Man With The Gun Blu-ray - Robert Mitchum

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

(aka 'Deadly Peacemaker' or 'The Trouble Shooter')

Directed by Richard Wilson
USA 1955

A striking, compact first feature from esteemed screenwriter Wilson. Mitchum is the taciturn 'town-tamer', whose extreme methods of law enforcement are available for hire when local marshals have run out of options. Arriving in a frontier community to look up old-flame Sterling, he finds himself engaged in lethally dismantling the influence of the area's Mr Big. His ruthless efficiency has the townsfolk appalled, but Mitchum, scarred by childhood memories which saw his unarmed father gunned down, channels his inner demons into the task at hand. It's among his finest performances, but by no means a one-man show, given Wilson's deft placement of wry humour amid the carnage, and North's fine score expressing the sense of an open-air America ill at ease with itself. Forget the unofficial Michael Winner remake Lawman.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: November 5th, 1955

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Comparison:

MGM - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

1) MGM- Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - RIGHT

Box Covers
Distribution	MGM Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC	Kino Lorber Region 'A' - Blu-ray
May 12th, 2008 sees multiple Westerns coming to DVD, including:	The Big Trail (Raoul Walsh, 1930) 20th Century Fox, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid [Blu-ray] (George Roy Hill,1969) 20th Century Fox, Day of the Outlaw (André De Toth, 1959) - United Artists, Fistful of Dynamite (Sergio Leone, 1971) - United Artists, Fox Classic Western Collection (Rawhide / The Gunfighter / Garden of Evil) - 20th Century Fox, The Gunfight at Dodge City (Joseph M. Newman, 1959) - United Artists, John Wayne: The Fox Westerns Collection (The Big Trail, North to Alaska, The Comancheros, The Undefeated) - 20th Century Fox, Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958) MGM, Man with the Gun (Richard Wilson, 1955) United Artists, Navajo Joe (Sergio Corbucci, 1966) MGM, The Way West (Andrew V. McLaglen, 1967) MGM and The Westerner (William Wyler, 1940) MGM
Runtime	1:24:12	1:24:24.642
Video	1.33:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.89 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.85:1 Disc Size: 21,736,299,222 bytes Feature Size: 20,282,032,128 bytes Total Bitrate: 28.76 Mbps Single-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	English (mono), DUBs: French and Spanish (mono)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1602 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1602 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles	English, Spanish, None	None
Features	Release Information: Studio: MGM Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details: • none DVD Release Date: May 13th, 2008 Keep Case Chapters: 20	Release Information: Studio: Kino Lorber 1.85:1 Disc Size: 21,736,299,222 bytes Feature Size: 20,282,032,128 bytes Total Bitrate: 28.76 Mbps Single-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC Edition Details: • Trailers - Man With the Gun (2:24), The Wonderful Country (2:57), Young Billy Young (2:16) Blu-ray Release Date: September 29th, 2015 Standard Blu-ray case Chapters: 8

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray September 15': Obviously, the biggest difference is that the Blu-ray is the widescreen version of the film - which, for 1955, seems quite probable. I suppose the open-matte version may have been used for theatres in transition. The 1080P looks solid - still a few light scratches but far in advance of the SD in terms of contrast, detail and texture support. You can see for yourself in the captures below.

The DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel at 1536 kbps does a competent job of exporting the film's gunfire and horses. Another great score by Alex North (Under the Volcano, Viva Zapata, Spartacus, Man With the Gun, A Streetcar Named Desire and more) sounding crisp and clean. The lossless audio also sounds like a notable improvement. There are no subtitles offered and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.

Only trailers (this film and two other westerns) and no other supplements.

In case you haven't seen this 1971 Robert Mitchum interview with Dick Cavett (7 parts!) - it clearly identifies our lead as the coolest guy ever. This is a simple, straight-forward, and wonderful western. I like Mitchum a lot (Henry Hull too! - we also get Claude Akins and a glimpse of a preening Angie Dickinson, big-eyed Jan Sterling!) and this role is perfect for him - a 'town tamer' - faithfully following the creed/machismo of the men of the west. Fabulous addition to the genre and presently 48% OFF Pre-order!. I really enjoyed it and have already watched it half-a-dozen times in the past few years. Absolutely recommended!

***

ON THE DVD: The MGM DVD is how we suspected - competent and bare-bones. Considering the age of the film, and price of the DVD, it looks pretty strong. Contrast and detail are above-average for a single-layered offering, progressive, and coded for region 1 in the NTSC standard. There are optional subtitles and mono DUBs - but there are, unfortunately, no extras.

Gary W. Tooze

Menus

1) MGM- Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - RIGHT