What's new

The Big Country / Quigley Down Under Walmart Exclusives (1 Viewer)

Rick Thompson

Screenwriter
Joined
Jul 1, 2008
Messages
1,865
Originally Posted by John Hodson

Quote:



I concur; The Big Country has so much going for it, it's a constant puzzle that it doesn't rate at the very highest level amongst more film aficionados. The score is fantastic. I have everything crossed that this will be a top notch release, transfer wise.

I don't. It's got A great Western score, but THE great Western score is Elmer Bernstein's The Magnificent Seven.

Still, I wouldn't want to live on the difference between them!
 

benbess

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2009
Messages
5,650
Real Name
Ben
Originally Posted by Rick Thompson




Is the copper wash there, or is it b/w like the DVD?
It's not b/w.


Copper wash? I didn't notice that either, but I'm not familiar with the film. I'll try to take a look again. Could you describe a little more what you mean? Maybe my eyes were fooling me, but it looked like color with credits...
 

benbess

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2009
Messages
5,650
Real Name
Ben
Originally Posted by Rick Thompson




I don't. It's got A great Western score, but THE great Western score is Elmer Bernstein's The Magnificent Seven.


Still, I wouldn't want to live on the difference between them!
Yes~what a great score that is. And it sounds fantastic on the blu-ray! It's such a big piece of that movie...
 

benbess

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2009
Messages
5,650
Real Name
Ben
Rick: Oh, I think see what you mean now. Hmmmm. It looks more b/w than copper to me in that shot at the very start.
 

Rick Thompson

Screenwriter
Joined
Jul 1, 2008
Messages
1,865
Originally Posted by benbess

Rick: Oh, I think see what you mean now. Hmmmm. It looks more b/w than copper to me in that shot at the very start.

My copy is on the way, and I'm starting to get worried. Both VHS releases had it right, but the DVD was b/w all the way through the credits, though on the dissolves you could see traces of the copper.
 

benbess

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2009
Messages
5,650
Real Name
Ben
Parts of the credits on this one are clearly color. The title, for instance-- THE BIG COUNTRY -- is over a full color landscape.
 

Walter Kittel

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 28, 1998
Messages
9,770
Does the Laserdisc version feature the copper wash palette over the opening credits? (It has been ages since I've viewed the LD version.)


I've been meaning to reconnect my LD player and it would be interesting to compare the three versions (LD, DVD, Bd).


- Walter.
 

JoeBond

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
Messages
126
Real Name
Joseph Myers
The Blu-ray does have the copper look to the opening titles compared to the DVD which looks B&W like others have said. The audio is DTS-HD MA mono. The opening titles are a tad bit soft but the rest of the film has some great detail and finally the colors look pretty saturated. There are some speckles of print damage here and there but no where near the amount the DVD had. At the $10 price point this should be an automatic purchase for any fan of the film.
 

kagemusha98

Second Unit
Joined
Sep 12, 2009
Messages
267
Real Name
Ken Koc
Just watched THE BIG COUNTRY. It is most definitely the restored version that showed at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scince a couple of years ago. It looks gorgeous!
 

Mark-P

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2005
Messages
6,487
Location
Camas, WA
Real Name
Mark Probst
I just compared the BD with the DVD and the colors are identical. So I'm guessing the answer is no, but I don't know what the "copper wash" is supposed to look like. Most of the opening shots look sepia-tone (on both the BD and DVD) and the titles themselves are white.

Originally Posted by Rick Thompson

Is the copper wash there, or is it b/w like the DVD?
 

Paul_Scott

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2002
Messages
6,545
Very happy and relieved to find this at W-M yesterday- though I had to get the clerk to help me find just where they shelved it (which was over on a side panel by the video games ).

Put it in last night to check the transfer and ended up watching the whole thing.


This is only the second time I've seen the film. First time was last year when I got it out from the library and watched it on my computer screen. I was surprised then just how good it was- especially since I've never been a big fan of Gregory Peck, whom I've always found cold and stiff. But for this role he was perfectly cast as a stalwart hero, and his work in this film has now made me much more receptive to seeking out more of his work I haven't seen. As of the second viewing this has now become one of my favorite films of the 50's, one of my all time favorite westerns, and inching up on my favorites of all time. For a 2 hr 45 minute piece, this just flies by for the most part- thanks to one juicy conflict rolled out after another. Beautiful location work, outstanding supporting performances, and an intelligent screenplay- they just don't make 'big' movies like this anymore.

Also as I was watching it again I was also struck by how well, and frequently, silence is used. I love that! Most movies today are numbing walls of sound. If anything, the silence here just drew me further in.


As for PQ/AQ- most of the film looks spectacular save for a few dark scenes that display some odd horizontal banding which almost looks like the smearing you would see on analog videotape. Don't know how else to describe it. It shows up clearly in the scene where Peck returns to the big house after they thought he had gotten 'lost'.

Audio was adequete, but nowhere near the level of the visuals. If anything, it was a little tinny on the high end- but overall serviceable/fine.


I did have a problem accessing the extras. Although I could pull them up in the menu, I wasn't able to engage the selections. The disc would just stop and I would have to boot up from the beginning going through the whole load time. I just gave up after a few tries.

Even with those caveats, I'd still advise people to rush out and grab a copy if they can. This is all in all a spectacular, near stealth release at an unbelievable price- one of the best Bd buys you'll make all year.
 

Eric Peterson

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2001
Messages
2,959
Real Name
Eric Peterson
I'm very much looking forward to picking this up once the Wal-Mart Exclusivity wears off.


In the meantime, I have the Blu-Ray of "Once Upon a Time in the West" to watch next week!!!
 

John Hodson

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2003
Messages
4,627
Location
Bolton, Lancashire
Real Name
John
The only way to get it shipped from Wal-Mart to the UK is, it seems, if I join the US Military. I'm considering my options - air cavalry sound like a decent choice?
 

Eric Peterson

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2001
Messages
2,959
Real Name
Eric Peterson
Ditto; any clue as to when that might be?

I wish I knew. I have dozens of Wal-Marts around me, but none that I'll ever step foot in. Traditionally, these exclusives seem to be in the 3 month range, so I'll start looking around at the end of the summer.
 

Robert Crawford

Crawdaddy
Moderator
Patron
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 9, 1998
Messages
67,599
Location
Michigan
Real Name
Robert
Originally Posted by John Hodson

The only way to get it shipped from Wal-Mart to the UK is, it seems, if I join the US Military. I'm considering my options - air cavalry sound like a decent choice?


Nah, I think submarine duty is more to your liking.;)






Crawdaddy
 

benbess

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2009
Messages
5,650
Real Name
Ben
Just saw this film for the first time on blu-ray. I thought it was a classic, up there with Magnificent 7 or The Professionals or any other great Western of the period. What a cast. I never thought I'd see a fistfight between Peck and Heston! And Wyler really made the varied landscape into a whole other character. The PQ is great for the most part. There are a few minor issues, but they don't detract from the experience in a significant way. And for the bargain price of $10 what do you expect. My advice for anyone sitting on the fence is this: get it!


I could be wrong, but I felt like this movie might have had some influence on the tv show The Virginian that started a few years later. In some ways they seem similar to me. And in fact Charles Bickford ended up starring in The V for a year...
 

ahollis

Patron
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2007
Messages
8,864
Location
New Orleans
Real Name
Allen
Originally Posted by Mark-P


I just compared the BD with the DVD and the colors are identical. So I'm guessing the answer is no, but I don't know what the "copper wash" is supposed to look like. Most of the opening shots look sepia-tone (on both the BD and DVD) and the titles themselves are white.


Agree, they opening shots do look more sepia-tone than black & white.
 

ahollis

Patron
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2007
Messages
8,864
Location
New Orleans
Real Name
Allen
Originally Posted by benbess

Just saw this film for the first time on blu-ray. I thought it was a classic, up there with Magnificent 7 or The Professionals or any other great Western of the period. What a cast. I never thought I'd see a fistfight between Peck and Heston! And Wyler really made the varied landscape into a whole other character. The PQ is great for the most part. There are a few minor issues, but they don't detract from the experience in a significant way. And for the bargain price of $10 what do you expect. My advice for anyone sitting on the fence is this: get it!

And all of this for $10.00. Great value, I think I paid more for the DVD.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Articles

Forum statistics

Threads
356,811
Messages
5,123,601
Members
144,184
Latest member
H-508
Recent bookmarks
1
Top