Man Without a Star Blu-ray

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

(aka 'Mit stahlharter Faust')

Directed by King Vidor
USA 1955

In this deceptively titled and paced Western, Kirk Douglas shines in the hyper-macho role of Dempsey Rae, a good-natured drifter with a mysterious past up from Texas, a top hand with a gun, a horse, or a herd, who can even play the banjo and sing. He rides into a Wyoming town in a freight car, in the company of much younger drifter Jeff Jimson (William Campbell), who knows even less about the West than he does about life. Dempsey gets Jeff out of a few scrapes with the law, and both get hired by the foreman (Jay C. Flippen) of the Triangle Ranch. With 8,000 head, the Triangle is already the largest spread in the territory, but the new owner from back east, Miss Reed Bowman (Jeanne Crain), arrives with plans to move in another 22,000 head onto the open range, threatening to squeeze out the smaller ranches completely.

Excerpt from B+N located HERE

***

Singing cowboy Kirk Douglas takes over Jeanne Crain's ranch in one of the more sexually askew films of King Vidor's postwar period. A mad film, of harsh Technicolor and spatially impossible camera angles, and a fine example of the unlimited leeway afforded by the western genre.

Excerpt from Dave Kehr of the Chicago Reader located HERE

A fine, edgy Western, handsomely shot by Russell Metty and beautifully paced by Vidor. A conventional range war plot is lent some of the sweaty unpredictability of Duel in the Sun by the love-hate relationship between Douglas, as the cowboy with a pathological hatred of barbed wire, and Crain as the cattle baroness whose cause he eventually abandons in defence of individual liberties. Fine performances, not least from Claire Trevor as the good-hearted saloon girl, and Boone as the villainous gunslinger. (From a novel by Dee Linford.)

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: March 24th, 1955

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Süddeutsche Zeitung - Region 2 - PAL vs. Explosive Media - Region FREE - Blu-ray vs. Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray vs. Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Covers
				BONUS CAPTURES:
Distribution	Süddeutsche Zeitung - Region 2 - PAL	Explosive Media Region FREE - Blu-ray	Kino Region 'A' - Blu-ray	Masters of Cinema Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:25:27 (4% PAL Speedup)	1:29:08.885	1:29:25.193	1:29:10.845
Video	2.0:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.30 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	Aspect Ratio: 2.0:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 23,679,620,984 bytes Feature: 19,884,011,520 bytes Video Bitrate: 24.89 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video	Aspect Ratio: 2.0:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 22,730,141,314 bytes Feature: 20,268,417,024 bytes Video Bitrate: 26.83 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video	Aspect Ratio: 2.0:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 34,902,512,220 bytes Feature: 28,413,259,584 bytes Video Bitrate: 35.87 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 (German)Blu-ray
Bitrate Kino Blu-ray
Bitrate Masters of Cinema Blu-ray
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0)	LPCM Audio German 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 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	LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit Commentary: LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	None	None	English, None	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Süddeutsche Zeitung Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 2.00:1 Edition Details: • none DVD Release Date: October 14th, 2011 Custom Case Chapters: 12	Release Information: Studio: Explosive Media Aspect Ratio: 2.0:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 23,679,620,984 bytes Feature: 19,884,011,520 bytes Video Bitrate: 24.89 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Trailer (1:41) • Gallery (5:00) • Weitere Western (15:48 of trailers) Blu-ray Release Date: March 7th, 2014 Standard Blu-ray case inside cardboard case Chapters 12	Release Information: Studio: Kino Aspect Ratio: 2.0:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 22,730,141,314 bytes Feature: 20,268,417,024 bytes Video Bitrate: 26.83 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by Film Historian Toby Roan • Theatrical Trailer (0:59) Blu-ray Release Date: August 27th, 2019 Standard Blu-ray case Chapters 9	Release Information: Studio: Masters of Cinema Aspect Ratio: 2.0:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 34,902,512,220 bytes Feature: 28,413,259,584 bytes Video Bitrate: 35.87 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Brand new audio commentary with writers Barry Forshaw and Kim Newman • Brand new interview with film scholar Neil Sinyard (18:04) • Trailer (0:59) PLUS: A collector’s booklet featuring a new essay on the film by film writer Rich Johnson, and a new piece by critic Richard Combs about the Western films of King Vidor Blu-ray Release Date: August 22nd, 2022 Transparent Blu-ray case Chapters 9

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (August 2022): Masters of Cinema have also transferred King Vidor's Man Without a Star. There isn't a lot to choose from between the Kino and Masters of Cinema 1080Ps although the UK transfer is on a dual-layered disc with a notably higher bitrate. It plays smoother in-motion and may have slightly cooler skin tones. It is the superior rendering of all digital editions.

NOTE: We have added 32 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Masters of Cinema use a linear PCM dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. It supports the western effects (horses, guns etc.) and score credited to Hans J. Salter (The Killer that Stalked New York, The Strange Door, Cover Up, Man Without a Star, Scarlet Street, The Land Unknown, The War Lord, The Mole People, The Strange Case of Doctor Rx) and Herman Stein (This Island Earth, Female on the Beach, The Land Unknown, It Came From Outer Space, War Arrow, Tarantula, There's Always Tomorrow, The Incredible Shrinking Man). It includes Man Without A Star sung by Frankie Laine in the opening. Masters of Cinema offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Masters of Cinema Blu-ray offer a new audio commentary with writers Barry Forshaw (author the BFI Film Classics' The War of the Worlds book) and Kim Newman (author of Anno Dracula 1999: Daikaiju). They discuss the anti-capitalist sentiment in the Dee Linford book, the brief appearances of Mara Corday - and details of her roles - in science-fiction films Tarantula, The Giant Claw and others. They mention Sheb Wooley nasty Latigo character (he was the actor who recorded a series of novelty songs including the 1958 "The Purple People Eater") and how Vidor did not think much of the film - as mentioned by Douglas in his biography (The Ragman's Son.) The talk about the theme of "the farmer vs. the cattlemen" and much more. They always tend to bounce around finding similarities in other westerns of genre films, but are never short of facts and analysis and are always entertaining. We also get an 18-minute new interview with film scholar Neil Sinyard who talks about the short production time and this changing period for the western genre with many examples plus the strong personalities involved in Man Without a Star; Douglas, Vidor and writer Borden Chase. He identifies the conflict with Douglas's Dempsey Rae as being barbed wire and Vidor being dismissive of the film. Lastly is a trailer and the package has a collector’s booklet featuring a new essay on the film by film writer Rich Johnson, and a new piece by critic Richard Combs about the Western films of King Vidor.

King Vidor's Man Without a Star remains a very enjoyable western - pretty much all Kirk - the noble hero with a past and a temper - with the Chase and Beauchamp dialogue accentuating the moods. Jeanne Crain's Reed Bowman is highly desirable, aggressive and corrupt - a kind of western femme-fatale. Dempsey Rae (Douglas) finds that there is no clear moral side to the conflict that Bowman as selfishly promoted. Even Jeff Jimson (William Campbell) who Douglas has taken under his wing, as his protégé, has turned on him. The Masters of Cinema Blu-ray of Man Without a Star is easily the best for the film and is strongly recommended to western fans.

***

ADDITION: Kino - Region 'A' Blu-ray - August 2019 - Kino have transferred King Vidor's Man Without a Star to Blu-ray. It appears to be from the same source as the German Explosive Media 1080P and looks almost exactly the same, also on a single-layered disc with a supportive bitrate. The edge-enhancement is also apparent and could be more a function of the source. Colors support the European BD's palette. This looked quite decent on my system - always good to see Russell Metty's cinematography (Spartacus, The Omega Man, Touch of Evil) in HD.

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (16-bit) in the original English language. I's clean and occasionally, authentically. hollow. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

Aside from a very rough looking, and short, trailer for the film (and other westerns) there is an audio commentary by Film Historian Toby Roan (author of A Million Feet Of Film: The Making Of One-Eyed Jacks) he talks about all the stars including Jeanne Crain, Claire Trevor, William Campbell, Mara Corday, Sheb Wooley (giant hit record with his own song "The Purple People Eater"), Myrna Hansen (Miss USA 1953) and, of course Kirk Douglas. He also discusses director King Vidor, producer Aaron Rosenberg and many others. He has some interesting facts to impart and it helps with appreciation of the production.

It's a western I am very happy to own on Blu-ray. An easy recommendation to fans of Kirk or the genre.

***

ADDITION: Explosive Media - Region FREE Blu-ray - March 2014 - Colors certainly brighten and skin tones really warm-up. Unfortunately, there are varying degrees of edge-enhancement - that seems more noticeable in the outdoor sequences. I was pleased to see the exuberance of the Technicolor as compared to the SD. Flesh tones seem overly warm at times and I don't like to see the EE (see HERE). It's a shade waxy - not enough grain. This is in theatrical running time (no speed-up). I'd say about 90% of the presentation looks dramatically improved. The source is clean without scratches or egregious speckles. It's single-layered and 1080P. Bare-bones - no extras or subtitles - we get the audio option of German or original English in linear PCM. the Hans J. Salter and Herman Stein score services the film well.

It's a big upgrade from the flatter SD, despite the digital faux-pas. The price is great!

***

ON THE DVD: Very solid western from Vidor with restless cowboy Dempsey (Douglas) caught up in an open pastureland dispute with unsavory 'barbed-wire' as a potential solution - thus another era reaches closure. Crain is her usual comely self and Richard Boone is stern-faced opposition. Excellent!

The single-layered German DVD looks a shade flat - anamorphic hovering around 2.0:1 - and is progressive with solid detail. I'm sure the SD isn't bringing out the Technicolor to its most vibrant hues but they don't look especially drab here either. This provides an excellent presentation. Audio is unremarkable but close, I'll wager, to the way it was produced. Defaults to an untested Deutsche DUB (but no subtitles) - the original English track provided services the film adequately. There is also a French DVD version but I don't know about the quality.

No extras in the bare bones disc but the package is an impressive 4-teired digipak with color photos and some words on Vidor (German language). Man Without a Star is a very above-average western - one I know I will revisit. Cheers to the reasonably-priced DVD.

Gary W. Tooze

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Süddeutsche Zeitung - Region 2 - PAL LEFT vs. Explosive Media - Region FREE - Blu-ray RIGHT