Hud Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		2.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Hud Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 28, 2025

Martin Ritt's "Hud" (1963) arirves on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films. The supplemental features on the release inlcude new program with Illeana Douglas, granddaughter of Melvin Douglas, and new audio commentary, recorded by critics C. Courtney Joyner and Julie Kirgo. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The Bannons

Many people have argued that Paul Newman, after being nominated for one, should have won an Oscar statuette for his performance in Martin Ritt’s Hud. I disagree. I think that the Academy members were right to award an Oscar statuette to Melvin Douglas, who is brilliant and the undisputed star of Hud. (Ironically, Douglas’ Oscar statuette came from the Best Actor in a Supporting Role category). Newman’s performance is quite inconsistent, frequently creating the impression that, where appropriate, it channels plenty of what made several James Dean and Marlon Brando characters famous. To be clear, Newman still looks good before Ritt’s camera, but it is always obvious that he plays a scripted character. Douglas instantly becomes the old-timer who must adapt or lose everything he has worked for his entire life.

Douglas’ old-timer is Texas rancher and widower Homer Bannon, who has just discovered that one of his cows has died from a mysterious illness. When a government expert confirms to him that it is the worst kind of illness, for which there is no cure, and his entire cattle stock must be eliminated to prevent it from spreading to other ranches in the area, the old-timer declares that he will not consider becoming an oilman -- the only other legitimate option for him to continue operating the ranch. Homer then clashes with his rebellious and destructive son, Hud (Newman), who has repeatedly urged him to sell as many of the sick cows as possible before the diagnosis is confirmed, and with his level-headed grandson, Lonnie (Brandon de Wilde), close to him, begins reevaluating his past. Before the cattle stock is eliminated, the old-timer suffers a stroke, Hud attempts to rape the ranch’s hard-working maid (Patricia Neal), and Lonnie concludes that there is no future for him in Texas.

Despite a few small changes, Hud accurately retells a story from Larry McMurtry’s novel Horsman, Pass By, which was published a few years earlier. However, because of how the drama is recreated cinematically, it does not feel wrong to consider Hud an original project.

The catalyst of the drama is Newman’s character, who very quickly evolves into the ultimate irredeemable human being. However, while visually impressive and difficult to forget, this character does not always appear authentic. For example, there are several sequences where his unhinged behavior, defined by cynical outbursts and violent acts, looks carefully scripted, almost as if to impress a crucial segment of the audience. Douglas’ character, the main buffer for it, effortlessly moves through the drama and never leaves the impression that his path and actions are scripted. For this reason, some of the crucial contrasts that the drama produces repeatedly shift the tone and atmosphere of Hud in opposite directions.

In a new program, Illeana Douglas argues that Hud channels political revelations about Texas, its economy, and the state’s inevitable transformation. Hud is free of politics. It is a character study in which three men, representing three generations, have their lives permanently reset by an unfortunate event. Neither their philosophies of life, each unique and deeply flawed, nor their actions are in any way reflective of Texas and its present or future politics.

Ritt worked with cinematographer James Wong Howe, who also won an Oscar statuette. The third and final winner was Neal, whose Oscar statuette came from the Best Actress in a Leading Role category.

Hud Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Hud arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films.

The release is sourced from an old and, unfortunately, quite weak master, supplied by Paramount. Various parts of the film produce visuals that look soft and, at times, even smeary, possibly because of filtering corrections. Panoramic shots are the most disappointing ones, but even close-ups look underwhelming. Delineation, clarity, and depth are quite simply nowhere near as good as they can and should be. On a large screen, these limitations become even more pronounced. The grayscale is surprisingly good. Blacks are lush and stable, while grays and whites are nicely balanced. However, because of the softness and flattening that frequently accompany it, many darker areas do not reproduce the grays and whites well. Image stability is good. I noticed several nicks and blemishes, but there are no large and distracting cuts, marks, warped or torn frames to report. In summary, while many older masters have produced wonderful Blu-ray releases, Paramount's current master for Hud is not suitable for a proper Blu-ray release of the film. My score is 2.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Hud Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

I viewed Hud with the LPCM 2.0 track. It is a good lossless track, free of any big and distracting age-related anomalies. However, if you turn up the volume enough, you will notice that in many areas there is unevenness of the kind that makes it easy to conclude that the audio has not been recently remastered. It is hard to tell how much of this unevenness is inherited and how much of it is caused by aging. I suspect that if, in the future, Hud is fully restored in 4K, the audio will be fully remastered, and some, maybe even most, of the unevenness will be eliminated. Dynamic intensity, however, is quite good for a film from the early 1960s.

Hud Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Illeana Douglas - in this new program, Illeana Douglas, granddaughter of Melvin Douglas, discusses the life and illustrious career of her Oscar-winning grandfather, and comments on Hud. I thought that some of the comments about the themes and messages of Hud were pretty strange, because it is definitely not a political film, as Douglas implies. In English, not subtitled. (35 min).

• Commentary - this new audio commentary was recorded by critics C. Courtney Joyner and Julie Kirgo.

Hud Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Homer Bannon is like Alvin Straight, a very special, authentic old-timer whose unique, unbreakable bond with the land where he was born and will die is the biggest and most important part of his identity. However, in Hud, there are two more Bannons, and many people have argued over the years that one of them, played by Paul Newman, overshadows the old-timer. I disagree. Newman looks predictably good before the camera, but he remains a cinematic character. Melvyn Douglas instantly becomes the old-timer, a real human being, flawlessly representing a generation whose time is coming to an end. This recent Blu-ray release of Hud is sourced from an old and, regretably, quite weak master, supplied by Paramount.