The Comancheros (50th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray] Reviews

The Comancheros Blu-ray

The Comancheros is an entertaining western starring one of the greatest western stars of all time. John Wayne is surrounded by a stellar cast and crew in this film and undoubtedly elevates the quality of the whole. Video is reference quality for a film from this era; The Comancheros could not have looked any better upon its original release. Audio is also much better than average for a film from this era. Special features are comprehensive and also make excellent viewing since they are not merely filler like with many other releases. The Comancheros is highly recommended as an entertaining and fun John Wayne western with a great cast and a terrific soundtrack.  

Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Year: 1961

Rated: Not Rated

Film Length: 1 hour, 47 minutes

Aspect Ratio: 1080p High Definition Widescreen (1.66:1)

Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Dolby Surround 4.0, French Mono, Spanish Mono

Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Release Date: May 17, 2011

The Movie

John Wayne is Texas Ranger Captain Jake Cutter in The Comancheros. Stuart Whitman(Cimarron Strip) is Paul Regret, a gambler on the run who finds himself awkwardly teamed up with the Texas Ranger as they try to survive against the gang of gunrunners known as The Comancheros. The first rate cast in this film also includes Ina Balin, Lee Marvin, Jack Elam, Michael Ansara, Nehemiah Persoff, Guinn Williams, Patrick Wayne, and Edgar Buchanan. The screenplay was written by James Edward Grant(Hondo) and Clair Huffaker(The War Wagon) with direction by the great Michael Curtiz(Captain Blood, Casablanca). The Comancheros was the final film directed by Curtiz in his career.

The Comancheros is one of my favorite John Wayne films. Although it is not the first film that comes to most people’s minds when you mention John Wayne, I have always enjoyed The Comancheros as a rip-roaring fun western. The score by Elmer Bernstein(The Magnificent Seven) is terrific, and I actually enjoy the music in this film more than the famous theme from The Magnificent Seven. The Comancheros was the final film by a legendary director and has one of the greatest casts of actors of many western films: John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Jack Elam, and Stuart Whitman all in the same film. The Comancheros may not be on anyone else’s list of their top 10 favorite Wayne films, but it is on my top 10 list.

Video

The movie is in 1080p high definition in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio using the AVC codec on a 50GB dual layer disc. Film grain is present with solid blacks and no apparent compression artifacts. DNR and edge enhancement are imperceptible if present at all. Colors are vibrant without any excess smearing. The only minor flaw observed was some very minor gate weave at the beginning of the first reel. A few of the stock shots lack fine detail but this has probably always been the case. It seems unlikely that the film ever looked better in its original theatrical presentation than it does on this disc.

Audio

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is excellent. The sound is richer than one might expect and Elmer Bernstein’s score is given good service. There is some nice directional audio and dialogue is always appropriately audible over music and sound effects. The English Dolby Surround 4.0 tracks sound surprisingly good in comparison to the DTS-HD Master Audio track, even if lacking some of the crispness and richness of sound of the 5.1 audio.

Special Features

The special features include all of the following:

Audio commentary by Stuart Whitman, Nehemiah Persoff, Michael Ansara, and Patrick Wayne: The participants all seem to have fairly vivid recollections of producing this film, which makes it recommended above many other commentaries.

The Comancheros and the Battle for the American Southwest(24:13): Historians discuss the factual background of the real Comancheros with ample footage from the film.

The Duke at Fox(40:28): This interesting 2 part documentary includes an abundance of HD footage from other Wayne films that have yet to appear on Blu-ray.

Vintage Comancheros Comic Book Gallery(0:38): Following a brief audio introduction, the complete Dell Four Color Comancheros comic book has been divided into 95 sections and may be navigated panel to panel with the left and right arrows on the remote control. The original ending for the film can be seen in this comic book since the film was changed after the comic book had been completed.

A Conversation With Stuart Whitman(12:07): The actor gives a brief overview of his lengthy career.

Theatrical Trailers(2:47): These are English and Spanish original trailers for The Comancheros.

Fox Movietone News(2:47): Musicians and songwriters Claude King and Tillman Franks receive an award for their original song produced for The Comancheros.

The Digibook packaging for The Comancheros may also be considered a special feature. It includes an illustrated 24 page with a brief overview of the film and its cast and crew. Miniature reproductions of an English and a French movie poster are also included as inserts within the Digibook.

Conclusion

The Comancheros is an entertaining western starring one of the greatest western stars of all time. John Wayne is surrounded by a stellar cast and crew in this film and undoubtedly elevates the quality of the whole. Video is reference quality for a film from this era; The Comancheros could not have looked any better upon its original release. Audio is also much better than average for a film from this era. Special features are comprehensive and also make excellent viewing since they are not merely filler like with many other releases. The Comancheros is highly recommended as an entertaining and fun John Wayne western with a great cast and a terrific soundtrack.