A Few Words About A few words about...™ Westbound (1 Viewer)

[BillyFeldman]

Has anyone else gotten the Warner Archive survey?

 

[Simon Howson]

I think anyone can do it by going to this link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?...gh2G3zsQ_3d_3d

 

[Dave B Ferris]

Yes, I received the survey in my Inbox this morning. The 'reward' for completing the survey is a code good for 10%-off on your next order (if I read the message correctly).

 

[Cees Alons]

Back to 'Westbound', please.


Cees

 

[Robin9]

Warners may have only one Budd Boetticher Western but they do have The Rise And Fall Of Legs Diamond, a second Boetticher/Karen Steele movie. This too has a cult following. A double bill DVD set of these two Boetticher movies might have been commercially viable.

 

[Richard Gallagher]

I watched the archives release of WESTBOUND last night. I was pleasantly surprised by how good it looks, considering all the bashing that I've seen in the other thread. It certainly is a significant improvement over the version which Encore Westerns aired recently.

Apart from some occasional softness in a few scenes, it looked fine to my eyes. I didn't detect any problem with artifacts, although it is possible that viewers with bigger screens (mine is 42 inches) can see things that I can't. If somebody who has complained of artifacts can point to a specific scene, I'd like to take another look and see if I'm missing something.

The real problem, as many others have pointed out, is the price. $20 plus shipping for a disc with no extras is a bit much, expecially when you consider that you can get the five other Boetticher-Scott westerns for about $9 each in the Sony box set. Still, it was nice to be able to see this in widescreen for the first time. The film boasts some excellent on-location photography which I understand was shot at the old Warner Brothers Ranch in Calabasas, California.

 

[danielmartin]

Thanks for the review. I am curious about this title but remain on the outside because a) live in Canada and b) find the price still too much for a dvd-r

I'd also like to hear confirmation from a few more experts on the resilience of this product - while not all dvd-r's breakdown after a handful of years, is there a general consensus as to how these will compare to the DVD product they had previously used to sell their classic catalogue.

 

[Tim Tucker]

I just finished watching Westbound. If this is the runt of the Scott/Boetticher litter, I can't wait to see the rest of them.

One question though. I noticed that the movie ran 69 minutes, while IMDb lists the length as 72 minutes. So has IMDb got something wrong again?

 

[Robert Crawford]

AFI has the running time listed at 71-72 minutes.






Crawdaddy

 

[sestamuch]

Something's up with that maybe?

 

[GregoryMesh]

Any news about "missing" 3 minutes? Strangely, the back cover says that the movie is 72 minutes but it's actually about 69 minutes. I wonder if imdb and AFI were wrong about running time..

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

Originally Posted by Jim_K

This would've made for a very nice addition to a future Warner Classic Western DVD set.

The Hanging Tree, Wichita, Westbound, The Devil's Doorway, Across the Wide Missouri all on pressed DVD's, a bonus feature or two, commentaries, CC and or subtitles for the hearing impaired all for under $35, that's a mere $7 a title ...........ahhh.... the good old days.

Thank you!

This is why I can't support the Archives. With next to nothing on the production slate for classic film releases this year, it strikes me as cheap and lazy. Why would the above not work? The studio might not profit as much from Westbound as releasing it individually on demand for $20 with no effort, but... I should think for such a high price tag and turnaround for Warners, the least they could do is present us a more professional looking package with proper cover art and even a short featurette or 10 min. interview like Sony does with their sets. Sheesh, even someone like Robert Osborne or any film historian or person of signifigance to introduce the film or say a few words. Better yet, a couple of shorts or cartoons would not cost anything extra or require additional effort. Anything at all to merit the ridiculously high price tag! It costs WAY less than retail DVD to produce, so we should not be paying more... Otherwise, bring the price down to reflect what we're getting which is a barebones digital transfer from existing masters. I would be satisfied!

 

[Holer]

I thought Budd classified it as the runt of the litter because it was a film in trouble that he took over from someone else and finished as a favor to Randolph Scott to help him get out of his Warners contract. I think I saw an interview somewhere where Budd basically said he was suprised the movie turned out as well as it did.

I loved all of their other westerns so much that I HAD to see Westbound and I didn't really balk at the $20 price tag - just glad to have it available. It makes a nice compliment to the other Boetticher/Scott 'Town Movies' - 'Decision at Sundown' and 'Buchanon Rides Alone'.

 

[Colin McGuigan]

Originally Posted by Holer
It makes a nice compliment to the other Boetticher/Scott 'Town Movies' - 'Decision at Sundown' and 'Buchanon Rides Alone'.

That's one of the reasons why Westbound is one of the "lesser" Boetticher movies IMO. When he was confined to studios and sets he was never as interesting - let loose in Lone Pine and the quality rose considerably. Those Boetticher films that rely heavily on indoor settings really tend to show up the budgetary constraints while the outdoors pictures disguise it effortlessly.

 

[Holer]

I do agree that Man alone on a trail of vengeance movies were superior, but I still think the Town movies have a lot of merit that make them a cut above a lot of other westerns of the time. 'Decision at Sundown' actually was yet another variation on the 'Man alone...' theme, only this time, set in a town. The fact that the 'Bad Guy' wasn't really that bad and that the woman who's virtue Randy was out to defend was less than virtuous were classic Boetticher twists and really gave meat to the story. "Buchanon Rides Alone' was considerably slighter but it did have that classic Yojimbo feel to it, and since it came out about three years before Yojimbo, it may have even served as an inspiration. You never know.

 

[Colin McGuigan]

Indeed. I don't mean his town based movies were bad, just that the outdoors ones were classier, more stylish and gave the impression of being more expensive. I think Boetticher was just in his element out in Lone Pine.
And yes, even a lesser Boetticher movie is head and shoulders above many.