielberg giving interesting input on Trumbo and how it is both Douglas' favorite of the father's films. The Music of Lonely are the Brave runs just shy of 10-minutes and is, more or less, a nice tribute to Jerry Goldsmith hosted by Robert Townson.

Beyond a great western - this is a masterpiece film. It's so wonderful to find these classics that strike such a strong cord of humanity and individualistic spirit. As far as I am concerned this is a steal at less than $15 and is a must-own DVD. Caught at the exact right time - Kirk Douglas is perfect in this. I'm excited to see more from the 'Universal Backlot Series'. Lonely are the Brave has our highest recommendation.    

Gary W. Tooze

 


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Koch Media - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 

 

Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

 


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Subtitle Sample

 

1) Universal - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Koch Media - Region FREE - Blu-ray MIDDLE

3) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

Screen Captures

 

1) Universal - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Koch Media - Region FREE - Blu-ray MIDDLE

3) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Universal - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Koch Media - Region FREE - Blu-ray MIDDLE

3) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Universal - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Koch Media - Region FREE - Blu-ray MIDDLE

3) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Universal - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Koch Media - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Universal - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Koch Media - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Universal - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Koch Media - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Universal - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Koch Media - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Universal - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Koch Media - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Universal - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Koch Media - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

More Blu-ray Captures


Box Covers

Distribution Universal Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC Koch Media - Region FREE - Blu-ray Kino Media - Region 'A' - Blu-ray




 

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