Blu-ray Review The Man From Laramie Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Richard Gallagher]

The Man From Laramie Blu-ray Review

Director Anthony Mann and actor James Stewart teamed up to make some of the most memorable Westerns of the Fifties. Among them are Winchester '73, Bend of the River, The Naked Spur, and The Far Country. The last of their Western collaborations, 1955's The Man From Laramie, makes its debut on Blu-ray from Twilight Time with a typically gorgeous transfer courtesy of Sony.

Studio: Sony

Distributed By: Twilight Time

Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC

Aspect Ratio: 2.55:1

Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HDMA

Subtitles: English SDH

Rating: Not Rated

Run Time: 1 Hr. 42 Min.

Package Includes: Blu-ray

Standard Blu-ray Keep Case

Disc Type: BD50 (dual layer)

Region: A

Release Date: 06/10/2014

MSRP: $29.95

The Production Rating: 4.5/5

Will Lockhart (James Stewart) leads several wagons of freight from Laramie, Wyoming through Apache territory enroute to the town of Coronado. Near the end of the journey he halts the wagons and camps for the night near Dutch Creek, which was the scene of a massacre of U.S. Cavalry by Apaches. Lockhart's interest in the slaughter is unclear at first, but it turns out to be the major motivation for his subsequent actions. When he arrives in Coronado he makes the acquaintance of Barbara Waggoman (Cathy O'Donnell), who has inherited the town's general store following the death of her father. Barbara is surprised that Lockhart made it to Coronado without being attacked, and she is ambivalent about the delivery of the supplies because she would just as soon close the store and leave Coronado. Lockhart's interest in Coronado is piqued when he discovers that a repeating rifle which is for sale in Barbara's store was obtained through a trade with an Apache.Lockhart is hoping to get a full load of freight for his return trip to Laramie, but nobody is taking a chance on shipping supplies through Apache country. Barbara suggests that he load up on salt which can be shoveled for free on the edge of the desert. However, when his crew gets to work in the salt flats they are confronted by Dave Waggoman (Alex Nicol), Barbara's cousin, and the cowboys from his father's vast cattle ranch. Dave accuses Lockhart of stealing because the salt is located on the ranch. Lockhart is lassoed by one of Dave's cowboys while the others set fire to the wagons. Then, in an unspeakable act of cruelty, Dave begins shooting Lockhart's mules. However, before he can complete the deed Dave is interrupted by Vic Hansbro (Arthur Kennedy), the ranch foreman. He orders Dave and the other cowboys back to the ranch, but by then Lockhart's wagons have been destroyed. One of his men, Charlie O'Leary (Wallace Ford), encourages Lockhart to return to Laramie, but Will decides to stay in Coronado. He wants to get payback for the loss of his wagons and mules, but more importantly he wants to find out who is supplying the Apaches with repeating rifles. O'Leary, whose mother was an Apache, volunteers to go into Apache territory and try to get some information about the source of the rifles. Lockhart then heads to town to confront Dave Waggoman.Anthony Mann always was interested in character development, and The Man From Laramie is no exception. Alec Waggoman (Donald Crisp), the owner of the ranch, is a widower and Dave is his only child. Alec's relentless pursuit of land and wealth has led him to ruthlessly trample on anyone who has stood in his way. The only exception is Kate Canady (Aline MacMahon), who once was engaged to Alec and who has refused to sell her ranch to him. Alec thinks of Vic Hansbro as a son and has promised him a share of the ranch one day, but blood is thicker than water and to Vic’s chagrin Dave will always come first. This has caused Dave and Vic to have a strained relationship, as Dave is acutely aware of the fact that his father considers Vic to be the more reliable and mature of the two. Will Lockhart's interest in the repeating rifles is explained when we learn that his younger brother was one of the cavalry who were killed at Dutch Creek. Plainly put, Lockhart is out for revenge.The Man From Laramie is based upon a popular Saturday Evening Post story by Thomas T. Flynn and was adapted for the screen by Philip Yordan and Frank Burt. James Stewart is excellent as the obsessed and determined Lockhart, who will let no one interfere with his efforts to learn who bears responsibility for the death of his brother. Arthur Kennedy does a fine job as the conflicted ranch foreman, and Alex Nicol is suitably menacing as the hot-tempered Dave. As portrayed by Donald Crisp, Alec Waggoman is in some respects a surprisingly sympathetic character. Aline MacMahon steals several of her scenes as Alec's ranching rival and spurned lover.The film contains several realistic action scenes, including a fistfight which takes place primarily inside a pen of cattle. There also is one very brutal scene involving Dave and Will which will make viewers squirm even though it is not particularly graphic. The Man From Laramie is a multi-layered film which, as with nearly all Anthony Mann films, will give viewers plenty to think about.

Video Rating: 5/5 3D Rating: NA

The Man From Laramie was one of the first Westerns to be filmed in CinemaScope, and the 2.55:1 1080p Technicolor image beautifully shows off the magnificent scenery of the locations in the vicinity of Santa Fe, New Mexico. This Blu-ray is encoded with the AVC codec and the image is consistently sharp and free of damage. Colors are vivid and accurate and the retention of an appropriate level of film grain contributes to a pleasing film-like experience. Credit must be given to art director Cary Odell and cinematographer Charles Lang (who also filmed such memorable Westerns as The Magnificent Seven and One-Eyed Jacks). Sony and Twilight Time have once again delivered a first-class Blu-ray.

Audio Rating: 4/5

The English 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio is excellent. The surround channels are utilized primarily to provide a wide soundstage for George Duning's evocative and rousing score. Every word of dialogue is clear and understandable, and English SDH subtitles are available for those who need them. The original sound mix reportedly was 4-track stereo, so this Blu-ray presumably does a fine job of replicating how the film sounded in stereo-equipped theaters in 1955.

Special Features Rating: 2.5/5

The extras on this Blu-ray disc include a teaser trailer and the original theatrical trailer. I caution against watching the theatrical trailer before viewing the feature because the trailer contains several spoilers.The isolated music track includes sound effects.An eight-page color booklet includes a reproduction of original poster art and a typically incisive essay by Julie Kirgo.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Anthony Mann is one of my favorite all-time directors. He turned out exceptional films in a variety of genres, ranging from film noir to Westerns to war films to historical epics. The Man From Laramie is a fine example of why Mann is held in high esteem by film aficionados and it is now available in a superior Blu-ray edition. It is being pressed in a limited edition of 3,000 copies and readers who are interested in purchasing it should go to the Screen Archives website and confirm that copies are still available.

Reviewed By: Richard Gallagher

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[Robin9]

Thanks for the review.

I saw this film when it first came out and I was still a small boy. (My father loved Westerns!) I've always thought this film was one of the very best Westerns of the '50s and certainly one of the most interesting. I love the fact that two of the flawed characters are quite sympathetic.

I'm delighted that Sony have maintained their usual high standards with this BRD. Mine's still on its way. The DVD was one of the first I bought a very long time ago and I've watched it dozens of times. Now I'll give it away.

 

[Alan Tully]

A great western (did James Stewart make any other kind!), but a curiously bloodless one...I'm trying to find out how the spoiler works, I'll be back.

 

[Robin9]

I watched this BRD last night. It blows the DVD into the weeds! Very pleased to have this film on Blu-ray.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Yup, a great looking BD. It was like watching this great western for the very first time.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Yes, I put this on and all I could think was "WOW!"...no really...then the next thing I thought was "Wow!"...really...wow...

 

[PatrickDA]

On another message board, people are saying this is a victim of the Cinemascope mumps (heads being too fat, instead of more vertical). Any truth to that?

 

[Robert Crawford]

On another message board, people are saying this is a victim of the Cinemascope mumps (heads being too fat, instead of more vertical). Any truth to that?

I never noticed it!

 

[Mark-P]

On another message board, people are saying this is a victim of the Cinemascope mumps (heads being too fat, instead of more vertical). Any truth to that?

Oh sweet Jesus, please don't let us waste precious forum space entertaining complaints about CinemaScope mumps, which is a completely normal anomaly of early CinemaScope films.

 

[theonemacduff]

Oh sweet Jesus, please don't let us waste precious forum space entertaining complaints about CinemaScope mumps, which is a completely normal anomaly of early CinemaScope films.

It might not be "mumps". The disc has been transferred at 2.55:1, but sfaik, by the time Man From Laramie was filmed, because of the allocation of some space to the soundtrack, the ratio had shrunk to 2.35:1. If they took a negative originally designed to be printed for 2.35, and mastered it at 2.55, that might account for the slightly widened look of Jimmy Stewart's otherwise chiselled features.... On the other hand, taking a Beaver screen shot, which I did, and reformatting it at 2.35 makes JS's OCFs look too tall and thin, so I don't know what's the problem here, if indeed it is a problem. And keep in mind that viewers' eyes tend to adapt much more easily than their ears; that is, if the sound is improperly syced, you spot it immediately, and, in all its teeth-clenching splendor, it never goes away. But if the image is slightly "off" you tend to simply not "see" it fairly quickly.

 

[Mark-P]

It might not be "mumps". The disc has been transferred at 2.55:1, but sfaik, by the time Man From Laramie was filmed, because of the allocation of some space to the soundtrack, the ratio had shrunk to 2.35:1. If they took a negative originally designed to be printed for 2.35, and mastered it at 2.55, that might account for the slightly widened look of Jimmy Stewart's otherwise chiselled features.... On the other hand, taking a Beaver screen shot, which I did, and reformatting it at 2.35 makes JS's OCFs look too tall and thin, so I don't know what's the problem here, if indeed it is a problem. And keep in mind that viewers' eyes tend to adapt much more easily than their ears; that is, if the sound is improperly syced, you spot it immediately, and, in all its teeth-clenching splendor, it never goes away. But if the image is slightly "off" you tend to simply not "see" it fairly quickly.

Those same Beaver screencaps that you reference demonstrate exactly how much image is being gained at the left side of the picture which would have been occupied by an optical soundtrack on prints that may have had them. 2.55:1 is absolutely correct for this title and any stretching one may notice in the closeups is perfectly normal.

 

[theonemacduff]

Those same Beaver screencaps that you reference demonstrate exactly how much image is being gained at the left side of the picture which would have been occupied by an optical soundtrack on prints that may have had them. 2.55:1 is absolutely correct for this title and any stretching one may notice in the closeups is perfectly normal.

Then it is the mumps after all. I should've realized.

 

[Robin9]

I've always been delighted with this disc, and I watched it again a few weeks ago.

Amazon U. K. have a new The Man From Laramie Blu-ray disc from a 4K transfer. Was the Twilight Time disc from a 4K transfer or have Sony done a new one?

 

[Mark-P]

I've always been delighted with this disc, and I watched it again a few weeks ago.

Amazon U. K. have a new The Man From Laramie Blu-ray disc from a 4K transfer. Was the Twilight Time disc from a 4K transfer or have Sony done a new one?

On the back cover of the Twilight Time release:

This Twilight Time version offers a new 4K transfer, remastered from the original negative, giving us the film in magnificent 2.55:1 for the first time since its initial release.

 

[skylark68]

This is probably my absolute favorite Twilight Time release. What a beautiful transfer. The movie is excellent as well. The scene at the salt flats was pretty cutting edge for the time in its brutality.

 

[Robin9]

On the back cover of the Twilight Time release:

You are more observant than I am! In truth, it didn't occur to me to check the cover. Many thanks, and apologies for wasting people's time.

 

[benbess]

This is probably my absolute favorite Twilight Time release. What a beautiful transfer. The movie is excellent as well. The scene at the salt flats was pretty cutting edge for the time in its brutality.

For my morning matinee I'm watching The Man From Laramie again. This is one of my favorite TT blu-rays as well, although I think it's now out of print.

This movie would be part of my imaginary James Stewart Film Festival....

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, 1939
Destry Rides again, 1939
The Shop Around the Corner, 1940
The Philadelphia Story, 1940
It's a Wonderful Life, 1946
Call Northside 777, 1948
Rope, 1948
Broken Arrow, 1950
Harvey, 1950
The Greatest Show on Earth, 1952
The Naked Spur, 1953
Rear Window, 1954
The Man From Laramie, 1955
The Man Who Knew Too Much, 1956
Vertigo, 1958
Anatomy of a Murder, 1959
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, 1962
How the West Was Won, 1962
The Flight of the Phoenix, 1965

Many of these movies are on blu-ray, but I think some of them could use remastering, including Rope, The Man Who Knew Too Much, etc. I don't think a blu-ray exists for The Naked Spur, but I'd get that one if it came out from Warner Archive.

 

[PatrickDA]

I wish this had some special features. Maybe another group will get it and put it out with a commentary or something.

 

[OliverK]

I wish this had some special features. Maybe another group will get it and put it out with a commentary or something.

Here you go:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film4/blu-ray_reviews_62_/the_man_from_laramie_blu-ray.htm

Eureka released it in the Uk with a bunch of extras, from DVDbeaver:

Edition Details:
• New audio commentary by film critic Adrian Martin
• New video interview with critic and novelist Kim Newman (20:17)
• Original theatrical trailer (2:09)
• PLUS: a new booklet featuring a new essay by Philip Kemp, an interview with Anthony Mann, and rare archival imagery

 

[PatrickDA]

Here you go:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film4/blu-ray_reviews_62_/the_man_from_laramie_blu-ray.htm

Eureka released it in the Uk with a bunch of extras, from DVDbeaver:

Edition Details:
• New audio commentary by film critic Adrian Martin
• New video interview with critic and novelist Kim Newman (20:17)
• Original theatrical trailer (2:09)
• PLUS: a new booklet featuring a new essay by Philip Kemp, an interview with Anthony Mann, and rare archival imagery

Region B, though. Maybe another Region 1 group will put it out again. I think the TT release is sold out(?)