Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Horizons West Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 12, 2021

Budd Boetticher's "Horizons West" (1952) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new audio commentary by critic Toby Roan and vintage trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Part of the plan

The events in the film take place shortly after the Civil War. Brothers Dan (Robert Ryan) and Neil (Rock Hudson) have returned home to Texas and started making plans for the future. Dan, who is a few years older than Neil, does not want to be just another rancher who is barely making ends meet. He has seen how his father, Ira (John McIntire), wasted his entire life trying and failing to pay off the family ranch and is determined to avoid his mistake. Neil does not mind following his father’s steps, but first he wants to settle down with the right girl. During a family dinner the two brothers reveal their intentions and casually disagree with each other, but quickly acknowledge that both are free to live their lives as they wish.

While trying to connect with the right folks in town and establish valuable contacts, Dan agrees to participate in a high-stakes poker game organized by a group of wealthy businessmen. However, one of the businessmen, Cord Hardin (Raymond Burr), clashes with Dan after he realizes that his wife, Lorna (Julie Adams), appears extra kind to him. When Dan loses big against him and reveals that he can’t immediately cover his loss, Hardin then publicly humiliates him and warns him to stay as far way from the players as well. But the rejection only further strengthens Dan’s determination to pursue his dream, and shortly after he visits a big camp on the outskirts of town set up by other penniless soldiers who have been causing trouble in the area while trying to figure out what to do with their lives. After a quick fight at the end of which he temporarily remakes the face of one of their bullies, Dan asks them to come work for him as he initiates his transformation into the most powerful landowner in Texas.

Soon after, Dan gets a couple of excellent business tips that allow him to make a small fortune in another state. He helps his father pay off the family ranch and then hands Hardin the sum he owes him from the poker game. But the feud between Dan and Hardin further escalates, and when Lorna reveals that she has feelings for the former, the two clash again. This time, while defending himself, Dan kills Hardin. Not too long after that, Dan takes Hardin’s spot and welcomes Lorna in his lavish new home. But Dan’s dream to build a lasting empire in Texas eventually alters his personality and even nastier replica of his former foe, Hardin.

The simplicity of Budd Boetticher’s western Horizons West is quite deceiving because the line that is supposed to separate the good and bad characters in it is actually quite crooked. But it has to be because it promotes the same message Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon does.

What is this message?

Even though he exists in a different era, Ryan’s character sees the world exactly like Ryan O'Neal’s character does. He is a dreamer who trades his principles for a future that he believes will transform him into a permanent winner. It is why he uses every single opportunity to expand his wealth and solidify his status as a strong man who cannot have any legit competitors. O’Neal’s character is equally uncompromising, but because he does not have the wealth to permanently separate himself, he is routinely forced to act as a chameleon. So, the environments in which these characters operate are different, but their philosophy of life is identical.

Of course, the playing field that Boetticher provides for Ryan’s character is far more transparent as well. The small upper class that Hardin represents does have any strategic players like the ones O’Neal’s character has to outsmart, so the intrigues and clashes are a lot easier to predict. Also, there is more melodrama instead of nuanced drama, but given the era in which Boetticher shot the film this makes perfect sense.

Horizons West Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.36:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Horizons West arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The technical presentation is very similar to that of Bend of the River. What does this mean? It means that in order to look as good as it should Horizons West needs to be properly restored. To be perfectly clear, the current master that was used to produce this release isn't bad, but it is old and it is very easy to see that it was created at a time when registration issues were not a top priority. It is why depth and clarity are not optimal, though in many areas they are actually quite good. Obviously, delineation suffers as well, particularly in darker areas where the registration issues are most prominent. Colors are decent, but most certainly do not replicate the native Technicolor values of the original cinematography. Image stability is very good. The entire film is free of distracting age-related imperfections as well. My score is 3.25/5.00. (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).

Horizons West 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.

I thought that the lossless track was quite nice. I noticed a few times that the upper register was a bit shaky, but there were no distracting distortions. It simply felt that the overall the audio could have been fuller and better rounded. The dialog is always clear and easy to follow. There are no audio dropouts or pops.

Horizons West Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - vintage trailer for Horizons West. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Commentary - critic Toby Roan shares plenty of information about the careers of the people that made Horizons West, which is quite interesting, but I would have preferred to hear more on the conflicts and themes that define Horizons West. The commentary was recorded exclusively for Kino Lorber.

Horizons West Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Folks that have described Budd Boetticher's Horizons West as 'simplistic' are misinterpreting the nature of the conflicts that are at the heart of it. Robert Ryan's cynical dreamer sees the world around him exactly like Ryan O'Neal's character does in Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, though his opponents are much easier to outsmart because they are pretty straightforward players. At the right time, both men trade their principles for a better future and after that simply begin adopting the right personalities that would help them accomplish their goals. This recent release is sourced from an old master that was supplied by Universal Pictures. The technical presentation is decent, but if properly restored the film will look quite a bit better in high-definition. RECOMMENDED.