A Few Words About A few words about…™ The Shepherd of the Hills — in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

I love it when a quality Blu-ray arrives based upon a three-strip source, and Kino has been
giving us quite a few of them lately.

The most recent, Henry Hathaway's The Shepherd of the Hills arrives on November 3, with
it's Technicolor glory intact.

I'm always amazed when readers discover precisely how rare early three-strip was in the
studio system - not really arriving in reasonable numbers until after World War II.

Let's use Shepherd as an example.

Released on July 18, 1941, it was one of only eighteen productions released that year, with
two of those being animated.

Paramount, along with Fox led the list, with six feature films apiece, M-G-M had three, while Warner Bros.
had a single entry (Dive Bomber), and RKO had two Disney films - one a featurette.

Which means that Shepherd existed in some reasonably rarified air.

There were some reasonably awful Technicolor productions, but fortunately this doesn't
fit into that category.

While it may not have aged gracefully (the source goes back to 1907) the Technicolor look
is a gift, and watching Harry Carey do his thing is always a joy, especially playing a scene
with John Wayne.

Image quality, aside from just a couple of minor registration errors in printer functions,
is wonderful, and appears to have come from a well-made IP.

The audio troubled me a bit, as mid-range tones seemed garbled. Possibly a wrong turn
copying a density track. But regardless, most everything is perceptible.

Image – 4.8

Audio – 3.25

Pass / Fail - Pass

Upgrade from DVD - Yes

Recommended (for Technicolor)

RAH

Support HTF when you order from Amazon

 

[Robert Crawford]

Another of my Target "Buy 2, Get 1 Free" titles. A stream of this movie is playing on the Peacock Channel that I watched last month and it looked terrific so I assume it was derived from the same master used for this BD. You could tell some work has been done compared to my previous viewings of this Technicolor movie either on DirecTV or my 2006 DVD.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I love it when a quality Blu-ray arrives based upon a three-strip source, and Kino has been
giving us quite a few of them lately.

The most recent, Henry Hathaway's The Shepherd of the Hills arrives on November 3, with
it's Technicolor glory intact.

I'm always amazed when readers discover precisely how rare early three-strip was in the
studio system - not really arriving in reasonable numbers until after World War II.

Let's use Shepherd as an example.

Released on July 18, 1941, it was one of only eighteen productions released that year, with
two of those being animated.

Paramount, along with Fox led the list, with six feature films apiece, M-G-M had three, while Warner Bros.
had a single entry (Dive Bomber), and RKO had two Disney films - one a featurette.

Which means that Shepherd existed in some reasonably rarified air.

There were some reasonably awful Technicolor productions, but fortunately this doesn't
fit into that category.

While it may not have aged gracefully (the source goes back to 1907) the Technicolor look
is a gift, and watching Harry Carey do his thing is always a joy, especially playing a scene
with John Wayne.

Image quality, aside from just a couple of minor registration errors in printer functions,
is wonderful, and appears to have come from a well-made IP.

The audio troubled me a bit, as mid-range tones seemed garbled. Possibly a wrong turn
copying a density track. But regardless, most everything is perceptible.

Image – 4.8

Audio – 3.25

Pass / Fail - Pass

Upgrade from DVD - Yes

Recommended (for Technicolor)

RAH

Support HTF when you order from Amazon

I always wonder if John Ford felt this was a missed opportunity for him since the two main actors were his guys?

 

[Robert Harris]

I always wonder if John Ford felt this was a missed opportunity for him since the two main actors were his guys?

Doubtful. It’s a weak film.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Doubtful. It’s a weak film.

In your opinion as I always thought this was one of the Duke's most underrated films.

 

[Robert Harris]

In your opinion as I always thought this was one of the Duke's most underrated films.

I’m referring more to the story than performances. It’s also interesting comparing the people represented in this film, vs those in Sergeant York, albeit a few years later in history.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I’m referring more to the story than performances. It’s also interesting comparing the people represented in this film, vs those in Sergeant York, albeit a few years later in history.

I’m referring to the movie as a whole. Obviously, I liked the movie a lot more than you.

 

[jim_falconer]

I love this film and can’t wait for my BD to arrive. It’s a wonderful look back into rural America, and the superstitions that were still being perceived as fact. Besides the entire cast giving wonderful performances, is the beautiful Betty Field...one of Duke’s most gorgeous costars

 

[Thomas T]

Besides the entire cast giving wonderful performances, is the beautiful Betty Field...one of Duke’s most gorgeous costars

I've always been somewhat astonished how Betty Field was the pretty "ingenue" type in the 1940s in films like Kings Row, Blues In The Night and The Southerner among others and after playing Daisy in The Great Gatsby (1949) opposite Alan Ladd, she disappears from the screen for 6 years. When she returns, she's playing matronly mothers in films like Picnic and Peyton Place! Only Mary Astor did a faster change going from femme fatale in Maltese Falcon (1941) to Judy Garland's mother in Meet Me In St. Louis (1944) in just three years!

 

[jim_falconer]

I finally found time to watch kino’s release of this magnificent film, and I’m happy to say, they did not disappoint. Images come thru in HD like never seen before on home viewing.

As for the film, it’s always been a personal favorite. I must have seen it now at least 2 dozen times. But today was the first time I started noticing quite a number of similarities to Hathaway’s “Sons Of Katie Elder”. Not so much in the story, but pieces of the film really tie each other together. Both Sarah and Katie are revered, but we never see them. And their rocking chairs are referenced throughout. And a close family member comes back after being away for a number of years to set things right. It was a fascinating comparison for me to make today, for a director who made these 2 films almost 25 years apart.

Anyone who was on the fence about this Kino release should jump all over this wonderful presentation of one of Hathaway’s finest efforts!

 

[Robin9]

I finally found time to watch kino’s release of this magnificent film, and I’m happy to say, they did not disappoint. Images come thru in HD like never seen before on home viewing.

. . . .

Anyone who was on the fence about this Kino release should jump all over this wonderful presentation of one of Hathaway’s finest efforts!

I am on the fence but your report compels me to re-watch the DVD to see if I should upgrade.