Best Westerns on DVD.,.... (1 Viewer)

[Piers C]

Maybe someone can help me.

Everything that I have read in reviews and from folks here is that The Searchers is only an adequate to good transfer. It appears to fall well short of Warner's best efforts.

Yet, I see a number of people recommending it in a thread focused on identifying the best story AND picture quality/sound transfers. Have others just been overly critical of the Warner transfer?

Considering how this title is regarded in movie history, I don't think there is any other way but to see the disc as a disappointment based on the lack of special features, commentary, etc. Unfortunately, this seems to be pretty common for most of the Westerns mentioned here.

 

[dpippel]

Viewed on an ISF'd Hitachi 57SWX20B/Denon 3800 The Searchers transfer is, in my opinion, very sub-par. It's dragged down by fairly heavy edge enhancement and many scenes that look like they're out of register. The print used could also be in better shape - dirt, specs, etc. I seem to remember reading (probably here) that a SE of this title was in the works. Let's hope so.

 

[Piers C]

Thanks for the feedback Doug. Hope we see a restored SE soon.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

re: The Searchers

While there is some EE that will rear its head on very large displays, I did not notice significant registration problems and the print used appeared to be in very good shape. They didn't go in and photoshop out every blemish, but that has nothing to do with the shape of the print used anyway.

Regards,

 

[Piers C]

From DVDFile:

The last in their line of Fox Studio Classics for the year, The Ox-Bow Incident stars Oscar-winner Henry Fonda and debuts on December 2nd. Remastered in its original 1.33:1 theatrical aspect ratio and English 2.0 stereo, extras include an audio commentary (participants TBA), the A&E Biography: Henry Fonda" television special, a still gallery, restoration comparison and theatrical trailer. Retail is $19.95.

It will be interesting to see who ends up doing the commentary.

 

[Ted Todorov]

1) Red Sun - While not a classic, this was a pretty good western. It takes place in the old west and starred Charles Bronson as a double-crossed outlaw and Toshiro Mifune as a Samurai warrior who join forces to retrieve a stolen ancient japanese sword that was meant to be a gift for the U.S. president.

Red Sun is out on DVD?!? I thought that it was anounced at one point, but never materialized. There might have been a long OOP Pan & Scan DVD.

Do you know something I don't?

Thanks,
Ted

 

[Piers C]

Red Sun is out on DVD?!? I thought that it was anounced at one point, but never materialized. There might have been a long OOP Pan & Scan DVD.

UAV released this on DVD as 1.33.1 but is now OOP. Last i heard the company was out of business. Ted, perhaps this is the transfer you are thinking of?

A few folks have used this thread to add their favorite Westerns, regardless of DVD transfer quality. So things can be a bit confusing on first read!

 

[Greg_M]

Ended up buying "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" on Saturday based on your recomendations - What a great film! Never saw it before.

Also - the Mel Gibson "Mavrick" is a pretty good western and a nice looking DVD.

 

[Mickey P]

Heres my list of "Cant Go Wrong" DVD westerns in no particular order:


The Sons Of Katie Elder(one of my fav John Wayne movies)
Quigley Down Under
Cahill:U.S.Marshall
Unforgiven
Pale Rider(This & Unforgiven -I think are Eastwoods best)
The Long Riders
Dances With Wolves
Big Jake
Chisum
The Cowboys
Tombstone
El Dorado
Fistfull Of Dollars
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
Hang em High
High Plains Drifter
The Outlaw Josey Wales
Rio Bravo
Rio Lobo
The Shootist
Silverado
The Quick and the Dead
Shane
Two Mules For Sister Sarah
The Undefeated
The War Wagon
True Grit
Rooster Cogburn
Butch cassidy & the Sundance Kid
The Horse Soldiers

AND, I would add Wyatt Warp to this list if it ever makes it out to DVD! Six years and still waiting!!!!

 

[DennisP]

A buddy and I were tring to put together a "Top Ten" Western list..and just couldn't do it....way too many good ones out there to try and limit it to just 10. Maybe a "Top 25"...and then you'll still leave out plenty. So many westerns aren't what you'd call "Classics"...but are still excellent and entertaining to watch again and again (Valdez is Coming is just one I can think of).

I look for a good story, acting, writing, action. I sometimes find that I'm drawn back to watch a western again and again because of the dialogue and humor (El Diablo comes to mind...very entertaining story with some great laughs)...for story and acting (Josey Wales....pretty much Clint Eastwood's best). Humor (Goin South....Just an out and out funny movie). Probably the best western ever made (IMHO) is "Lonesome Dove"...this movie has everything in it that makes a western great...acting, story, writing, action, humor. If I could only own one western movie...that would be my choice...has everything, plus it's long enough to count for three regular movies

"Open Range" is the best western to come out of Hollywood in years...can't wait for the DVD.

Cheers

 

[Piers C]

The Digital Bits reported on 9/26:

Speaking of classic films, one of my favorites has just been announced for DVD release by 20th Century Fox on January 6th... John Ford's My Darling Clementine, starring Henry Fonda. The DVD will feature two versions of the film, the theatrical version and Ford's pre-release version, both in the original B&W, full frame format. Audio will be Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo and mono. Extras will include audio commentary by Wyatt Earp III, the theatrical trailer and a production stills gallery. Awesome news!

Here's the link to the "My Two Cents" post with this info:
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/mytwocentsa78.html#clem

These specs looking amazing! I'm glad to see the full treatment this Western is getting on DVD.

 

[oscar_merkx]

just curious as to who is Wyatt Earp III actually

 

[Piers C]

Kurt Russell went to even greater lengths to research his Wyatt. He not only read all he could, he also sought out people with remembrances of the real McCoy, including Glen Wyatt Earp III, a descendant of one of Wyatt's cousins. "Glenn actually appears in Tombstone, ironically playing a member of the gang that his ancestor came up against in the famous gunfight at the OK Corral."

This comes from David Aldridge article on the film in Film Review Magazine, March 1994. This article can be found on here:
http://www.planetkilmer.com/articles/tombstone.html

Sorry, I'm sure that this is more info than you wanted!

 

[Terry St]

Ended up buying "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" on Saturday based on your recomendations - What a great film! Never saw it before.

I have good news and bad news for you... The good news is that a new restoration of TGBatU is currently running through film festival circuits. (It's playing this coming Sunday at the Calgary International Film Festival. I am looking forward to it!) Hopefully this restoration will make it to DVD sooner or later. Therein lies the bad news. You might have bought that DVD just a few months too soon. :frowning:

 

[Piers C]

Partial specs announced on Open Range DVD. Let's hope Buena Vista delivers the goods on this transfer.

According to DavisDVD:

We have partial specs for for Buena Vista's upcoming release of Open Range. The recent Kevin Costner western will debut on January 20th, 2004 as a two-disc set with an anamorphic widescreen transfer, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS Surround audio options. Extras will headlined by an audio commentary with Costner. Stay tuned as more bonus materials are revealed. Retail will be $29.99.

10.21.03 Link:http://davisdvd.com/news/daily_news.html

 

[Tim_Stack]

Best Westerns on DVD? How do you fit a motel onto an optical disc?....god, that was a bad joke...

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Ever since I was a kid I have always disliked
Westerns. Thought they were as boring as the
wide open dirt-covered ground they were filmed upon.

It's startling to see how your tastes change as
you get older.

Thanks to DVD, over the past 5 years I have grown
beyond just liking westerns, but now LOVING them!

I have Robert Crawford to thank for much of my
great western discoveries over the years. He
recommended some great DVDs for me and even dragged
me out to see Open Range (which was just
awesome!) and How The West Was Won at the
Hollywood Cinemadome.

Take it from me, if you go and rent/buy these
Westerns, you won't go wrong. Here are my absolute
favorites....

Silverado (more modern than most, but terrific!)
The Good, Bad & The Ugly (definitive classic!)
How The West Was Won (What an epic tale)
High Noon (definitive classic!)
The Searchers (one of the best Wayne flicks!)
High Plains Drifter (Clint paints the town red)
Nevada Smith (McQueen goes after killers)
Butch Cassidy & Sundance Kid (a real buddy film)
The Magnificent Seven (an all-time great)

For some light-hearted fare, I also HIGHLY recommend...

Support your local Gunfighter
Support your local Sheriff

(watch them in order of release year - forgot
which came first)

I also HIGHLY RECOMMEND that everyone put
Open Range on your preorder list. This
is one western that must be owned!

 

[Piers C]

Ron, great to hear your recommendations!

Some terrific films on your list, but unfortunately little justice has been done to most of them on DVD. Even recent transfers like High Noon have come up short as many have previously discussed on the forum. A real shame.

 

[Piers C]

Great review on the upcoming DVD of The Ox-Bow Incident from HTF's Adam Reiter:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=165328

 

[Bill Burns]

Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is right up there with his The Searchers (Liberty's in B&W instead of The Searcher's Technicolor VistaVision), and very highly recommended. Vera Miles, James Stewart, John Wayne, Lee Marvin, and a number of fantastic supporting actors, including Andy Devine, whose engaging mannerisms should readily remind all of his work in Ford's Stagecoach (despite the shortcomings of the characters, in both films he comes across as a warm guy of tremendous heart) ... you just can't go wrong with this picture. Paramount's widescreen 16x9 formatted DVD offers a very nice presentation.

Greg mentioned The Misfits a few posts, and a couple of months, ago. Fans should note the availability of Making The Misfits from Image Entertainment; it's presented in 16x9 formatted widescreen, and while I haven't seen it, at least one review I've found said the 16x9 formatted clips from the film notably improve upon M-G-M's 4x3 letterboxed presentation (cited as 1.66:1). M-G-M's disc is still very much worth owning, however, as the film is a unique narrative in the careers of its stars. It's also a John Huston picture (Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Key Largo, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison), and that alone tells ya' it's something worth viewing, whatever its flaws.