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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (June 2021): Imprint films and Arrow Video have both released similar and quite exhaustive Blu-ray packages of Sam Peckinpah's Major Dundee, with 4K scans of the 2005 extended cut of the film, as well as the original abbreviated version. The film was the result of a brutal back-and-forth between Peckinpah and the studio, with the 1965 oater sadly being the victim to many cuts (not to mention Peckinpah being locked out of the editing process) and an unfortunately discordant and distracting soundtrack. The Imprint and Arrow Video releases thankfully include both this original theatrical cut, as well as the, 14-minuite longer, extended cut. While neither version is probably anywhere near what Peckinpah envisioned, western and Peckinpah fans will find a lot to love here, even if the picture as a whole is quite uneven. Imprint and Arrow both delegate each cut to their own dual-layered Blu-ray disc, a welcome choice given the added disc space for both the film and its extras. For the sake of brevity we will compare the two extended edition cuts here as the theatrical cuts (2K scanned, according to the Arrow release, though I could not spot any difference) seem to feature the same transfers, albeit in shortened form and with that old soundtrack). Imprint's extended cut features a high bitrate (averaging in the low 30000 kbps) whereas Arrow Video's release features a lower, moderate bitrate. Imprint also gives the extended cut around 40 GB of the Blu-ray's allotted 50GB, whereas Arrow's film takes up only 32.8GB. This is all rather moot, given that the two presentations are very similar, with the Imprint exhibiting slightly rosier complexions, and a tad darker image. In motion, both Blu-rays feature the same amount of detail, with the only peculiarities and grain/texture change-ups occurring due to the film's, or shall I say producer’s, stylistic choices.

NOTE: There was also a, now, out-of-print Twilight Time Blu-ray of Peckinpah's Major Dundee HERE.

NOTE: We have added 20 more large resolution Arrow Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

As mentioned above, the film's original release was a contentious one, with Peckinpah basically being taken out of the post-production, and the resulting presentation being a Frankenstein's monster. One of the unfortunate consequences of this was the 1965 original soundtrack. The Columbia Tri-Star 2005 SD DVD featured a sorely-needed new soundtrack by Christopher Caliendo, which is also included here on both the Imprint and Arrow releases (extended cut). The original accompanying track appears on the 'Theatrical Cut's of the film. Imprint's release also includes the option of watching the film with an isolated re-score by Christopher Caliendo (City Girl, The Iron Horse, The Undying, Lucky Star) in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo (for the 'Extended Cut') or Daniele Amfitheatrof's (The Last Hunt, I'll Be Seeing You, Edge of Eternity, The Lost Moment, The Desperate Hours, Human Desire, Letter From An Unknown Woman, An Act of Murder) score in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo (for the 'Theatrical Cut'). Arrow's original score is in 24-bit DTS-HD Master Audio, and sounds very similar to Imprint's 16-bit DTS-HD Master audio track. Arrow's extended cut has either 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio (in 24-bit surround) or 24-bit linear PCM 1.0 mono, whereas Imprint gives the film only the DTS-HD 5.1 option. Much like the picture quality, both releases paint the film in the best light possible, with the only caveat being the film's choppy quality. For all the bombastic moments, there are suspiciously silent moments, this is aided by the extended version's Caliendo score. There are optional English SDH subtitles on both - and both packages contain two Region 'Free' Blu-rays.

Since both the Imprint and Arrow Blu-ray releases share a lot of extras, let's start with those. Like the older 2005 SD DVD release, both newer Blu-ray packages carry the commentary with Peckinpah scholars Nick Redman, David Weddle, Garner Simmons, and Paul Seydor. Both releases also include a new (2020) audio commentary with film historians Glenn Erickson and Alan Rode for the film's 'Extended Cut'. Erickson details why Major Dundee is such a special film for himself, calling the picture a 'broken masterpiece' and discussing the many production troubles. Erickson is joined by fellow critic, Alan K. Rode, author of 'Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film' and 'Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy'. This commentary benefits from both of the critics' passion for the film, and its storied production. I also appreciated the honesty at play here, with Erickson at one point even stating that there was no act of 'directorial brilliance' from Peckinpah on display here, just the idea to keep the cast and crew in constant fear (both for their lives and of being humiliated by him). Now, the Arrow Blu-ray has included yet another commentary (this time featuring Erickson solo) and this would be my preferred track to the uninitiated, as Erickson gets into the nitty-gritty details of the film's missing scenes and fills in a lot of gaps, almost acting as a guide through the film's wasteland of scrapped footage and missing through lines (Erickson acting as a sort of Virgil to Peckinpah’s inferno). Those that are in-the-know may feel that some of this information is redundant, but I was glued to the screen, thanks in part to Erickson's enthusiasm. Imprint's Blu-ray of Major Dundee has opted to include both score's as isolated audio tracks, in lieu of the solo Erickson commentary. Both releases include 'Passion & Poetry: The Dundee Odyssey', a 75-minute feature length documentary about the making of Major Dundee by Mike Siegel, featuring James Coburn, Senta Berger, Mario Adorf, L.Q. Jones, R.G. Armstrong, Gordon Dawson. Both Imprint and Arrow also include 'Passion & Poetry: Peckinpah Anecdotes', a 25-minute piece with nine actors talking about working with legendary director Sam Peckinpah, (Kris Kristofferson, Ernest Borgnine, James Coburn, David Warner, Ali MacGraw, L.Q. Jones, Bo Hopkins, R.G. Armstrong, and Isela Vega). 'Mike Siegel: About the Passion & Poetry Project' also appears in both sets. This is a 43-minute piece with filmmaker Mike Siegel talking about his beginnings and his ongoing historical project about director Sam Peckinpah. Extended deleted scenes/outtakes with commentary by Glenn Erickson also make an appearance here, as do trailers for Major Dundee and the “Riding for a Fall” vintage featurette that also appeared on the DVD. Imprint includes a minute of footage from an exhibitor's promo reel. Arrow's release features extensive stills galleries, broken down into the categories; 'Major Dundee on the Set', 'Major Dundee Colour Stills', 'Major Dundee Portrait Stills', and 'Promoting Major Dundee' which features posters and lobby cards from many countries around the world. Arrow's Blu-ray release also includes a 60-page booklet featuring new writing by Farran Nehme, Roderick Heath and Jeremy Carr plus select archive material, limited edition packaging and a fold-out poster. Imprint's packaging involves a limited edition hard box edition with unique artwork on the first 1500 Blu-ray copies.

Arrow Video and Imprint's beautiful Blu-ray releases of Major Dundee should surely please fans. The extended version of the film is from a 4K scan on both sets (Arrow mentions that the 2nd disc 'Theatrical Cut' is from a 2K scan, but I could hardly notice a difference). From the extensive extras (deleted scenes, commentaries galore, etc) one can learn to appreciate the absolute madness that went into this film's creation. Certainly not for everyone, tonally inconsistent, yet in my mind, a must-see for Peckinpah fans. These Blu-ray editions are stacked and totally complete.

Colin Zavitz