A Few Words About A few words about...™ Hondo -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[AlanPaterson]

I watched the Blu-ray of 'Hondo' last night on a 50 inch Plasma. Boy, do those dupes look like dupes. The sharpness goes, as do the skin tones - and then 'bang!' we're back in decent quality.
I suppose if this is the best it can be...
Alan

 

[JParker]

I just read one of the best essays on John Wayne, written by Roger Ebert.
Here's the link:
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2012/05/john_wayne_shall_we_gather_at_.html
Excerpt:

An eager white puppy hurried into the room. Wayne snapped his fingers and the puppy ran to him. "Hey, little fella." The puppy growled and rolled over on its back. "His name's Frosty," Wayne said. "Belongs to my daughter Aissa." He played with the puppy.
"But you know," he said, "I'm very conscious that people criticize Hollywood. Yet we've created a form, the Western, that can be understood in every country. The good guys against the bad guys. No nuances. And the horse is the best vehicle of action in our medium. You take action, a scene, and scenery, and cut them together, and you never miss. Action, scene, scenery."
Frosty abandoned Wayne and began to chew on the carpet. "Hey, you, get away from there!" Wayne said. The puppy looked up inquisitively and resumed chewing. "I ought to get him some rawhide to keep him busy," Wayne said. "But when you think about the Western--ones I've made, for example. 'Stagecoach,' 'Red River,' 'The Searchers,' a picture named 'Hondo' that had a little depth to it--it's an American art form. It represents what this country is about. In 'True Grit,' for example, that scene where Rooster shoots the rat. That was a kind of reference to today's problems. Oh, not that 'True Grit' has a message or anything. But that scene was about less accommodation, and more justice.

It was his birthday last month; hence this post, which isn't new but I'd not seen before.

 

[theonemacduff]

Yeah, I read that Roger Ebert piece and I loved the way Wayne says Hondo "had a little depth to it," just tossing it off for those who remembered it was shot in 3D, and maybe indulging in (horrors) a little irony. Watched the film the other night, and yes, the dupe-y parts were really annoying (as were some chickens a little more than halfway through which appeared to be moving around with purple halos!), but it's a neat little western, considering its era, and Wayne does some terrific acting. My generation (boomers) always tended to criticize Wayne, as if he only always ever was himself on-screen, not so much acting, simply being himself, but that never was really true. Most actors have only a limited repertoire of gestures and vocal inflections. The really good ones (Streep) have ways of making us forget that because their limits are larger, wider, than most other actors. Wayne has his limits too, but in Hondo I like the way you can see the character thinking, the way in which Wayne builds the character from the inside.

 

[jim_falconer]

Last night I decided to watch the DVD of this film. With apologies to Bob F., I thoroughly enjoy seeing this movie in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio, as opposed to the 1.75:1 on the current bluray. Everything about the picture seems bigger in 1:33:1. I realize the it was not intended to be shown this way, but having seen both versions now, this is the only way I wish to view it in the future. Hopefully, if Paramount ever re-releases this in 3-D, they will provide both aspect ratios of the film. That would certainly satisfy all fans of this great movie.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I've never done a comparison between the two aspect ratios, but I might do so next time I'm in the mood to watch Hondo again.

 

[RolandL]

caps-a-holic has screen shot comparisons

 

[Bob Furmanek]

If the widescreen Blu-ray was created from one of the recent digital transfers for the 3-D restoration (either left or right side) then the image has been zoomed and manipulated.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

One other point to remember about HONDO: it was planned for widescreen from day one. This was not a 1.37:1 film that was shown wide after the fact.

There are comments from the Duke to Jack Warner in production memos. From our article: http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/home/hondo-3-d-release

Principal photography began in Camargo, Mexico on June 11. The picturesque landscape would provide the perfect visual setting, but the director and cinematographers had trouble adjusting to the new camera. On June 18, Jack Warner viewed three reels of dailies and was concerned about the lack of close-ups, especially in the scene where John Wayne first meets Geraldine Page. He sent a telegram to the Duke and said "Director is not moving you and Geraldine close enough to camera. Everything seems to be too far away. Must have usual over-shoulder close shots individuals and tight twos in three-dimensional pictures so we can see peoples expressions and everything else." On June 20, John Wayne replied: "Farrow has done everything but play music to get camera in for close shots. Seems our lenses are matted for 1.75 or 1.85 screen, plus fact that cameraman is over cautious for fear front office will scream eyestrain. Will show cameraman your wire. Think it will do the trick. He is really working hard but has limited us in making shots because of his fear and reluctance to do a shot that might throw background lines too wide an angle."

 

[Robert Crawford]

One other point to remember about HONDO: it was planned for widescreen from day one. This was not a 1.37:1 film that was shown wide after the fact.

There are comments from the Duke to Jack Warner in production memos. From our article: http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/home/hondo-3-d-release

No question about that as it is well documented.

 

[FoxyMulder]

Until they release a 3D edition on blu ray i'll stick to just watching an HD television showing, truly a bad decision to not release this on blu ray in 3D, it's right up there with releasing a box set of Friday the 13th films and not re-doing the third one in 3D and it always equals no sale in my book.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

The Duke's quote is a bit misleading: the lenses weren't matted, it was the view-finder.