Lawman Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Lawman Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 10, 2023

Michael Winner's "Lawman" (1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Sandpiper Pictures. The only bonus feature on the release is a vintage theatrical trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

"He gave the West justice up to its neck. Then he rammed some more down its throat. Some people called him the widowmaker."

After several weeks of hard work, the wealthy rancher Vincent Bronson (Lee J. Cobb) and his best cattlemen head home to Sabbath. Exhausted and very thirsty, they decide to stop at Bannock and have a few drinks at the local saloon, a popular destination for anyone that wants to have a good time. However, after quickly emptying a few bottles of whiskey, the visitors become unruly and create serious problems for the local residents. During the chaos, an elderly man is shot dead.

Some days later, the Sherrif of Bannock, Karred Maddox (Burt Lancaster), arrives in Sabbath to arrest the killer and the rest of the troublemakers. The first man Maddox meets is the Sheriff of Sabbath, Cotton Ryan (Robert Ryan), an aging gunslinger with a great reputation, who agrees to assist but warns that it will not be easy to deal with Bronson. When Bronson is informed about the purpose of Maddox’s visit, he vows not to cooperate, genuinely unaware that one of his cattlemen is a killer. Bronson then discovers the truth but refuses to change his mind.

Ryan’s failure to work out a deal between Maddox and Bronson ensures that blood will be spilled. It also forces Ryan to choose a side, which proves a lot more difficult than it seems because Bronson is the most influential man in the area with the power to define its laws.

Even though Michael Winner’s Lawman and Death Wish are set in completely different period environments, they have so much in common that most of the time look like cinematic variations of the same theme. What makes them unique is how they choose to present them. Lawman is the more civilized, more compassionate of the two.

But even by western standards, including spaghetti western standards, the compassion of Lawman is very, very limited. In Lawman, the criminals are given a chance to appear in court where they can be treated as the law requires. In Death Wish, this option is eliminated because the criminals have repeatedly demonstrated with their actions that they are not eligible for it. Obviously, the men that face the criminals understand the law -- and by default the concept of justice that is attached to it -- very differently, but ultimately their actions aim to achieve the same goal. The drama and action are simply a façade that makes the obvious a little less obvious.

It is interesting, but hardly surprising, that Lawman and Death Wish have characters that represent the gray area as well. What is the gray area? It is the place where efforts are made to find a solution that legally bends and oftentimes breaks the law. In Lawman, it is Ryan that is tasked to find a solution and prevent the bloodshed, so he offers Maddox a substantial amount of money to abandon his mission on behalf of Bronson. In the real Old West, this is where the drama would have effectively ended, but Maddox refuses the deal and heads down the same path the “vigilante” in Death Wish chooses.

The cast is outstanding. Lancaster and Cobb lead in completely different ways but have the same impact on the evolution of the drama. In fact, even though they are on opposite ends of the law, after a while their arguments become equally compelling. The same can be said about Ryan and its initially tainted flexibility.

There are several wonderful cameos. A young Robert Duvall plays a member of Bronson’s team of cattlemen who cannot afford to go to Bannock. Richard Jordan, William Watson, J.D. Cannon, and Albert Salmi go against Maddox, too. Sheree North is Maddox’s former mistress who has not stopped loving him.

Winner and cinematographer Robert Paynter were very fond of each other and worked on a number of different films between the late 1960s and 1980s. Lawman is among the very best of them.

A tremendous soundtrack composed by Oscar-winner Jerry Fielding does a lot of important work to strengthen the desired atmosphere as well.

Lawman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Lawman arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Sandpiper Pictures.

The release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by MGM. This master is not bad. It has good organic qualities and produces visuals that hold up quite well on a large screen. However, more often than not its age easily shows. For example, there are quite a few nicks and tiny scratches that pop up here and there. Grain is not manipulated but in an ideal world it could be healthier and quite a bit better exposed. Color balance is stable, but this is another area where small yet meaningful improvements can be made. Saturation levels in particular should be quite a bit better, though interestingly most darker areas reveal very nicely managed nuances. Image stability is good. (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).

Lawman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only on 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.

Early into the film, there are some small but noticeable unevenness that does not appear to be inherited. I think that there are signs of aging there. No, it is not distracting, but I assume that if the audio is fully remastered the improvements will be impossible to miss. Clarity and sharpness remain very good. Dynamic intensity is great as well. Jerry Fielding's soundtrack does a lot of interesting work to strengthen the desires period atmosphere and the lossless track handles if very nicely.

Lawman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Lawman. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

Lawman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It feels like Michael Winner used certain areas of Lawman to prepare for Death Wish, which is why it is not at all difficult to speculate that they are cinematic variations of the same theme. Lawman has the better cast but Charles Bronson's edgy performance in Death Wish is iconic, so it is very difficult to declare which of the two is more effective. For my money, they are equally good. This release from Sandpiper Pictures is sourced from an older, a bit rough, but quite pleasing master that was supplied by MGM. If you do not have Lawman in your library, you should pick it up. However, I would pay big bucks to see Lawman fully restored in 4K and released on 4K Blu-ray. RECOMMENDED.