Bend of the River Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Bend of the River Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 19, 2019

Anthony Mann's "Bend of the River" (1952) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include an original U.S. theatrical trailer for the film and exclusive new audio commentary by film historian Toby Roan. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Old pals

There isn’t a shortage of people who believe that this classic western is director Anthony Mann and Jimmy Stewart’s masterpiece. It was the first that they did in Technicolor. It is based on Bill Gullick’s novel Bend of the Snake and an original screenplay by Borden Chase, who also worked with Howard Hawks on another timeless western, Red River.

Former burglar Glyn McLyntock (Stewart) is hired to lead a large caravan of settlers from Missouri to the great Oregon Territory where they plan to start a new life. McLyntock, who has been a raider the majority of his life and now feels ashamed of his past, also intends to make a permanent change by becoming a farmer.

Along the way McLyntock saves the life of Emerson Cole (Arthur Kennedy), another reformed raider on his way to California, who has been tracked down and captured by a mob of very angry cowboys that have accused him of stealing from them. The two quickly warm up to each other and a few days later Cole returns the favor and saves McLyntock’s life after a group of Shoshone Indians attack the caravan. During the attack the Indian warriors seriously injure the beautiful Laura Baile (Julie Adams), who has started admiring McLyntock directness and sense of humor. In Portland, the settlers approach the owner of the biggest saloon in town, Tom Hendricks (Howard Petrie), and purchase from him a large load of food supplies and farm seeds that are to be delivered to their final destination before the first snow falls. However, when the gold rush fever reaches the town the price of food skyrockets and Hendricks refuses to honor his end of the deal, which forces McLyntock and a few of the settlers to head back and claim what they have prepaid. During their confrontation with Hendricks and his boys the settlers are joined by the extravagant gambler Trey Wilson (Rock Hudson).

Unlike so many other westerns from the ‘50s and even the early ‘60s, Bend of the River produces all of its meaningful contrasts without the presence of conventional perfect characters. Indeed, in this film everyone has some baggage and the casual manner in which ‘good’ and ‘bad’ characters recognize that they could have made better decisions makes these contrasts look far more authentic. Also, when confrontations occur there is very little of that familiar cinematic glamour that many westerns are known for. Life is still cheap, but death does not come during a flashy act that feels like it was rehearsed many times to leave a specific impression.

Stewart’s wonderful performance is defined by a terrific sense of humor that truly elevates the entire film. There are just endless examples of seemingly very ordinary sequences that become special simply because he has some very funny or witty lines that are delivered with the right tone at the perfect time.

Bend of the River Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Anthony Mann's Bend the River arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from the same older master that Swiss label Explosive Media worked with when it prepared this release of Bend of the River in 2017. The master comes from Universal's vaults.

Here's the type of quality that you should expect from it: The film has not been fully restored and there are some registration issues that affect the overall color balance. The most obvious ones tend to appear during larger panoramic shots (see examples in screencaptures #12 and 14). However, as the various screencaptures that are included with the review reveal, there is still plenty to like, including in terms of color stability and balance, especially when one considers the old DVD presentations of the film. More importantly, unlike so many other older masters that have emerged from Universal's vaults, this one isn't plagued by compromising sharpening or degraining adjustments, and this makes a huge difference. (For reference, see the recent releases of Ulzana's Raid and Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here). So, even though depth and color balance could be better, density and in many, many area delineation are still quite good. Also, overall image stability is very nice, and excluding a few minor flecks the film is essentially free of age-related imperfections. All in all, ideally Bend of the River should look every bit as impressive as The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, but this is still a decent filmic presentation. It just happens to be dated. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Bend of the River Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

When we reviewed the Swiss Blu-ray release of Bend of the River, I mentioned how surprised I was with the strong lossless track. My impression of it after viewing this release remains the same -- stability, clarity, and balance are lovely. It is possible that there is some room for minor adjustments in the mid/upper registers, but I think that the lossless track is already very solid.

Bend of the River Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary - film historian Toby Roan discusses discusses in great detail the conception of Bend of the River and the many reasons why it is considered one of the best westerns of the 1950s, the film's sytel, and the careers of Anthony Mann and Jimmy Stewart as well as the various other westerns they did together. The commentary was recorded exclusively for Kino Lorber.

• Trailers -
  
  1. Bend of the River
  2. Man of the West
  3. Broken Arrow
  4. The Indian Fighter
  5. The Kentuckian
  6. The Wonderful Country

Bend of the River Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is hugely disappointing that not a single one of Anthony Mann's big westerns has a Blu-ray release in the Criterion Collection, where I think all of them belong. (The Furies snuck in on DVD, years ago, and now this seems like a small miracle). This recent Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber is sourced from the same old Universal master that earlier Swiss label Explosive Media worked with to prepare this release for German speakers. It has a dated appearance, but as far as I am concerned it still has enough filmic qualities and offers a much better presentation of the film than the old U.S. DVD release. If you like the film, pick up a copy for your collection. RECOMMENDED.