Blu-ray Review The Hallelujah Trail (Kino) – Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[t1g3r5fan]

Better known for his Westerns and action/adventure films, director John Sturges tried his hand at comedy for a couple of films in the 1960’s. The first sojourn was Sergeants 3 (1962), a western reworking of Gunga Din with the Rat Pack as cavalry sergeants and Sammy Davis Jr. playing the Gunga Din part. The second was an epic western with comedic touches in Ultra Panavision based on a Bill Gulick novel, The Hallelujah Trail. Previously released on DVD by MGM and on Blu-ray by Olive Films, Kino has brought the movie back into print with a new Blu-ray release.



The Hallelujah Trail (1965)



Released: 23 Jun 1965
Rated: Approved
Runtime: 165 min




Director: John Sturges
Genre: Comedy, Western



Cast: Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton
Writer(s): William Gulick, John Gay



Plot: On its way to Denver, a cargo of whiskey...

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[Jeff Flugel]

Great review! I think the Kino Blu looks very nice, and found the movie to be quite an enjoyable watch, despite its many naysayers. It helps that the locations, shot composition and cinematography (plus Lee Remick and Pamela Tiffin) are so gorgeous. Wonderful score, too. Very happy with this disc.

 

[dpippel]

I watched the film yesterday for the first time and also think that the Blu looks very nice for the most part. I did notice a few sections of what looks like dupe footage due to the requisite drop in resolution. There were also stretches where the color shifted in and out, with a yellow cast coming and going across the entire frame.

As for the movie itself, I found it to be a bit of a slog. The cast was great, the cinematography was superb, but the script was weak and while it tried to be funny, well, for the most part, it just wasn't. The comedy fell flat for me, and it could have easily been trimmed down by 30 minutes or so. Lee Remick though...

 

[uncledougie]

Anyone who saw this in its original Ultra Panavision glory can attest it held the attention with the genial cast, magnificent vistas, and fantastic score. I recall the audience responding well to the comedy elements and I certainly went out immediately to obtain the soundtrack. It’s disappointing the missing 10 or so minutes hasn’t been located and reinserted, but at least the omissions don’t really affect the plot threads. Very glad Kino took the efforts they did for this, and that the weak Olive release wasn’t the last word on it. Rumors of the full length version abounded regarding the laserdisc release, but I found three extra copies cheap and none were different from the current running time. It could be anyone who had the rare copy at 166 minutes as listed is holding onto it, if they realize it. Great review, delightful film. Lancaster and Remick are excellent foils, leading to the inevitable mutual attraction.

 

[JoshB]

You may want to check the spelling (or rather word usage) of calvary...

I'm pretty sure you mean cavalry.

 

[RolandL]

Anyone who saw this in its original Ultra Panavision glory can attest it held the attention with the genial cast, magnificent vistas, and fantastic score. I recall the audience responding well to the comedy elements and I certainly went out immediately to obtain the soundtrack. It’s disappointing the missing 10 or so minutes hasn’t been located and reinserted, but at least the omissions don’t really affect the plot threads. Very glad Kino took the efforts they did for this, and that the weak Olive release wasn’t the last word on it. Rumors of the full length version abounded regarding the laserdisc release, but I found three extra copies cheap and none were different from the current running time. It could be anyone who had the rare copy at 166 minutes as listed is holding onto it, if they realize it. Great review, delightful film. Lancaster and Remick are excellent foils, leading to the inevitable mutual attraction.

The only extended version I have found is the 1991 cropped 158:52 VHS tape.

 

[haineshisway]

Anyone who saw this in its original Ultra Panavision glory can attest it held the attention with the genial cast, magnificent vistas, and fantastic score. I recall the audience responding well to the comedy elements and I certainly went out immediately to obtain the soundtrack. It’s disappointing the missing 10 or so minutes hasn’t been located and reinserted, but at least the omissions don’t really affect the plot threads. Very glad Kino took the efforts they did for this, and that the weak Olive release wasn’t the last word on it. Rumors of the full length version abounded regarding the laserdisc release, but I found three extra copies cheap and none were different from the current running time. It could be anyone who had the rare copy at 166 minutes as listed is holding onto it, if they realize it. Great review, delightful film. Lancaster and Remick are excellent foils, leading to the inevitable mutual attraction.

Well, I saw it three times during its original release and it didn't really hold the attention and I pretty much loved all movies back then. But this one was a slog and its few moments of humor that was actually funny, were few and far between. Good cast. Bad script. Good direction. Bad script.

 

[Christian D66]

The fascinating thing about these 70mm comedies is they mistook size for humor. It's how you use it...

 

[DarkVader]

Well, I saw it three times during its original release and it didn't really hold the attention and I pretty much loved all movies back then. But this one was a slog and its few moments of humor that was actually funny, were few and far between. Good cast. Bad script. Good direction. Bad script.

Kimmel - I am surprised you would go see a movie you consider "a slog" 3 times! Is there a specific reason why you were drawn back to go see it?

 

[uncledougie]

I personally only had the pleasure of seeing this once that summer of ‘65, as living in a small town suburb and before the age to drive myself, trips to the better theaters in Dallas were limited (though my kind parents were very generously indulgent). I did, however, manage to see Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines and The Great Race twice each. Were those somewhat inflated productions, two years after It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, which garnered the same observation? I guess so, if you want to look at it through that lens. But each had its strong points (the music scores of each were terrific in their own ways I would argue, for example, the casts), as well as deficiencies, I’d posit the genial humor was very appealing, and is a somewhat lost art in these snarky times. If The Hallelujah Trail had been a lower budget comedy western shorn by an hour, it is doubtful it would have lingered in the memory of many who saw it, relegating it to a pleasant obscurity like Waterhole #3 or Texas Across the River and 4 for Texas.

 

[OliverK]

Well, I saw it three times during its original release and it didn't really hold the attention and I pretty much loved all movies back then. But this one was a slog and its few moments of humor that was actually funny, were few and far between. Good cast. Bad script. Good direction. Bad script.

It kind of speaks for the movie that you watched it three times despite its shortcomings

 

[Douglas R]

I still have the flyer, as shown, and the souvenir programme which was printed in an annoying panoramic style (same as the one for UA's Greatest Story Ever Told) which made it awkward to read. I used to go and see just about everything on the Cinerama screen but The Hallelujah Trail was a chore to sit through. I've never been keen on comedy westerns so it was probably never going to be a film which I enjoyed. At least it wasn't the worst film I saw on the Cinerama screen, that accolade goes to Run, Run Joe, the last film to be shown in Cinerama in London.

 

[RolandL]

I still have the flyer, as shown, and the souvenir programme which was printed in an annoying panoramic style (same as the one for UA's Greatest Story Ever Told) which made it awkward to read. I used to go and see just about everything on the Cinerama screen but The Hallelujah Trail was a chore to sit through. I've never been keen on comedy westerns so it was probably never going to be a film which I enjoyed. At least it wasn't the worst film I saw on the Cinerama screen, that accolade goes to Run, Run Joe, the last film to be shown in Cinerama in London.

View attachment 176589

Impressive ads for such a terrible movie. Someone made a copy of a cropped VHS tape for me many years ago. Sad to say there are no scenes with a nude woman.

 

[Dick]

Well, I saw it three times during its original release and it didn't really hold the attention and I pretty much loved all movies back then. But this one was a slog and its few moments of humor that was actually funny, were few and far between. Good cast. Bad script. Good direction. Bad script.

Then, Bruce, why did you watch it through twice more?

 

[haineshisway]

Gee, Dick, because I, gee, guess I liked seeing roadshow movies, Dick, even the ones I didn't really care for, Dick. Does that help you? I even saw the awful Doctor Dolittle twice, I even saw the uneven The Great Race three times.

 

[trajan007]

Sorry But I thought DOCTOR DOLITTLE is a wonderful musical. It looked great in TODD-AO.

 

[Keith Cobby]

One of the (many) advantages of watching a long movie at home is being able to split it into two (or more) parts!

 

[haineshisway]

Sorry But I thought DOCTOR DOLITTLE is a wonderful musical. It looked great in TODD-AO.

There is no flop movie ever made that someone somewhere thinks is wonderful. I've even got a few. I was at the premiere of Doctor Dolittle and when a premiere loses a third of the audience during the movie, something is wrong somewhere.

 

[trajan007]

There is no flop movie ever made that someone somewhere thinks is wonderful. I've even got a few. I was at the premiere of Doctor Dolittle and when a premiere loses a third of the audience during the movie, something is wrong somewhere.

I really don't care what other people think of Dolittle . The only one that matters is mine.

 

[Christian D66]

Impressive ads for such a terrible movie. Someone made a copy of a cropped VHS tape for me many years ago. Sad to say there are no scenes with a nude woman.

Tom Skerritt? I have never heard ofthis!