Blu-ray Review A Few Words About A few words about…™ The Horse Soldiers – in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Vern Dias]

Is that a good or a bad thing? Asking for a friend.

The standard frame rate for film on broadcast / video media is 23.976 FPS. Almost every Blu ray uses the standard. This is the second Kino release I have seen using 24 FPS (the first was "Flower Drum Song").

Note that the theatrical standard for DCP is 24 FPS, which makes me think that Kino is sourcing some of their releases from DCP masters rather than broadcast / video masters.

This may not be an obvious issue for someone who is using a 60 Hz (actually 59.940) Hz display, since the frame rate is already being converted.

However, it will show up as periodic frame drops (stutters) for those using, for example, a PC set to 23Hz.

Some PC software such as MadVR can be configured to modify the video settings frame rate to match the source frame rate.

For someone who may see the stutters on pans or other motion, this is just a heads up to identify the cause.

 

[PatrickDA]

Based on those screen caps, looks like I might have to track down that MGM release.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Here we go again!

 

[JoeBond]

Here we go again!

I’m with you Robert. Getting the Kino version for my birthday and will reserve judgment once I see the bad boy in motion. I was told I could open it Friday which is a little early haha. I’ve always had a soft spot for this one! Caps can be useful but they don’t always tell the whole story. I’ll like what I’m seeing from them though.

 

[Flashgear]

I have the new KL Blu of The Horse Soldiers (and the older MGM Blu), and at first blush, the new transfer is to my eye brighter and more vibrant in all respects with improved (somewhat diminished) film grain, especially noted in the blue skies of some scenes. Before I received the new KL Blu, I re-watched my MGM Blu and discovered that it wasn't as problematic as I had remembered it being the last time I watched it or when the disc came out in 2011. The new KL Blu is presented in 1.85 A/R, the older MGM at 1.66.

I listened to the new commentary on the KL release by Joseph McBride (a notable John Ford scholar), and found it to be valuable with detail new to me and a worthwhile analysis and history of the film's production. Good job, KL!

 

[JoeBond]

I have the new KL Blu of The Horse Soldiers (and the older MGM Blu), and at first blush, the new transfer is to my eye brighter and more vibrant in all respects with improved (somewhat diminished) film grain, especially noted in the blue skies of some scenes. Before I received the new KL Blu, I re-watched my MGM Blu and discovered that it wasn't as problematic as I had remembered it being the last time I watched it or when the disc came out in 2011. The new KL Blu is presented in 1.85 A/R, the older MGM at 1.66.

I listened to the new commentary on the KL release by Joseph McBride (a notable John Ford scholar), and found it to be valuable with detail new to me and a worthwhile analysis and history of the film's production. Good job, KL!

Nice. I’m excited about this. Appreciate you’re feedback.

 

[Randy Korstick]

I have the new KL Blu of The Horse Soldiers (and the older MGM Blu), and at first blush, the new transfer is to my eye brighter and more vibrant in all respects with improved (somewhat diminished) film grain, especially noted in the blue skies of some scenes. Before I received the new KL Blu, I re-watched my MGM Blu and discovered that it wasn't as problematic as I had remembered it being the last time I watched it or when the disc came out in 2011. The new KL Blu is presented in 1.85 A/R, the older MGM at 1.66.

I listened to the new commentary on the KL release by Joseph McBride (a notable John Ford scholar), and found it to be valuable with detail new to me and a worthwhile analysis and history of the film's production. Good job, KL!

Good that they are presenting it in its correct 1.85:1 ratio.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Well, looks like that's not going to happen as I just cancelled my Kino order and preordered it from Amazon as it was $3 dollars cheaper. As a retiree, I have to be more discretionary with my discretionary monies, as higher gas prices and general inflation with other items is taking its toll on my budget. Every little bit helps in that regard.

Finally, my Amazon order for this Blu-ray arrives today almost three weeks after its release date. This will be an immediate viewing. I doubt I'll get a chance this weekend to compare the previous Blu-ray to this Kino Blu-ray. Anyhow, I'm looking forward to watching one of my favorite John Wayne movies again in 1080p with 1.85 ratio.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I have the new KL Blu of The Horse Soldiers (and the older MGM Blu), and at first blush, the new transfer is to my eye brighter and more vibrant in all respects with improved (somewhat diminished) film grain, especially noted in the blue skies of some scenes. Before I received the new KL Blu, I re-watched my MGM Blu and discovered that it wasn't as problematic as I had remembered it being the last time I watched it or when the disc came out in 2011. The new KL Blu is presented in 1.85 A/R, the older MGM at 1.66.

I listened to the new commentary on the KL release by Joseph McBride (a notable John Ford scholar), and found it to be valuable with detail new to me and a worthwhile analysis and history of the film's production. Good job, KL!

I pretty much concur with your comments. Yesterday, I watched the Kino Blu-ray twice in its entirety as I wanted to listen to Joseph McBride's commentary. I immediately noticed the picture being brighter with more vibrant colors. My last complete viewing of the 2011 Blu-ray was about a year ago and I found it lacking video-wise. This Kino Blu-ray has enough of an improvement that I took notice of, and I did some sampling between the two discs which confirmed my initial opinion that the Kino Blu-ray looked better on my 65" OLED. Furthermore, the McBride audio commentary is very good as I learned quite a few things about the movie that I never knew beforehand. It's a very informative commentary. One thing I do disagree with McBride about is Judson Pratt's performance as Sergeant Major Kirby. He didn't think much of the actor's performance nor the role of Kirby. I thought Pratt/Kirby was great in this movie. A lot of Ford/Wayne scholars dismissed "The Horse Soldiers" as a mediocre film, but it's always been one of my favorite Ford/Wayne movies since I first watched it on TV back in the mid-1960's. I just found it an engaging film as I was a Civil War buff growing up and knew the movie was based on a real Union military operation that took place during the Civil War. Some of you might find the below links interesting about the real raid and the man, Colonel Grierson that led the raid. Wayne's character Marlowe was based on him. Bob Gunton played Grierson in the 1997 TV movie "Buffalo Soldiers" starring Danny Glover. Grierson was an interesting man.

Grierson's Raid - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Benjamin Grierson - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[sbjork]

I pretty much concur with your comments. Yesterday, I watched the Kino Blu-ray twice in its entirety as I wanted to listen to Joseph McBride's commentary. I immediately noticed the picture being brighter with more vibrant colors. My last complete viewing of the 2011 Blu-ray was about a year ago and I found it lacking video-wise. This Kino Blu-ray has enough of an improvement that I took notice of, and I did some sampling between the two discs which confirmed my initial opinion that the Kino Blu-ray looked better on my 65" OLED. Furthermore, the McBride audio commentary is very good as I learned quite a few things about the movie that I never knew beforehand. It's a very informative commentary. One thing I do disagree with McBride about is Judson Pratt's performance as Sergeant Major Kirby. He didn't think much of the actor's performance nor the role of Kirby. I thought Pratt/Kirby was great in this movie. A lot of Ford/Wayne scholars dismissed "The Horse Soldiers" as a mediocre film, but it's always been one of my favorite Ford/Wayne movies since I first watched it on TV back in the mid-1960's. I just found it an engaging film as I was a Civil War buff growing up and knew the movie was based on a real Union military operation that took place during the Civil War. Some of you might find the below links interesting about the real raid and the man, Colonel Grierson that led the raid. Wayne's character Marlowe was based on him. Bob Gunton played Grierson in the 1997 TV movie "Buffalo Soldiers" starring Danny Glover. Grierson was an interesting man.

Grierson's Raid - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Benjamin Grierson - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

McBride can be a pretty negative commenter sometimes. He's a little too concerned about ranking things against each other, rather than judging things on their own merits. In the commentary track for The Fortune Cookie, he spends way too much time calling it "lesser" Wilder. He does some of the same thing on his commentary for The Horse Soldiers, but fortunately not to the same degree. I thought that he did a better job overall this time of balancing the strengths with the weaknesses, though I still agree with you that not all of his criticisms were on point.

 

[Robert Harris]

McBride can be a pretty negative commenter sometimes. He's a little too concerned about ranking things against each other, rather than judging things on their own merits. In the commentary track for The Fortune Cookie, he spends way too much time calling it "lesser" Wilder. He does some of the same thing on his commentary for The Horse Soldiers, but fortunately not to the same degree. I thought that he did a better job overall this time of balancing the strengths with the weaknesses, though I still agree with you that not all of his criticisms were on point.

Hell of a biographer.

 

[sbjork]

Hell of a biographer.

He is that.