7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.7 |
Found grievously injured by rancher Shep Horgan, Jubal Troop, a man whose life has been dogged by bad luck, is offered a job as a cowhand. Soon his obvious abilities earn him Shep's trust and a promotion. This riles former top hand, Pinky, who's been supplanted by the new man. Things are further complicated when Shep's wife Mae, unhappy in her marriage, turns her attention away from Pinky and onto Jubal, whose romantic interests lie elsewhere.
Starring: Glenn Ford, Ernest Borgnine, Rod Steiger, Valerie French, Felicia FarrDrama | 100% |
Western | 89% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.55:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.55:1
English: LPCM 2.0
English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Delmer Daves' "Jubal" (1956) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. There are no supplemental features on this release, but an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by film critic Kent Jones is included. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked'.
Jube is my foreman now...
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.55:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Delmer Daves' Jubal arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"This new digital master was produced from a restoration undertaken by Sony, for which a digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on a Northlight scanner from the original 35mm camera negative; the restoration work was then performed in 2K resolution. The original stereo soundtrack was restored from the original 35mm D/M/E magnetic master and the 35mm LCR stereo master.
Restoration and mastering supervised by: Grover Crisp/Sony Pictures, Culver City, CA.
Colorist: Scott Ostrowsky."
The outdoor footage looks very good. Depth and especially clarity are very pleasing while contrast is stable. The indoor footage, however, is not as sharp and vibrant. While some of the clarity fluctuations are directly related to the manner in which light and shadow are treated, there are some contrast fluctuations that are not inherited. There are also sporadic color pulsations as well as basic frame instability (typically accompanied by color instability). There are no traces of excessive degraining. Edge-enhancement is also not an issue of concern. Some light banding is present, but there are no serious compression anomalies to report in this review. Lastly, there are no large damage marks, debris, cuts, or scratches throughout the film. All in all, despite some of the minor issue noted above, this is indeed a good organic presentation of Jubal that should please its fans. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
The lossless audio track has plenty of depth and a surprisingly good range of nuanced dynamics. David Raksin's intense orchestral score enhances the dramatic atmosphere very well. Generally speaking, the dialog is well rounded, stable, clean, and easy to follow. Also, there are no annoying high-frequency distortions of audio dropouts to report in this review.
While not as atmospheric as 3:10 to Yuma, Jubal is just as entertaining. The cast is outstanding. I was particularly impressed by Rod Steiger's mean-spirited cowhand Pinky Pinkum. Let's hope that soon we will also see Delmer Daves' Cowboy with Glenn Ford and Jack Lemmon transition to Blu-ray. Indeed, it was a terrific idea to add these westerns to the Criterion Collection. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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