Does Anyone Love MGM's Western Legends Series (1 Viewer)

[Dave Scarpa]

I love these disks put out by MGM. I find myself always grabbing a few when I'm in my Local B&M. The Latest of Which was Duel at Diablo and THE Big Country (I needed a Gregory Peck Fix) these disks are great in as I can always grab them around $9.99. I always liked Westerns By my Appreciation of Classic Westerns Have Grown. My Only complaints would be the incosistant nature of these disks. Many get anamorphic treatments but many do not. They are barebones but that does'nt bother me because of the price point. MGM seems to never anamorphically encode 1.66 ratio disks. So who else likes these and can recommend some standouts...

 

[AlanBrom]

I hope that they add some "Spaghetti" westerns to the line in the future, such as the SABATA trilogy, NAVAJO JOE and DUCK YOU SUCKER.

 

[John Madia]

"The Magnificient Seven" would be the best overall of the MGM Western Legends series. It has a good transfer, good supplements, cheap price and most important of all contains a great film. What I don't like about MGM's westerns is the spotty track record of their disks. I really wanted "The Big Country" but read that it's a horrible transfer and the aspect ratio is off. Plus none of the great supplements from the laser.

I would caution against impulse buys not only because of the spotty track record but because many can be found in a two pack for only $5 more. I picked up "The Alamo" and "Support Your Local Sherrif" for $10 each only to be found them bundled with another movie for $15 a few months later. (The Alamo comes with The Kentuckian and Support Your Local Sheriff comes with Support Your Local Gunfighter).

 

[John Hodson]

I would caution against impulse buys not only because of the spotty track record but because many can be found in a two pack for only $5 more. I picked up "The Alamo" and "Support Your Local Sherrif" for $10 each only to be found them bundled with another movie for $15 a few months later.

I've been thinking of buying The Alamo for a while; anyone care to comment on the quality of the transfer of this and The Kentuckian? I'd be grateful

BTW, Gui La Testa / Duck You Sucker / Fistful of Dynamite is coming in R2 in the UK shortly, but, despite MGM restoring the movie for theatrical rerelease, it appears to be the cut version (no sale here). There's more information on the Sergio Leone web board.

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So many films, so little time...

 

[Roger Manning]

The Alamo is not the full roadshow it is the cut version
I'm glad I did not sell my laserdisc boxset.Same with Mad Mad World what a crappy DVD that was.
MGM
Roger

 

[Joseph Bolus]

I own a couple of these:

The Magnificent Seven --- One of the best treatments MGM has afforded a catalog title outside of the Bond series, IMO.

Support Your Local Sheriff --- It's always fun watching James Garner playing Maverick. (Well, OK, he wasn't officially playing Maverick here, but it's essentially the same kind of character.) No extras, but a very nice transfer.

Quigley Down Under --- This one's a lot of fun with Tom Selleck as a master w/rifles in Australia; and Alan Rickman chewing scenery in full "Hans Gruber" mode. Decent transfer, but no extras.