- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,424
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
I love William Wyler's The Big Country.
IMHO, it's one of the finest western dramas ever created, and really demands to be seen on a huge screen.
I saw it that way in 1958, have seen it many times since, and my opinion of it goes unabated.
With that cast -- Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives, Charles Bickford...
that score by Jerome Moross...
that cinematography in Technirama by Franz Planer...
I wanted to restore it in the early '90s as the OCN was heavily faded. Had a nice chat with Mr. Peck regarding the audio, which is rumored to have been dubbed in stereo.
Finally, it the was saved by The Academy Film Archive, substantially from the original negative, and they were able to coax decent color out of it, which was then bettered as data.
The job they did is impeccable, with only a few shots (essentially dupes) having problems based upon the manufacture of the records.
So, I wondered, what precisely was MGM thinking when they took one of the jewels of the UA crown, and made an exclusive deal with (no malice intended) Walmart to sell the Blu-ray exclusively for under $10?
Hopefully, huge dollars were in place, as this would be akin to Fox making an exclusive deal for Cleopatra with Borders, a store brand which never did seem to understand that new releases came out on tuesdays.
The Big Country took home a number of awards. The score was nominated for an Academy Award, and Burl Ives (who did a great deal more than sing Christmas songs) won Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- think "Big Daddy" on steroids. His performance is remarkable.
There is a huge line drawn in the sand in this film, and the question always arises as to who really is the bad guy. I'd be interested in opinions.
How does it look on Walmart Blu-ray?
Generally, gorgeous. As it came from separations, the dupes, notably the main and ends, are a bit problematic, but get into the body of the film, and you'll be knocked out by the overriding clarity of the Technirama process. There does seem to be a problem with the image being overly stretched horizontally, but once this reaches the studio level, I presume replacement discs will be made available. For clarity's sake, original prints were desaturated, which means that what you'll be seeing on the Blu-ray are far "prettier" than in 1958. Mr. Moross' score is one of those things that dreams are made of, as is Mr. Planer's (Holiday, Letter from an Unknown Woman, Roman Holiday, Champion, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Nun's Story, Breakfast at Tiffany's) cinematography.
The Big Country is $9.86 on line at Walmart. This is one of the "must owns."
Once the distortion problem is licked, the disc will be Highly Recommended, as I presume there will be a replacement program in place.
RAH
IMHO, it's one of the finest western dramas ever created, and really demands to be seen on a huge screen.
I saw it that way in 1958, have seen it many times since, and my opinion of it goes unabated.
With that cast -- Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives, Charles Bickford...
that score by Jerome Moross...
that cinematography in Technirama by Franz Planer...
I wanted to restore it in the early '90s as the OCN was heavily faded. Had a nice chat with Mr. Peck regarding the audio, which is rumored to have been dubbed in stereo.
Finally, it the was saved by The Academy Film Archive, substantially from the original negative, and they were able to coax decent color out of it, which was then bettered as data.
The job they did is impeccable, with only a few shots (essentially dupes) having problems based upon the manufacture of the records.
So, I wondered, what precisely was MGM thinking when they took one of the jewels of the UA crown, and made an exclusive deal with (no malice intended) Walmart to sell the Blu-ray exclusively for under $10?
Hopefully, huge dollars were in place, as this would be akin to Fox making an exclusive deal for Cleopatra with Borders, a store brand which never did seem to understand that new releases came out on tuesdays.
The Big Country took home a number of awards. The score was nominated for an Academy Award, and Burl Ives (who did a great deal more than sing Christmas songs) won Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- think "Big Daddy" on steroids. His performance is remarkable.
There is a huge line drawn in the sand in this film, and the question always arises as to who really is the bad guy. I'd be interested in opinions.
How does it look on Walmart Blu-ray?
Generally, gorgeous. As it came from separations, the dupes, notably the main and ends, are a bit problematic, but get into the body of the film, and you'll be knocked out by the overriding clarity of the Technirama process. There does seem to be a problem with the image being overly stretched horizontally, but once this reaches the studio level, I presume replacement discs will be made available. For clarity's sake, original prints were desaturated, which means that what you'll be seeing on the Blu-ray are far "prettier" than in 1958. Mr. Moross' score is one of those things that dreams are made of, as is Mr. Planer's (Holiday, Letter from an Unknown Woman, Roman Holiday, Champion, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Nun's Story, Breakfast at Tiffany's) cinematography.
The Big Country is $9.86 on line at Walmart. This is one of the "must owns."
Once the distortion problem is licked, the disc will be Highly Recommended, as I presume there will be a replacement program in place.
RAH