John Wayne on Blu-ray

[seagal]

Originally Posted by Tom Servo

Hellfighters - 8/11

I want to order that UK Circus World, but I wish there was a way to tell what the best version is, if there is any difference in them. There are no reviews or comparisons online that i can find.

I presume that the French, the U.K. and the German blu-ray have the same great master.

I´ve got the German blu-ray and the picture quality is great. But it´s a region B disc

Don´t buy the French blu-ray because I read somewhere it has forced French subtitles if you want to watch the film in English.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by nikita70

I recently started my John Wayne bluray collection. Only 4 so far. Hondo, How the West Was Won, The Green Berets, The Searchers. Really looking forward to getting more, especially some of his war movies like The Longest Day.

Hatari has a poor transfer? One of my favorites, that's disappointing. Can anyone expand on this?

HATARI looks terrible, one of the worst Blus I've ever seen. It might as well be in black and white the color is so washed out.

THE LONGEST DAY is also bad with heavy DNR used. The actors look like wax candles.

However, my guess is that neither one will come out in a better version anytime time soon. Paramount hasn't even released THE SONS OF KATIE ELDER yet, so I wonder if they would ever go back and redo HATARI. Maybe if they did a Wayne box set, but I still think it's unlikely. As for FOX and THE LONGEST DAY, they seem to be moving away from catalog titles. They fixed the DNR on PATTON, but there was a bigger outcry for that title than for LONGEST.

I think both titles are worth it if they aren't too expensive and there are no alternatives, but you have to set your expectations accordingly.

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

HATARI looks terrible, one of the worst Blus I've ever seen. It might as well be in black and white the color is so washed out.

THE LONGEST DAY is also bad with heavy DNR used. The actors look like wax candles.

However, my guess is that neither one will come out in a better version anytime time soon. Paramount hasn't even released THE SONS OF KATIE ELDER yet, so I wonder if they would ever go back and redo HATARI. Maybe if they did a Wayne box set, but I still think it's unlikely. As for FOX and THE LONGEST DAY, they seem to be moving away from catalog titles. They fixed the DNR on PATTON, but there was a bigger outcry for that title than for LONGEST.

I think both titles are worth it if they aren't too expensive and there are no alternatives, but you have to set your expectations accordingly.

Hondo also look absoultely terrible. Of course there might be some technical reasons for it as it was a film oddly shot in 3D. Maybe certain shots are terrible when converted to 2D - I remember discussing that with someone on here and learning the film was 3D.

But whatever the reason, I consider that one of the worst looking blu-rays I own (i've skipped out on owning Hatari and Longest Day and some of the other more famous blunders on blu-ray).

[nikita70]

I don't seem to be as critical on PQ as many here, don't get me wrong everyone here shares their opinions and I'm glad, I'm not trying to tick anyone off. I'll pick up Hatari when I get it cheap. I usually pay $3 or less for my blurays. Pawn shops, thrift stores, etc.

Got Big Jake today for $3.

[Early Memphis]

The Train Robbers Review up:

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-T...124975/#Review

[laidbacklarkin]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

Hondo also look absoultely terrible. Of course there might be some technical reasons for it as it was a film oddly shot in 3D. Maybe certain shots are terrible when converted to 2D - I remember discussing that with someone on here and learning the film was 3D.

But whatever the reason, I consider that one of the worst looking blu-rays I own (i've skipped out on owning Hatari and Longest Day and some of the other more famous blunders on blu-ray).

agree. it ranks as one of the top 10 worst bd transfers in my 1000+ collection. BramStoker's Dracula is also high on that list.

[Early Memphis]

The Cahill U.S. Marshal Review is up:

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Cahil...124841/#Review

[Lt. Brannigan]

Originally Posted by Early Memphis

The Cahill U.S. Marshal Review is up:

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Cahil...124841/#Review

That's disappointing... I was hoping they would have treated the movie better. This had the potential to amazing.

[Early Memphis]

Originally Posted by Lt. Brannigan

That's disappointing... I was hoping they would have treated the movie better. This had the potential to amazing.

Yeah, I was really hopeful after The Train Robbers review. But, I pre-ordered both, so ... just waiting ...

[Lt. Brannigan]

Originally Posted by Early Memphis

Yeah, I was really hopeful after The Train Robbers review. But, I pre-ordered both, so ... just waiting ...

Cahill is one of my all time favorite John Wayne movies, so this was quite crushing for me. I will probably still get it, just not right away.

[MifuneFan]

Replaced the Swedish release of Hellfighters with the domestic release from Universal

--->

[CinemaScope]

Originally Posted by nikita70

I don't seem to be as critical on PQ as many here, don't get me wrong everyone here shares their opinions and I'm glad, I'm not trying to tick anyone off. I'll pick up Hatari when I get it cheap. I usually pay $3 or less for my blurays. Pawn shops, thrift stores, etc.

Got Big Jake today for $3.

Big Jake is a very nice looking Blu-ray, & a good western.

[grundy]

I just caught RKO's Tall In The Saddle in HD on Warner Archive Instant. What a firecracker of a film! Element-wise it's comparable to the early Republic 1940's JW westerns from Olive. Hoping that Warner Archive will release this on blu someday. If you haven't seen it, the Duke is great in it...

And Ella Raines. Oh Ella Raines

[Lt. Brannigan]

Originally Posted by grundy

I just caught Tall In The Saddle in HD on Warner Archive Instant. What a firecracker of a film! Element-wise it's comparable to other early 1940's RKO JW westerns from Olive. Hoping that Warner Archive will release this on blu someday. If you haven't seen it, the Duke is great in it...

And Ella Raines. Oh Ella Raines

I thought Olive handled the Republic output? Did they have an RKO one mixed in that I missed?

[grundy]

A goof on my part. I corrected my OP.

[Lt. Brannigan]

Originally Posted by grundy

A goof on my part. I corrected my OP.

No worries, I thought that maybe a title somehow slipped past me.

[Professor Echo]

(Posted this in the Germany Forum, but thought I would add it here in case a Wayne fan doesn't visit that one).

The German BLU of CIRCUS WORLD can currently be gotten in the 3 for 20 deal at Amazon.de, which is a good deal for me, but I can't find any information anywhere regarding the transfer and whether it's the same as the UK one, which generally got favorable reviews. Also, does it have any extras?

Does anyone have any info on the German release? Thanks.

[baheidstu]

Watched the Paramount release of McLintock last night. The blu looks spectacular. I'd never seen it before because I'd only ever seen crappy PD copies of it for sale. Man, that was just a fun movie.

[oildude]

Regarding the posts above complaining about PQ on some of these John Wayne releases, if you do not buy a title based on user's comments here, then please contact the studio with an email or *gasp* even a letter (it isn't hard to get addresses) and let them know why you will not be buying it. They need to know why a title is losing potential sales. Otherwise, you send the wrong message. If sales are poor, they just think no one wanted the title enough to buy it on blu. The result is fewer future releases, long delays, or none at all.

I have Hondo on BD and strongly disagree with comments above that it looks terrible. How anyone can say this is beyond me. Could it be better? Maybe, but it is pleasing and true to the original source elements. Grain is present, softness due to optical effects and fades are there (and expected in a 50s film), details are rich, and the overall dusty color palette is spiced up with bright colored clothing that pops. Dupe elements may have been used in some scenes, and there are places where it may have suffered depth degradation and detail loss from a conversion from 3-D to 2-D (opinions vary on this) but if so then that would have been true on its 2-D theatrical release as well. Overall, I think it looks wonderful and on par with other transfers of classic mid-50s films available on Blu-ray. Waaay better than the DVD. It most definitely is not so awful looking that anyone should be fearful of buying it.

Hondo is one of my favorite westerns. Along with The Searchers, Shane, and High Noon, it is one of the top westerns and best films of the 50s in my opinion. The story is gritty and fierce, with outstanding performances. Watching it reminds me how much Robert Aldrich owes a debt to it in his later 1970s more visceral and grim take on a similar story in Ulzana's Raid (another favorite western I eagerly await on Blu-ray). Hondo is one of Wayne's best, and there is nothing about the PQ that should frighten anyone away. It also has an outstanding set of special features that impressed even me, who is not ordinarily a features guy, but I loved watching the extras on this Blu-ray.

[Maggot]

Originally Posted by oildude

Regarding the posts above complaining about PQ on some of these John Wayne releases, if you do not buy a title based on user's comments here, then please contact the studio with an email or *gasp* even a letter (it isn't hard to get addresses) and let them know why you will not be buying it. They need to know why a title is losing potential sales. Otherwise, you send the wrong message. If sales are poor, they just think no one wanted the title enough to buy it on blu. The result is fewer future releases, long delays, or none at all.

I have Hondo on BD and strongly disagree with comments above that it looks terrible. How anyone can say this is beyond me. Could it be better? Maybe, but it is pleasing and true to the original source elements. Grain is present, softness due to optical effects and fades are there (and expected in a 50s film), details are rich, and the overall dusty color palette is spiced up with bright colored clothing that pops. Dupe elements may have been used in some scenes, and there are places where it may have suffered depth degradation and detail loss from a conversion from 3-D to 2-D (opinions vary on this) but if so then that would have been true on its 2-D theatrical release as well. Overall, I think it looks wonderful and on par with other transfers of classic mid-50s films available on Blu-ray. Waaay better than the DVD. It most definitely is not so awful looking that anyone should be fearful of buying it.

Hondo is one of my favorite westerns. Along with The Searchers, Shane, and High Noon, it is one of the top westerns and best films of the 50s in my opinion. The story is gritty and fierce, with outstanding performances. Watching it reminds me how much Robert Aldrich owes a debt to it in his later 1970s more visceral and grim take on a similar story in Ulzana's Raid (another favorite western I eagerly await on Blu-ray). Hondo is one of Wayne's best, and there is nothing about the PQ that should frighten anyone away. It also has an outstanding set of special features that impressed even me, who is not ordinarily a features guy, but I loved watching the extras on this Blu-ray.

The problem isn't as simple as that. The top two big reasons: One, Studios are not going back to the OCN and doing a frame by frame restoration on each title. Two, the average consumer doesn't have the money to pay for the increased price of Blu-rays if above said work was done to at least the majority of back catalog titles. The "early on" cases of people stating they don't see the difference or not enough of one from DVD to Blu-ray is part in parcel the problem of not going back to the absolute best source(OCN if possible) and doing a complete frame by frame restoration. There are other equal side factors such as people watching movies, more and more, on what I would call "lesser" devices such as tablets and laptops. I have known several people who I have asked "why do they watch a movie on anything short of a large TV screen" and their resounding response is that they prefer the convenience over size. They tend to be out and about more often than that of film collectors, so portable devices get the lions share of viewing. The average consumer may enjoy "going to the movies", but they are not as passionate about movies as the collector. And the collector is.....more and more......becoming a niche phenomenon, although I suppose the collector always was. The whole "VHS for the vast public consumption" and the "laser disc for niche collector consumption".