John Wayne on Blu-ray

[ltb2.0]

Originally Posted by glennstl

This was a very different John Wayne movie, as he plays an oil fire fighter in present day. I thought it was interesting because it was so different from his most famous roles in westerns. I really liked the first 3/4 of the movie or so, but I feel the last act kinda went off the tracks in some ways. Katherine Ross (from Stepford Wives, 1975) is in this and that was honestly one of the selling points for me I love her! Overall, it's definitely a 2nd tier Wayne movie, but it's also interesting see The Duke in a different kind of role. Also, the picture quality on the Blu I felt was very good.

The action sequences were good. But the drama sequences really dragged this down. They lacked any real spark for the most part.

Vera Miles was cast in Green Berets but her part was cut and Duke got this role as an apology of sorts.

Some fun trivia for you

When asked to comment on the film during production, actress Katharine Ross replied, "It's the biggest piece of crap I've ever done!" Then the reporter asked Vera Miles to respond to Ross's comment. She thought for a moment and said, "Well, it's not the biggest piece of crap I'VE ever done!"

[glennstl]

Originally Posted by ltb2.0

The action sequences were good. But the drama sequences really dragged this down. They lacked any real spark for the most part.

Vera Miles was cast in Green Berets but her part was cut and Duke got this role as an apology of sorts.

Some fun trivia for you

LOL that quote is great

[Duke_45]

Originally Posted by L'armée des ombres

I own it, nothing great but ok
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&...118440&i=1&l=0

This is one, of only two Laserdiscs I still own (the other being The Alamo). I kept Jet Pilot, because the Laserdisc is the only presentation to show the film in it's proper aspect ratio. I'm hoping if it ever gets a North American release, that the blu ray will at least give you the option of seeing it in it's 1949 filmed ratio, and also contain it's 1957 release cropped ratio.

[glennstl]

Got out of work today a half day early due to a snowstorm moving through St. Louis. Expected to get around a foot of snow tonight and all day tomorrow.

That means... time for a Wayne marathon

[glennstl]

Ugh. I honestly don't have much good to say about this movie. I would say this is easily not even 2nd tier Wayne... it's the first film I would call 3rd tier. While it's always interesting to see Wayne perform and be in a different genre than usual, the film I found to be incredibly boring. It's basically Wayne and some buddies driving around most of the film trying to capture animals. I found the supporting cast to be weak. The story is simply not interesting to me whatsoever. On the positive: the picture quality looked good to me... despite what I read about it previously. Maybe they re-released it and fixed it? This Blu also unfortunately lacks any extras at all, other than a trailer. Worst of all.... the movie is simply way too long, clocking in at over 2 and 1/2 hours.
This is my first Wayne film in about 30 films that I definitely won't watch ever again and I may try to sell it, just to get rid of it.

Sorry if this review comes off as negative... it's simply a film that I personally found completely uneventful.

Anyway, on to better Wayne movies!

[Duke_45]

Originally Posted by glennstl

Ugh. I honestly don't have much good to say about this movie. I would say this is easily not even 2nd tier Wayne... it's the first film I would call 3rd tier. While it's always interesting to see Wayne perform and be in a different genre than usual, the film I found to be incredibly boring. It's basically Wayne and some buddies driving around most of the film trying to capture animals. I found the supporting cast to be weak. The story is simply not interesting to me whatsoever. On the positive: the picture quality looked good to me... despite what I read about it previously. Maybe they re-released it and fixed it? This Blu also unfortunately lacks any extras at all, other than a trailer. Worst of all.... the movie is simply way too long, clocking in at over 2 and 1/2 hours.
This is my first Wayne film in about 30 films that I definitely won't watch ever again and I may try to sell it, just to get rid of it.

Sorry if this review comes off as negative... it's simply a film that I personally found completely uneventful.

Anyway, on to better Wayne movies!

Yea, I get that. The scenes of the animal captures were pretty amazing but the story is weak. And besides Bruce Cabot, the supporting cast left much to be desired. Red Buttons who is normally so good, is allowed to overact to an almost unbearable level. Still, with all those negatives I find much to like about the film. Certainly not in the top 20 film rankings of Duke’s output, but you could do a lot worse than Hatari

[ltb2.0]

Originally Posted by glennstl

Ugh. I honestly don't have much good to say about this movie. I would say this is easily not even 2nd tier Wayne... it's the first film I would call 3rd tier. While it's always interesting to see Wayne perform and be in a different genre than usual, the film I found to be incredibly boring. It's basically Wayne and some buddies driving around most of the film trying to capture animals. I found the supporting cast to be weak. The story is simply not interesting to me whatsoever. On the positive: the picture quality looked good to me... despite what I read about it previously. Maybe they re-released it and fixed it? This Blu also unfortunately lacks any extras at all, other than a trailer. Worst of all.... the movie is simply way too long, clocking in at over 2 and 1/2 hours.
This is my first Wayne film in about 30 films that I definitely won't watch ever again and I may try to sell it, just to get rid of it.

Sorry if this review comes off as negative... it's simply a film that I personally found completely uneventful.

Anyway, on to better Wayne movies!

That's actually completely understandable. Howard Hawks in his later years rarely had a strong story and relied heavily on characters and interactions between them. Everyone has a John Wayne movie that is their breaking point. Hopefully this one did not deter you from your newfound enthusiasm for Duke.

Howard Hawks was one of 2 directors John Wayne would do movies for never having seen the script. When they said they had a movie, Duke was always ready to roll.

This was more of a paid vacation for the cast and crew.

[Rzzzz]

Hmmm. Im shocked, just shocked ! Ha ha, all kidding aside, this is one of my favorite John Wayne movies. I imagine the old nostalgia factor has a lot to do with it. This was on TV a lot as kid growing up in the 60's and 70's. This was our version of an action movie. This movie actually led to a couple of TV shows, Daktari and A Cowboy In Africa (needless to say, I was nuts about these shows). I even had a Cowboy In Africa lunchbox which I was very proud of, ha ha (I wish I still had it). But no worries glennstl, you are becoming a John Wayne super fan ! I have been meaning to ask you how you felt about True Grit ? That is the movie that made me love John Wayne. I saw it at the drive in when it first came out. I was 8 years old. My brothers and sisters were all asleep and I stayed up to the end, completely mesmerized....

[glennstl]

Originally Posted by Rzzzz

Hmmm. Im shocked, just shocked ! Ha ha, all kidding aside, this is one of my favorite John Wayne movies. I imagine the old nostalgia factor has a lot to do with it. This was on TV a lot as kid growing up in the 60's and 70's. This was our version of an action movie. This movie actually led to a couple of TV shows, Daktari and A Cowboy In Africa (needless to say, I was nuts about these shows). I even had a Cowboy In Africa lunchbox which I was very proud of, ha ha (I wish I still had it). But no worries glennstl, you are becoming a John Wayne super fan ! I have been meaning to ask you how you felt about True Grit ? That is the movie that made me love John Wayne. I saw it at the drive in when it first came out. I was 8 years old. My brothers and sisters were all asleep and I stayed up to the end, completely mesmerized....

I loved True Grit! Awesome movie! Completely agree with you. I didn't initially know how I would feel about Wayne movies as he grew older, but I've really come to love those... he's like this comfortable gruff old guy you love. True Grit was extremely good. I also really liked Rooster Cogburn, too! Sounds like you have some great memories!

[glennstl]

Awesome movie! It was kinda like Dirty Harry "lite". I really enjoyed Wayne's character. I thought the plot was good and moved at a great pace. I wish they had followed this up with a potential sequel. I thought the picture quality looked very nice also!

[ltb2.0]

Originally Posted by glennstl

Awesome movie! It was kinda like Dirty Harry "lite". I really enjoyed Wayne's character. I thought the plot was good and moved at a great pace. I wish they had followed this up with a potential sequel. I thought the picture quality looked very nice also!

Unfortunately this and Brannigan didn't do well at the box-office so Duke decided against contemporary roles and made 2 last westerns.

Brannigan could have potentially been the first Rush Hour trilogy, though with an American cop and a Scotland Yard detective.

If He had made McQ just a few years earlier, it would have changed the path of his career.

[MifuneFan]

Kino has confirmed they have 3 John Wayne titles. Let the speculation begin . I'll guess Shepherd of the Hills, Jet Pilot, and the Conqueror.

Originally Posted by Kino Lorber Insider

We have one Boris Karloff title with Universal.

We currently have 3 John Wayne titles.

[Rzzzz]

I don't have a link to the the post but I told KLI I was holding out on the German Jet Pilot blu for the Kino release and he said they didn't have it...

[happydood]

Originally Posted by Rzzzz

Hmmm. Im shocked, just shocked ! Ha ha, all kidding aside, this is one of my favorite John Wayne movies. I imagine the old nostalgia factor has a lot to do with it. This was on TV a lot as kid growing up in the 60's and 70's. This was our version of an action movie. This movie actually led to a couple of TV shows, Daktari and A Cowboy In Africa (needless to say, I was nuts about these shows). I even had a Cowboy In Africa lunchbox which I was very proud of, ha ha (I wish I still had it). But no worries glennstl, you are becoming a John Wayne super fan ! I have been meaning to ask you how you felt about True Grit ? That is the movie that made me love John Wayne. I saw it at the drive in when it first came out. I was 8 years old. My brothers and sisters were all asleep and I stayed up to the end, completely mesmerized....

It's a pretty kid-friendly movie what with the animals and the music- even if times have become more sensitive to animal treatment now. The brood in my house when I was little (of which I was the youngest) always loved this movie when it came on.

[ltb2.0]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Kino has confirmed they have 3 John Wayne titles. Let the speculation begin . I'll guess Shepherd of the Hills, Jet Pilot, and the Conqueror.

Seven Sinners
The Spoilers
Pittsburgh

Would be my uneducated guess.

[glennstl]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Kino has confirmed they have 3 John Wayne titles. Let the speculation begin . I'll guess Shepherd of the Hills, Jet Pilot, and the Conqueror.

YES!

[glennstl]

It's not exactly Saving Private Ryan as far as emotional impact, but it's a darn good movie. Wayne did a terrific job and I can see why he got nominated for an Academy Award for this. I think the battle scenes were well done for the most part (esp. I'm sure for the time period when this was made). I also enjoyed the relationships between Wayne and his men. The picture quality I thought looked very nice. This is a film that could REALLY deserve some good extras, but unfortunately, it has nothing. Good picture!

[glennstl]

Watched 3 Wayne movies today during our snowstorm... might try for a 4th tonight!

[Rzzzz]

Originally Posted by glennstl

It's not exactly Saving Private Ryan as far as emotional impact, but it's a darn good movie. Wayne did a terrific job and I can see why he got nominated for an Academy Award for this. I think the battle scenes were well done for the most part (esp. I'm sure for the time period when this was made). I also enjoyed the relationships between Wayne and his men. The picture quality I thought looked very nice. This is a film that could REALLY deserve some good extras, but unfortunately, it has nothing. Good picture!

Get this....

It has an excellent 18 minute "making of" documentary hosted by Leonard Maltin.
This is a good candidate for a future Olive Signature edition if they can stay in business....

[glennstl]

Originally Posted by Rzzzz

Get this....

It has an excellent 18 minute "making of" documentary hosted by Leonard Maltin.
This is a good candidate for a future Olive Signature edition if they can stay in business....

Thanks, I’ll look into picking this up for the extras!

And funny you should mention Olive Signature line. As I was watching Sands I was thinking it would be a great choice for the Signature line. Here’s hoping!