We're sure of this? I ask because the set includes three other previously-released titles, and sometimes the studios have been known to repackage/bundle old stuff when new versions come out...
Anyway, I have my order in for both sets. Just want to make sure I get the new version of The Big Trail. Thanks.
On the same day this set is released, FOX/MGM will be releasing "The Westerner" with Gary Cooper. There has been a number of very favorable reviews of "The Gunfighter", all well deserved, but I am interested in how the two films compare, and, thought it may not be fair, which is the better of the two westerns.
The western can be broken down into several different sub-genres. The Gunfighter is an outlaw ballad. One might call it the quintessential outlaw ballad. The Westerner is harder to categorize because it is so many different things at once. Everyone knows it's a cornerstone of the genre. They're both brilliant, both indespensible, and both enjoyable in their own way. There is no better, only personal preferences. "Better" depends on which type of western fits your pistol.
The latest round of MGM / WHV / Fox releases are all westerns of very high quality.
They're totally two different type of westerns and I love them both. Both films are excellently acted, written and directed which is all you can ask for from any film. One film evolves around really one main character while the other has two main characters in it.
The Fox Western Classics box is a no-brainer. I don't own any of these yet and $13.99 is a bargain anyway.
The John Wayne set poses more problems: I already own The Comancheros and North to Alaska. But The Big Trail + The Undefeated is $26 (or $24 somewhere else) and the set being $20+ ... one really has no choice. So I need to write-off the $28 I already payed for the first two, like a subprime mortgage (given).
I wished Fox would give a discount to those not taking the P&S version of the two-disc The Big Trail set!
It isn't pan and scan. The film was shot simultaneously on 35mm and 70mm film, the 1.33:1 version is the 35mm version, it isn't a pan and scan of the 70mm version. Raoul Walsh directed both versions, but they used different cinematographers.
Interesting. I knew they were created together, but I wasn't aware of the fact that they were actually shot fully separately. (I should have added a smiley anyway.)
Problem: selling R1 stuff from Europe means higher shipment costs to most of the potential buyers. I'm looking into it, though, because I have the same to consider when trying to sell the SDVDs of which I got an HD version.
The Big Trail, as well as Fox Western Classics and The Westerner, as of yesterday, were in the Fox/MGM buy two, get one free, sale list at DeepDiscount. Like the earlier comment on the John Wayne/Big Trail collection, I had already ordered two of these titles, before the sale, paying more then the DeepDiscount net sales price.
My preorders are finally on their way to me. Of course, "The Gunfighter" will be the first viewing followed by "Rawhide", "Garden of Evil" and "The Big Trail".
I got my DVDs on Friday and 'The Gunfighter' was indeed the first title I watched (having only seen it previously on TCM). Fox did a terrific job delivering this classic in a nicely restored edition complete with some great extras for under $5. The Fox Westerns set along with the long-awaited westerns that MGM released make this week one of the best ever for fans of Westerns.
Just a quick word on the Grandeur 'The Big Trail'; yes, Wayne is a little gauche and he's far from the finished article, yes, as with many early sound films, the actors are still trying make themselves heard in the back stalls, but from the point of view of the production as a whole, it's simply breathtaking.
The cinematography and production values combine to give us a spectacular picture the likes of which wouldn't be seen again for nigh on a quarter of a century. Stunning stuff, just stunning.
John: I couldn't agree more. I just watched this the other night and found the landscapes stunning. It couldn't be more beautiful. To think it was released in 1930...so much closer to when such events actually transpired, is really something.
Some of those action sequences of the wagons crossing rivers and being lowered down the cliffs are tremendously harrowing.
About the audio. I've been recommending that people watch it with the subtitles turned on. There are many instances where you will see dialogue which I doubt you would be able to pick out otherwise--especially in the crowd/action sequences. It makes keeping up with the plot a less strenuous effort for the viewer.
Walsh didn't believe in many close-ups, did he? There are only a few instances where we get close to the principal actors in any given scene. At the very end there is a tight shot of Wayne with Marguerite Churchill which is one of the few instances in which we really get to see details of the actress' face.
In the meantime, I haven't been able to find the Fox Westerns Classic Collection (including The Gunfighter) in any of my local B&M stores...including Borders, Best Buy, Circuit City, FYE, Target, Wal-Mart, etc. I realize, of course, that I could always order it from amazon or anyone else. I'm just a little surprised that I haven't been able to find it in ANY store.
Quite so (and quite Fordian ), but what is remarkable is that Walsh is so assured with Grandeur; the framing is so, well, modern; as someone says in the doco, it's sometimes like looking at a Remington painting. And I'm looking for mattes where there are none; look in the backgrounds and mostly what you see is real - the town, the wagon train, the indian village and as you say that incredible scene where they're lowering the wagons over the cliffs.
The narrative is almost incidental as one sumptuous vista is topped by the next.
It's worth comparing a similar "lowering the wagons" (and the people) scene in THE WAY WEST. Whereas THE BIG TRAIL's scene ws apparently improvised by Walsh, the scene in THE WAY WEST is more like a ski-lift--and in closeups--with the "hearty" pioneers cheering Lola Albright on.
While you might compare it to a Remington painting, I was thinking, as I watched it, of a current-day 16:9 film--only much more beautiful than 95% of what passes for modern-day cinema. It was remarkable how successful an experiment it was. While I am curious about how the 4:3 version looks, I'm not sure I'll be taking the time--anytime soon--to give it a look.
I was, however, thinking just like you about which, if any, of the backgrounds were matte paintings. My conclusion was that there weren't any.
I haven't had time yet to visit any of the bonus features to learn more about the Grandeur process or the film-making process of The Big Trail...but I will surely be making time for those soon!
Charles: I will have to check out The Way West sometime. Haven't seen it.
I received "The Big Trail" last week along with several other titles, but haven't had time to watch any of them. After reading these comments on "The Big Trail" it has been moved to the top of my viewing list. Thanks to everyone for the posts!