Pre-Order Duel In The Sun (Roadshow Edition ) (1946) (Blu-ray) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

The link below will take you directly to the product on Amazon. If you are using an adblocker you will not see link.

 

[Robin9]

Well . . . I don't know. I've always thought this film is total Selznickian garbage, long, portentous and empty, and stars an actress who has always left me cold, but I could be persuaded. If the transfer is a miracle and the resulting disc is a visual delight, I might, just might, be silly and buy it.

I do know the film has its admirers. I don't understand that but I am aware of it.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Well . . . I don't know. I've always thought this film is total Selznickian garbage, long, portentous and empty, and stars an actress who has always left me cold, but I could be persuaded. If the transfer is a miracle and the resulting disc is a visual delight, I might, just might, be silly and buy it.

I do know the film has its admirers. I don't understand that but I am aware of it.

Because the film has some great moments in it. Sure, it has its deficiencies, but there are some great film sequences in this film. IMO, the ending is one of the best all-time.

 

[rsmithjr]

For those who like dye-transfer Technicolor, it is also a treat. I await the result.

Also, I am a big fan of Selznick.

 

[benbess]

It's over the top, but I like this movie. Scorsese said he saw it when he was about 5, and said that it was one of many movies from his childhood to influence him.

 

[Thomas T]

Well . . . I don't know. I've always thought this film is total Selznickian garbage, long, portentous and empty, and stars an actress who has always left me cold, but I could be persuaded. If the transfer is a miracle and the resulting disc is a visual delight, I might, just might, be silly and buy it.

I do know the film has its admirers. I don't understand that but I am aware of it.

One man's garbage is another man's gold and I infinitely prefer Duel In The Sun to the real cinematic garbage of 1946, It's A Wonderful Life. Westerns have often been referred to as horse operas but never has the term been more apt than in Vidor's insane operatic epic western. Pauline Kael referred to it as Wagnerian and that about sums it up. Everything is done on a massive scale. In the film's opening when we enter a saloon, it's the biggest saloon you've ever seen, it's the size of an airplane hangar! When Lionel Barrymore rides out to stop a train from crossing his property, he's accompanied by what seems over a hundred galloping cowboys accompanied by Dimitri Tiomkin's thundering underscore. And the passions are operatic too. Love and hate mixed together as lovers declare their love for each other while killing each other. It's bonkers but so irresistibly compelling that you watch it giddy with excitement. Often referred to as "lust in the dust", there's never been a western like it! If Pedro Almodovar made a western, it would look like this!

 

[Paul Rossen]

For those who like dye-transfer Technicolor, it is also a treat. I await the result.

Also, I am a big fan of Selznick.

Should look very good as the DVD I have is quite striking.

 

[Jimbo64]

Love it, back in the days Hollywood made great trashy films!

 

[lark144]

While it's true that David O. Selznick attempted to continually remake GONE WITH THE WIND to ever diminishing returns, DUEL IN THE SUN is one amazing piece of work. It's possible that DUEL IN THE SUN works in spite of Selznick's tinkering. While the film is wildly inconsistent, many of the parts are so amazing that it doesn't really matter. For example, the army of cowboys that suddenly appear from nowhere to stop the train was directed by B. Reeves Eason, a second unit director who was responsible for some of the greatest action sequences of the late 30's & early 40's, among them the stagecoach chase from STAGECOACH and the charge from THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE. And then there's the ball sequence with multi-colored Japanese lanterns which cast a myriad of colors on the faces of the dancers, which was allegedly designed and directed by Josef von Sternberg. And then there's a scene with Lillian Gish in a rocking chair that in its subtly and simplicity looks like something out of D.W. Griffith. (There is a rumor that Griffith directed it himself, but I don't know if that's true) And of course the score by Dimitri Timomkin (which I consider his best) is alone worth the price of admission. (The score was consistently over-modulated on the DVD, so I hope this was corrected for the Blu-Ray.) One can also point out the total magnificence of Lee Garmes & Harold Rosson's cinematography. And one very important (& I would say major) element of the film which isn't pointed out enough, is that the visual elegance in the film that is consistently combined with a kind of operatic, over the top sensibility, is very much a feature of King Vidor's later films such as THE FOUNTAINHEAD & RUBY GENTRY. The ending of the film alone, in its use of landscape that evokes a combination of Jungian archetypes and Freudian symbols, not to mention the excessive use of primary colors the initially appears to be self-consciously Camp, and then transcends any kind of melodramatic ridicule, thrusting the audience into a place of primal emotions, is alone one of the great sequences in 1940's cinema. And while one can argue til the cows come home whether or not King Vidor was directly responsible for this sequence in terms of its visual style, it's extremely consistent with other sequences that he is responsible for directing, as I've noted above, in THE FOUNTAINHEAD & RUBY GENTRY. So maybe DUEL IN THE SUN is remarkably consistent in its wild inconsistencies. While DUEL IN THE SUN may not be as great an accomplishment as GONE WITH THE WIND (& i for one feel that GONE WITH THE WIND's greatness and consistency as a visual work has more to do with William Cameron Menzies than David O. Selznick) I think DUEL IN THE SUN is a lot more fun. (Let me also say that I think Jennifer Jones is amazing in the film, and without her performance, which is remarkably sympathetic, the film would not work as well as it does.)

 

[Jim*Tod]

Very excited about this release and I hope they do a good transfer. I only have the MGM dvd which is decidedly imperfect and has distorted sound. As Jennifer Jones (as Pearl Chavez!) says at one point "Trash, trash, trash." Bring it on!

 

[AshJW]

I never saw this film before two years or so on TV. And I liked it A LOT!
I would even go so far to call it a better movie than Gone With The Wind, which I like too by all means.

 

[Robin9]

One man's garbage is another man's gold and I infinitely prefer Duel In The Sun to the real cinematic garbage of 1946, It's A Wonderful Life. Westerns have often been referred to as horse operas but never has the term been more apt than in Vidor's insane operatic epic western. Pauline Kael referred to it as Wagnerian and that about sums it up. Everything is done on a massive scale. In the film's opening when we enter a saloon, it's the biggest saloon you've ever seen, it's the size of an airplane hangar! When Lionel Barrymore rides out to stop a train from crossing his property, he's accompanied by what seems over a hundred galloping cowboys accompanied by Dimitri Tiomkin's thundering underscore. And the passions are operatic too. Love and hate mixed together as lovers declare their love for each other while killing each other. It's bonkers but so irresistibly compelling that you watch it giddy with excitement. Often referred to as "lust in the dust", there's never been a western like it! If Pedro Almodovar made a western, it would look like this!

I said I could be persuaded. You're halfway there! The other half will be the quality of the disc.

 

[Robert Harris]

DitS is an extraordinary production, that demands size.

There is a necessity to see it on a huge screen.

Years ago, I examined the original elements, and worked with Jeffrey Selznick to create a dye transfer test, in the Beijing lab. I had the opportunity to examine dye transfer prints of the original intent, as well as c. 1968, without overlays, and both were mind-bogglingly magnificent.

The cinematography alone is worth the price of admission.

If only, the deletions could be located.

 

[Paul Rossen]

DitS is an extraordinary production, that demands size.

There is a necessity to see it on a huge screen.

Years ago, I examined the original elements, and worked with Jeffrey Selznick to create a dye transfer test, in the Beijing lab. I had the opportunity to examine dye transfer prints of the original intent, as well as c. 1968, without overlays, and both were mind-bogglingly magnificent.

The cinematography alone is worth the price of admission.

If only, the deletions could be located.

I'm sure that there are scenes that explain the scratch on Gregory Peck's face that seems to come so sudden and then disappears without any explanation..

 

[Brent Reid]

Because the film has some great moments in it. Sure, it has its deficiencies, but there are some great film sequences in this film. IMO, the ending is one of the best all-time.

S'funny: I projected my UK Prism Direct DVD for the first time in ages recently and while I adore the film and everyone connected with it, I can clearly see its flaws. I thought the ending particularly daft and over the top, though it's a fitting finale for such a magnificent folly!

One man's garbage is another man's gold and I infinitely prefer Duel In The Sun to the real cinematic garbage of 1946, It's A Wonderful Life. Westerns have often been referred to as horse operas but never has the term been more apt than in Vidor's insane operatic epic western. Pauline Kael referred to it as Wagnerian and that about sums it up. Everything is done on a massive scale. In the film's opening when we enter a saloon, it's the biggest saloon you've ever seen, it's the size of an airplane hangar! When Lionel Barrymore rides out to stop a train from crossing his property, he's accompanied by what seems over a hundred galloping cowboys accompanied by Dimitri Tiomkin's thundering underscore. And the passions are operatic too. Love and hate mixed together as lovers declare their love for each other while killing each other. It's bonkers but so irresistibly compelling that you watch it giddy with excitement. Often referred to as "lust in the dust", there's never been a western like it! If Pedro Almodovar made a western, it would look like this!

There are some great observations in your post and I agree with every word. Except for the first unnecessary sentence, that is. I happen to love It's a Wonderful Life as much as anyone but regardless, I don't see why some folk need to trash one film in order to praise another. Chill out.

 

[Robert Crawford]

S'funny: I projected my UK Prism Direct DVD for the first time in ages recently and while I adore the film and everyone connected with it, I can clearly see its flaws. I thought the ending particularly daft and over the top, though it's a fitting finale for such a magnificent folly!

To each his own. When I first viewed this film back in the 1960s when I was a child, I loved that ending. Now, I can see why some would roll their eyes at that ending, but I still enjoy it as I still think it's one of the most memorable film endings.

 

[Thomas T]

There are some great observations in your post and I agree with every word. Except for the first unnecessary sentence, that is. I happen to love It's a Wonderful Life as much as anyone but regardless, I don't see why some folk need to trash one film in order to praise another. Chill out.

The first sentence begins "one man's garbage is another man's gold" and I stand by that statement. My remarks about It's A Wonderful Life (which I also stand by ) was merely an illustration of that point as Robin's dismissal of Duel In The Sun (which is his prerogative) as garbage which is cinematic gold to me while a beloved "sacred cow" for many film fans I find to be unwatchable sentimental twaddle.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Buying this blindly during Kino's sale

 

[Robert Crawford]

Buying this blindly during Kino's sale

It's not really part of the sale, though, it's about $2.00 cheaper than Amazon.

 

[Brent Reid]

The first sentence begins "one man's garbage is another man's gold" and I stand by that statement. My remarks about It's A Wonderful Life (which I also stand by ) was merely an illustration of that point as Robin's dismissal of Duel In The Sun (which is his prerogative) as garbage which is cinematic gold to me while a beloved "sacred cow" for many film fans I find to be unwatchable sentimental twaddle.

That's as may be, but two wrongs don't make a right. At least we agree on Duel; I look forward to revisiting it in HD.