Comanche Station 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Comanche Station 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 3, 2023

Budd Boetticher's "Comanche Station" (1960) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include by filmmaker Taylor Hackford; Super 8 Version of the film; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles foe the main feature. Region-Free.

Comanche Station was Budd Boetticher and Randolph Scott’s final collaboration. It reintroduces several familiar themes but tells a good story and looks fantastic. With a bigger cast of stars, it easily could have been the best of the Ranown westerns.

In an area dominated by the Comanches, the lonely tracker Jefferson Cody (Scott) discovers what he has been looking for -- an abducted white woman named Nancy Lowe (Nancy Gates). After negotiating with the Comanches, he strikes a deal -- a brand new rifle and some other valuables in exchange for her freedom – and together they immediately head toward the nearest town. Soon after, the two encounter the brash outlaw Ben Lane (Claude Akins) and his two sidekicks (Skip Homeier, Richard Rust) who have also arrived in the area to rescue Lowe and later claim a substantial reward offered by her husband. When Cody reveals that he did not have prior knowledge of the reward, no one believes him, though as he soon realizes, for completely different reasons.

After agreeing to let the outlaws ride with him, somewhere along the way Cody also realizes that they still intend to claim the reward. When he attempts to warn Lowe that, like him, she could become a target -- because to get paid the outlaws do not have to bring her back alive, they just need to bring her back to his husband -- she again refuses to believe him, but then gradually changes her mind. Meanwhile, several unexpected disagreements between the outlaws seriously complicate their revised plan to get rich.

The story promotes Boetticher’s vision of the Wild West which is defined by several familiar themes. For example, the Wild West is again reconstructed as a dangerous playground where tough men and women routinely gambled their lives. Boetticher speculates that there was not much that separated the good and the bad among them because they made very similar choices while pursuing their goals and trying to stay alive. Also, Boetticher speculates that the Wild West attracted men and women that had something in their past that needed to be protected and the intensity with which they did so shaped their good and bad reputations. This is arguably the most interesting theme because it makes all characters in Boetticher’s films -- the good and the bad, the tough and the weak, the civilized and the uncivilized -- appear equally vulnerable and ultimately authentic.

When the Ranown westerns were remastered and released on DVD by Sony Pictures, filmmaker Taylor Hackford appeared in several exclusive bonus features and repeatedly highlighted the similarities between the good and bad characters in Boetticher’s westerns. In Comanche Station, these similarities are what make the predictable journey back to the nearest town fascinating to behold. Why? Because the travelers are repeatedly misinterpreting their intentions based on incomplete information from their past that they are willing to share. In other words, good and bad are constantly invalidated by revelations that alter their images. (Akins plays the most interesting character. He is a disgraced soldier who has a history with Scott. Ponder why he has become an outlaw, and how what he has done in the past differs from what the Comanche are planning to do with Gates before the deal).

Comanche Station produces some truly breathtaking panoramic visuals that make it very difficult to think of it as a western done with a small budget. But it is not just the terrific locations that make a tremendous difference, the camera movement and very particular shot composition are equally impressive. Boetticher worked with cinematographer Charles Lawton Jr.

Comanche Station 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Comanche Station is presented on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray. The 4K Blu-ray release is Region-Free. The Blu-ray release is Region-A "locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and are downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content. Screencaptures #1-31 are taken from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #35-40 are from 4K Blu-ray.

I viewed the entire film with Dolby Vision and then spent some time with the 1080p presentation. I did not compare the Dolby Vision and HDR presentations. I only quickly sampled the latter.

In native 4K, this film looks as gorgeous as Ride Lonesome. However, the cinematography has different qualities, so expect to see more density fluctuations. Delineation, depth, and clarity looked very good on my system. I liked the color scheme a lot, though I prefer to overall balance on the 4K presentation because in 1080p some ranges of blue nuances reveal slightly stronger saturation levels that shift toward turquoise. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks immaculate as well.

Comanche Station 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The audio is very solid. All exchanges sound clear, sharp, and stable. I had the volume of my system turned up quite a bit and did not detect any anomalies in the upper register. There are no distortions or audio dropouts.

Comanche Station 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by filmmaker Taylor Hackford in 2008. It is outstanding. Hackford provides a great deal of information about the production, narrative construction, and style of Comanche Station as well as Budd Boetticher's career and legacy. As far as I am concerned, it is one of the essential bonus features in Criterion's box set.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by filmmaker Taylor Hackford in 2008. It is outstanding. Hackford provides a great deal of information about the production, narrative construction, and style of Comanche Station as well as Budd Boetticher's career and legacy. As far as I am concerned, it is one of the essential bonus features in Criterion's box set.

• Super 8 Version - presented here is a vintage Super 8 version of Comanche Station produced by Columbia Pictures in 1973. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a remastered vintage trailer for Comanche Station. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Booklet - 34-page illustrated booklet featuring Tom Gunning's "Some Things A Man Can't Ride Around: Budd Boetticher's Ranown Westerns", Glenn Kenny's The Outlaw Variations: The Ranown Westerns' Finely Drawn Antagonists", and technical credits.

BONUS BLU-RAY DISC

• Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That - this archival documentary examines the life and legacy of Budd Boetticher. Included in it are clips from interviews with Clint Eastwood, Peter Bogdanovich, Taylor Hackford, Robert Stack, Robert Towner, and Boetticher, amongst others. The documentary was produced in 2005. In English, not subtitled. (85 min).

• Cinema, de Notre Temps: "Boetticher Rides Again" - presented here is an archival episode of the French TV program Cinema, de Notre Temps in which Budd Boetticher discusses his transformation into a "western director" and career in Hollywood. The episode was first broadcast on September 13, 1995. In English and French, with imposed French subtitles and English subtitles where necessary. (60 min).

• Budd Boetticher: A Stury in Self-Determination - in this archival documentary, Taylor Hackford interviews Budd Boetticher about his experiences as a bullfighter in Mexico, which were eventually recreated in Bullfighter and the Lady. The documentary was produced in 1971. In English, not subtitled. (61 min).

• Visiting Budd Boetticher - in this archival program, Budd Boetticher recalls various experiences he had with Randolph Scott and Burt Kennedy while working on the Ranown westerns and discusses the evolution of the American western. The program was produced in 1999 by Fiction Factory. In English, not subtitled. (38 min).

• Visiting Budd Boetticher - in this archival program, Budd Boetticher recalls various experiences he had with Randolph Scott and Burt Kennedy while working on the Ranown westerns and discusses the evolution of the American western and his decision to exit Hollywood. The program was produced in 1999 by Fiction Factory. In English, not subtitled. (38 min).

• Budd Boetticher and Jim Kitses - in this archival audio interview, film scholar Jim Kitses questions Budd Boetticher about the various westerns he made with Randolph Scott. The interview was conducted in 1969. In English, not subtitled. (63 min).

• Farran Smith Nehme on Randolph Scott - this new visual essay was created by critic Farran Smith Nehme. In English, not subtitled. (26 min).

Comanche Station 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Budd Boetticher and Randolph Scott's final collaboration, Comanche Station, very easily could have turned out the best of the Renown westerns. It introduces the Wild West as the place it probably was and several characters that look very authentic. I would place it right behind Ride Lonesome, though some of its panoramic footage is impressive I may change my mind in the future. I had a terrific time with it and could not be happier that it was made available on 4K Blu-ray. It is included in Criterion's The Ranown Westerns: Five Films Directed by Budd Boetticher, a six-disc 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray box set. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.