Pre-Order Hellfighters (1968) (Blu-ray) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

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[Robert Crawford]

By the way, the 2015 BD is still available on Amazon for $9.99. I seriously doubt Mill Creek is releasing this movie from a new master/scan.

 

[skylark68]

By the way, the 2015 BD is still available on Amazon for $9.99. I seriously doubt Mill Creek is releasing this movie from a new master/scan.

I was curious about this, I hadn't heard anything about it. I still have the old bluray. It's not my favorite Wayne film, but some of it was shot not too far from where I live, and a lot of my family was involved in the oil industry in the Houston/Baytown area since at least WW2.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I’ve never seen this one, RCR - worth checking out (in whichever format is the best cost value)?

 

[PMF]

Always wanted to see this one.

Will await the Mill Creek reviews, otherwise the 2015 BD will do the trick.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I’ve never seen this one, RCR - worth checking out (in whichever format is the best cost value)?

I'm a little bias as I first watched this movie during its theatrical run back in my childhood. I liked the movie, I have the older BD release and will not be ordering this new Mill Creek release.

 

[lark144]

I also saw this when It came out and have the original BD. I don't know whether I would like it as much if I was seeing it for the first time now. Back then, I saw everything John Wayne was in, and though the film has a lot of longueurs and is occasionally slackly directed, the action sequences are involving and colorful, and besides, every image basks in a warm nostalgic glow for me. And Wayne is Wayne. Even when the narrative distintergrates and it appears the director is on a coffee break, he holds everything together. You can't take your eyes off him. He walks across the room, looks at Katherine Ross out of the corner of his eye, lackadaisical yet benevolent, and yeah, I love it. You can tell those performers enjoy being around each other. It's not just acting. There's a kind of Hawksian camaraderie, but without Howard Hawks' mastery of improvisation and cinematic form. Nonetheless, it's entertaining, in a mellow, low-key kind of way. It's long, but if it was shorter, there wouldn't be that sense of community.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I also saw this when It came out and have the original BD. I don't know whether I would like it as much if I was seeing it for the first time now. Back then, I saw everything John Wayne was in, and though the film has a lot of longueurs and is occasionally slackly directed, the action sequences are involving and colorful, and besides, every image basks in a warm nostalgic glow for me. And Wayne is Wayne. Even when the narrative distintergrates and it appears the director is on a coffee break, he holds everything together. You can't take your eyes off him. He walks across the room, looks at Katherine Ross out of the corner of his eye, lackadaisical yet benevolent, and yeah, I love it. You can tell those performers enjoy being around each other. It's not just acting. There's a kind of Hawksian camaraderie, but without Howard Hawks' mastery of improvisation and cinematic form. Nonetheless, it's entertaining, in a mellow, low-key kind of way. It's long, but if it was shorter, there wouldn't be that sense of community.

Same here! I'm pretty sure I watched this movie and "The Green Berets" within a year of each other. I remembered this movie came out in the summer and then "The Green Berets" came out in the winter. While this movie holds up pretty well for me, "The Green Berets" not so much. Of course, both movies had Jim Hutton in them so the Duke must have liked him. There were a couple of other supporting actors in both movies too like Bruce Cabot for one. Cabot was a Wayne regular supporting actor.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This was the movie that Katharine Ross first caught my eye with her beautiful brown eyes. I was a little young for "The Graduate" in 1967/1968. My first viewing of that movie was when it made its network TV showing while I was in college in the mid-1970s. At least, that's my memory of both films so I could be wrong regarding "The Graduate" on network TV. I think the next movie I remember her from after seeing the "Hellfighters" was "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" which came out in 1969.

 

[Keith Cobby]

Good non-western Wayne, which i also have on blu ray. Also stars Vera Miles, who adds class to any production.

We are still (impatiently) waiting for In Harm's Way, which, for me at least, is John Wayne's best film.

 

[Randy Korstick]

I have always liked this movie since I 1st saw it on VHS in the 80's. Its actually grown on me even more over the years. Not a top tier John Wayne but a good John Wayne movie that is different and unique.

 

[Flashgear]

At different times, I saw both Red Adair and Boots and Coots at work, bringing nasty and dangerous blowouts under control. This movie did a great job of depicting the techniques involved in this dangerous process. You can't imagine the power behind a Foothills high pressure sour gas well that's open-hole to atmosphere for 68 days until these guys capped it. With thousands of barrels of sour condensate, which has the consistency of gasoline, produced each day! What a hellish mess! This was in Alberta Canada, and people as far south as California were complaining about the 'rotten egg' smell. You felt that you needed to consider yourself dead in dealing with it. My only technical critique is that The Hellfighters didn't quite capture the hellish sound of such a blowout, which sounds like standing next to a jumbo jet or B-52 under full throttles.

I also saw The Hellfighters first run theatrical in 1968, and I have the existing Blu-ray, which is superb and was had dirt-cheap at about $5. The Mill Creek reissue has brilliant cover art. I hope Mill Creek can continue to have an active release schedule. Love those double feature Noir and Westerns releases.

Considering how great the DVD already looks, you would think that a Blu-ray premiere of In Harm's Way would be a natural for the new Paramount line! Love the Duke!

 

[RBailey]

A double feature at one of our area drive-ins in 1969. Wonder what John Wayne's reaction would be about sharing a double bill with a bio based on Che Guevara?

 

[Robert Crawford]

The pricing on Amazon and a few other retailers has dropped down to $13.99, but, you can still get the 2015 BD for $9.99.

 

[F451]

I'll say this for Mill Creek -- they have a better cover graphic than the Universal release. I've never seen the film but Wayne, at the very least, is entertaining. (No comments about The Conqueror, thank you.)

(Now, someone, please -- bring on Circus World, which I haven't seen since its original Cinerama roadshow release.)