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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (May 2021): Kino have transferred Budd Boetticher's Horizons West to Blu-ray. This was a Technicolor western and the source seems not without a couple of issues. There is some misalignment and bleeding of the colors (see samples below - generally around the 1-hour 6-minute mark) but the overall image is reasonably pleasing with the depth and richness of the colors looking impressive for most of the film. It is not overly tight but there is depth and, frankly, it looked fine on my system in-motion shot by western-genre director of photography Charles P. Boyle (The Cimarron Kid.)

NOTE: We have added 52 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE.

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD dual-mono track (16-bit) in the original English language. It handles the typical western effects (guns and horses) easily and sports an uncredited score by Henry Mancini (Days of Wine and Roses, Oklahoma Crude, Wait Until Dark, Operation Petticoat, Me, Natalie, Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation, Experiment in Terror, Charade) and Herman Stein (Six Bridges to Cross, Son of Ali Baba, Man in the Shadow, Female on the Beach, This Island Earth, It Came From Outer Space, War Arrow, Tarantula, There's Always Tomorrow, The Incredible Shrinking Man) augmenting the tension. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Toby Roan (author of A Million Feet Of Film: The Making Of One-Eyed Jacks.) He covers plenty to do with the production, the major and minor players, and a lot of fascinating details on Oscar 'Budd' Boetticher. It's at a relaxing pace and he fills the space with knowledge, anecdotes and reading some reviews. We know what to expect from Toby and he doesn't disappoint. There is also a trailer for the film and other western trailers.  

Well, I'm a big fan of these older westerns and, essentially; "you had me at Robert Ryan". Interesting to see a young Rock Hudson, baddie Raymond Burr, James Arness, Dennis Weaver (in his first feature) and always beautiful Julie Adams. Horizons West has the keen story-telling of Budd Boetticher and desirable Ryan as the 'bad brother' cursed with too much ambition. There may be a Shakespearian angle in there somewhere. The Kino Blu-ray is a notable step up from SD, has the valuable commentary and is an easy recommendation to those who appreciate this genre. This is another of many westerns that I could throw on at any time.

Gary Tooze