5.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
When the government opens up the Oklahoma territory for settlement, restless Yancey Cravat claims a plot of the free land for himself and moves his family there from Wichita. A newspaperman, lawyer, and just about everything else, Cravat soon becomes a leading citizen of the boom town of Osage. Once the town is established, however, he begins to feel confined once again, and heads for the Cherokee Strip, leaving his family behind. During this and other absences, his wife Sabra must learn to take care of herself and soon becomes prominent in her own right.
Starring: Richard Dix (I), Irene Dunne, Estelle Taylor, Nance O'Neil, William Collier, Jr.Drama | 100% |
Western | 26% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.2:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.2:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
One of the first Best Picture* winners clearly chosen more for technical achievements than enjoyment value, Wesley Ruggles' pre-Code drama Cimarron was later more famously (and better) remade in 1960 by director Anthony Mann. This was actually the first Western to take home that prestigious prize and, despite the public's enduring fascination with the genre, it would take almost 60 years to happen again. But yes, while the original Cimarron is overlong and narratively kind of flat, it's a true nitrate-era spectacle and, thanks to Warner Archive's outstanding new restoration, the next best thing to a time machine if you're in the mood to visit turn-of-the-century Oklahoma.
Based on Pulitzer winner Edna Ferber's eponymous 1930 novel, Cimarron's technical achievements as a large-screen spectacle can't be ignored. Produced on an enormous $1.5M+ budget (a record for RKO Pictures at that point), it made use of more than 5,000 costumed extras and roughly 30 camera operators to capture the drama. It was initially well-received critically, the first film to earn more than six Oscar nominations and the first to be nominated in all of the "Big Five" categories (Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and screenplay), yet Cimarron has aged like fine milk during the last 90 years where critics and audience have since grown to recognize its paper-flat narrative and almost inert sense of momentum. (I won't even get into the racist stereotypes, if only because of their pervasiveness in American culture during that era.) It can still be celebrated for its ambitious scope and base-level spectacle, but otherwise the phrase "they don't make 'em like they used to" doesn't apply here. The fact that Cimarron won over a film like The Front Page while a masterpiece like City Lights didn't even get nominated? That's downright laughable.
Cimarron shares more than a bit of Blu-ray DNA with another recently-released Archive title, 1929's The Broadway Melody; though almost completely opposite in its subject matter, this early MGM musical is likewise regarded as one of the least deserving Best Picture winners of Hollywood's Golden Age. But that's a review for next week...
For now, Warner Archive's new Blu-ray plays to Cimarron's limited strengths with a sterling new 4K-sourced restoration that ranks among
their very best... and given the boutique label's track record, that's certainly saying something. This disc looks markedly better than the wide
majority of catalogue home video releases from this era of filmmaking and, if nothing else, deserves a spin just for its breathtaking picture quality.
A few minor but enjoyable slices of early 1930s pre-show entertainment round out a solid Blu-ray package that's greater than the sum of its parts.
Released two years before the standard Academy ratio of 1.37:1 was introduced, the slightly-narrower-than-normal 1.2:1 format of Cimarron still manages to look pretty damn epic thanks to the film's excellent production design and cinematography. Not surprisingly, this sprawling drama has no shortage of locations and a veritable army of background extras at its disposal, adding to the inarguable grandeur of establishing shots both urban and extremely rural.
But the real story here is Warner Archive's absolutely stunning new restoration, which ranks as one of their best and makes this near 100 year-old production shine like new. Sourced from a new 4K scan of safety preservation elements (cellulose acetate, a substitute for notoriously flammable nitrate fim), it's a consistently stunning preservation that only occasionally veers soft and "dupey", with fine detail and texture reaching staggering heights on many of the wide shots and even relatively tight close-ups. From sunlit prairies to carefully-lit indoor sets and even under cover of darkness, this is a true five-star effort in every sense of the word; one that looks extremely clean and polished, yet was carefully handled to preserve natural film grain and other native elements of its ancient source material. I sincerely doubt most original showings of Cimarron looked this good, and it obviously exceeds the modest heights set by previous home video editions including Warner Bros.' 2006 DVD. Restoration of the year? Maybe... but it's only July.
Similarly, Warner Archive's DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix does what it can for aging raw material that, again according to a very reliable source, is the safety print made from a nitrate preservation negative in the 1960s. It's mostly clean and crisp in the areas of dialogue and background noise, yet louder elements are almost unavoidably harsh at the high end -- perhaps the best comparison would be a train almost coming off the rails. But the bulk of Cimarron is reined in nicely with, overall smooth fidelity and balance that is surprisingly light on hiss, pops, and other age-related defects. Overall, a fine effort under the circumstances and, again, clearly better than earlier home video editions.
Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only, not the extras.
This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with vintage poster-themed cover artwork and no inserts. Extras are limited to pre-show entertainment, as RKO trailers from this era are basically no longer in existance.
Wesley Ruggles' pre-Code drama Cimarron was an early Best Picture* winner but a modest box office failure; it's more of a technical marvel than a true crowd-pleaser, and was remade in 1960 by director Anthony Mann to superior results. This original version still has merit, though, and Warner Archive adds support for the main feature with a truly stunning 4K-sourced restoration -- one of their best to date -- and a small but entertaining collection of pre-show entertainment. Certainly Recommended to fans of either version, but total newcomers should try before they buy.
* - Or "Outstanding Production", as it was known during that decade.
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