3D Blu-ray Review Wings of the Hawk 3D Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

An entertaining popcorn western enhanced by fine action sequences, appealing performers, nice location photography, and judicious use of 3D, Budd Boetticher’s Wings of the Hawk plays quite beautifully more than sixty years after it first appeared.



Wings of the Hawk (1953)



Released: 29 Mar 1954
Rated: Passed
Runtime: 81 min




Director: Budd Boetticher
Genre: Adventure, Romance, Western



Cast: Van Heflin, Julie Adams, Abbe Lane, George Dolenz
Writer(s): James E. Moser (screenplay), Gerald Drayson Adams (novel), Kay Lenard (adaptation)



Plot: During the Mexican revolution of 1910, an American prospector gets involved with the revolutionaries after a corrupt Mexican official confiscates his mine.



IMDB rating: 6.0
MetaScore: N/A





Disc Information...

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[JoeDoakes]

Hypnotic Hick (6:32, 2D/3D): the main titles of this Woody Woodpecker cartoon alone in 3D are worth the price of this disc with popouts, differing planes, and great depth: all in a few seconds of screen time. The cartoon itself has been restored magnificently with deeply saturated colors and expert sound.

This disc is all about the cartoon

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Thanks for the review, Matt. I am actually looking forward to this as it has been quite a long time since I wore 3D glasses in my home theater.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Thank you for your fine review. I'm eagerly awaiting my Blu-ray as I don't have any memory of ever watching this movie beforehand. I believe that George Dolenz was Micky Dolenz's father.

 

[Matt Hough]

Thank you for your fine review. I'm eagerly awaiting my Blu-ray as I don't have any memory of ever watching this movie beforehand. I believe that George Dolenz was Micky Dolenz's father.

He was. It's mentioned in the commentary.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Thanks for the review, Matt. I am actually looking forward to this as it has been quite a long time since I wore 3D glasses in my home theater.

Same here!

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Thank you for the great review Matt, I’m so glad that you enjoyed it. Bringing this one back to life was quite a challenge!

 

[Tino]

This disc is all about the cartoon

That’s unnecessarily dismissive of the extensive work done on the feature film by @Bob Furmanek and his team don’t you think?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Excellent review, Matt! It sounds like this new disc will be a welcome improvement over the less-than-stellar 35mm presentation I saw a few years ago. I can’t wait to get my copy.

 

[JoeDoakes]

That’s unnecessarily dismissive of the extensive work done on the feature film by @Bob Furmanek and his team don’t you think?

No. Bob Furmanek is great and so is everything he does. I just think that Van Heflin is no Woody Woodpecker

 

[RBailey]

I used to dismiss actors like Van Heflin and Edmond O'Brien when they appeared in westerns and action pictures. They just didn't seem to match up with people like John Wayne, Joel McCrea and other hero types. I always liked them and respected them in dramas but ignored them in actioners.
As I got older, I really came around and see that they brought kind of an "Everyman" quality to roles like Heflin's in WINGS OF THE HAWK and the earlier TOMAHAWK western. I feel the same about O'Brien. His westerns like THE DENVER AND RIO GRANDE and SILVER CITY are very good.
And back to Van Heflin...I never saw him as a light comedy performer until TCM aired his WEEK-END WITH FATHER (1951) last year. He and Patricia Neal are terrific in it and I wish he'd done more of them.

 

[Bob Cashill]

While never A-list stars guys like Heflin and O’Brien (and their female counterparts) were the glue that held Golden Age Hollywood together, in film after film.

 

[Camps]

Got a shipping notice from KL. Looking forward to this!

 

[Camps]

Just got my Wings of the Hawk blu ray.

And it is stunning. Insanely great 3D, with depth that pulls you into the picture.

The image clarity is so sharp you can clearly see the actors' makeup lines.

It's a beautifully photographed and entertaining picture, with sweeping vistas, an enjoyable storyline and, in Van Heflin, a pretty badass hero.

Oh, and Julia Adams looks quite delectable. Can you believe Ray Danton allegedly cheated on her??!

Kudos, 3FDA and Kino! One of your very best!

 

[RolandL]

Just got my Wings of the Hawk blu ray.

And it is stunning. Insanely great 3D, with depth that pulls you into the picture.

The image clarity is so sharp you can clearly see the actors' makeup lines.

It's a beautifully photographed and entertaining picture, with sweeping vistas, an enjoyable storyline and, in Van Heflin, a pretty badass hero.

Oh, and Julia Adams looks quite delectable. Can you believe Ray Danton allegedly cheated on her??!

Kudos, 3FDA and Kino! One of your very best!

Thanks for the positive review, I'm still waiting for mine, ordered 1/24. Dvdbeaver.com also has a review but he doesn't have a 3D TV, so I don't know why he does them.

 

[Malcolm R]

People are still able to enjoy the restored flat version of the film. 3D is not a requirement to buy/watch this film. It's just an added bonus.

 

[Timothy E]

Matt, thank you for the great review. Your insights and the comments by Camp are spot on! Either the Budd Boetticher feature or the Woody Woodpecker cartoon would be worth it by themselves, but this disc has both for the price of one. I may buy 2 just to show my support for Golden Age 3D on Blu-ray. The 3D Film Archive keeps topping itself, and I look forward to its future releases!

 

[Tino]

My copy just showed up a day early! Can’t wait to watch Van Heflin in 3D!

 

[bujaki]

My copy just showed up a day early! Can’t wait to watch Van Heflin in 3D!

I'd rather watch Ms. Adams!

 

[Tino]

I'd rather watch Ms. Adams!

So would I. My previous post was facetious. This one is not!