Junior Bonner (1972)

[Oscar Rothman]

Coming Soon on DVD and Blu-ray!

Junior Bonner (1972) Starring Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino, Ben Johnson, Joe Don Baker, Bill McKinney, Dub Taylor and Don 'Red' Barry - Cinematography by Lucien Ballard (The Wild Bunch, The Getaway) - Music by Jerry Fielding (Straw Dogs, The Killer Elite) - Directed by Sam Peckinpah (Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, Ride the High Country)

[BagheeraMcGee]

Originally Posted by Oscar Rothman

Coming Soon on DVD and Blu-ray!

Junior Bonner (1972) Starring Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino, Ben Johnson, Joe Don Baker, Bill McKinney, Dub Taylor and Don 'Red' Barry - Cinematography by Lucien Ballard (The Wild Bunch, The Getaway) - Music by Jerry Fielding (Straw Dogs, The Killer Elite) - Directed by Sam Peckinpah (Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, Ride the High Country)

...and another 450-foot blast over the center field wall for Kino!

[JohnCarpenterFan]

More Peckinpah on Blu-ray is always a good thing. I was very close to buying a used OOP DVD of this lately, glad I didn't.

[Boggle]

Great news, I've been waiting for this one. If I recall, the old MGM dvd wasn't even enhanced for 16x9 TV's. So this is a much needed upgrade.

A very under-appreciated film. It's absolutely perfect in terms of the way it's shot and edited. Saw this on the big screen last year and that was a treat. I'll be curious to see if they cleared the rights for all the songs from the original release or if it'll have the songs used on the previous edition. Either way, this is a definite purchase for me.

[Irongod2112]

Oh yeah this is great news!!

Now if only we can get
Nevada Smith, Tom Horn and The Hunter...

[MJD64]

Nice, between this and Criterion's Straw Dogs it'll be a good year for Peckinpah fans...now if only Warner's would get their excellent Peckinpah box-set out on blu.

[javi92]

Another DVD that can be retired.

[yellowcakeuf6]

Junior Bonner was one of the few to have the Todd-AO 35 credit (Todd-AO lenses but shot on 35mm film). I think Conquest of the Planet of the Apes also had the credit. Basically Cinemascope/Panavison anamorphic though, but hey Todd-AO lenses! Check off another Peckinpah.

[mca213]

Another one off the list.. Can retire my old Anchor Bay dvd

[Gerby]

My favourite Peckinpah film! finally.

[StingingVelvet]

I love his action movies but haven't seen many Peckinpah dramas, and haven't seen this one. Will watch some clips and trailers, but it must be said rodeos ain't my bag, baby.

[Boggle]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

I love his action movies but haven't seen many Peckinpah dramas, and haven't seen this one. Will watch some clips and trailers, but it must be said rodeos ain't my bag, baby.

It doesn't really matter. I'm pretty much a total city slicker. I couldn't care less about rodeos, it's not something I have any interest in whatsoever. The rodeo is just the backdrop here for what is essentially a family drama. It won't appeal to everyone, but it's totally prime Peckinpah. Many of the themes he works with in other films are present here.

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by Boggle

It doesn't really matter. I'm pretty much a total city slicker. I couldn't care less about rodeos, it's not something I have any interest in whatsoever. The rodeo is just the backdrop here for what is essentially a family drama. It won't appeal to everyone, but it's totally prime Peckinpah. Many of the themes he works with in other films are present here.

I was going to post the same thing. I have no interest in rodeo either. The film itself is pretty easygoing. There's some family dramatics, but it doesn't get too heavy and it doesn't pile on a bunch of contrived melodramatics like you would find in something like Terms of Endearment. It's just a good, Saturday afternoon movie. Once you get to the final scene of the film, you'll grin and say to yourself "Hmph, that was actually pretty good".

[Boggle]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

I was going to post the same thing. I have no interest in rodeo either. The film itself is pretty easygoing. There's some family dramatics, but it doesn't get too heavy and it doesn't pile on a bunch of contrived melodramatics like you would find in something like Terms of Endearment. It's just a good, Saturday afternoon movie. Once you get to the final scene of the film, you'll grin and say to yourself "Hmph, that was actually pretty good".

I don't want to overhype it and give anyone false expectations, but I find it to be extremely watchable. As you said, it's pretty easygoing. It's very well structured story-wise and as I said before, impeccably shot and edited. It shows you what Peckinpah could do with a story that focuses on characters more than shootouts. In a way, it's a bit like Hud, another film I happen to love. It definitely has similarities to Larry McMurtry type material. In a perfect world, this would've been a modest hit and Convoy would've bombed horribly.

[yellowcakeuf6]

Originally Posted by Boggle

I don't want to overhype it and give anyone false expectations, but I find it to be extremely watchable. As you said, it's pretty easygoing. It's very well structured story-wise and as I said before, impeccably shot and edited. It shows you what Peckinpah could do with a story that focuses on characters more than shootouts. In a way, it's a bit like Hud, another film I happen to love. It definitely has similarities to Larry McMurtry type material. In a perfect world, this would've been a modest hit and Convoy would've bombed horribly.

Never underestimate the choices of the American people.

[Iamspartacus]

Absolutely love this slow brooding character study. Great great stuff.

[Fred Sliman]

When the perimeters of the new Kino deal were established this was my main want. The old non-anamorphic DVDs were pretty hard on the eyes. This a unique film for star and director and features one of the great Robert Preston's finest performances. As mentioned above, the growing year of Peckinpah would be ripe for Pat, Ride and Cable from WB.

[Doc Moonlight]

Another "Year of Peckinpah" release will be Timeless' release of "The Westerner", originally announced for February, but moved to May. DVD only, and a WalMart exclusive, but at least it's getting released. I'd really like to see more of Peckinpah's TV work.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

I love his action movies but haven't seen many Peckinpah dramas, and haven't seen this one. Will watch some clips and trailers, but it must be said rodeos ain't my bag, baby.

It's basically a "sports" movie in its structure, with the same kind of family drama you'd expect, the sort of issues that will be addressed and cleaned up some but not fully resolved based on the outcome of the sporting event that the lead is involved in. It's a good movie, but it's more because the stunt work is impressive (even if it rarely looks like McQueen is doing much of it) than because of the great cast. I think that if you like Peckinpah, you should see it, but I'd suggest watching it before you buy. Even if you like it, it might not be one you'd re-watch much.

[dwk]

Originally Posted by Doc Moonlight

Another "Year of Peckinpah" release will be Timeless' release of "The Westerner", originally announced for February, but moved to May. DVD only, and a WalMart exclusive, but at least it's getting released. I'd really like to see more of Peckinpah's TV work.

I think May is the wide release, as it is already available at Walmart.