Man of the West Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Man of the West Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 1, 2015

Anthony Mann's "Man of the West" (1958) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; new video interview with Douglas Pye from University of Reading and new audio commentary with film critics Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme. The release also arrives with a 44-page illustrated booklet featuring "Superman" by Jean-Luc Godard and "Man(n) of the West(ern)" by Robin Wood. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"Then, if you wanted to make it even, you could let him come up on you from behind. He's real fine at that."

The great Gary Cooper is Link Jones, an aging outlaw who has turned his life around and started a family in a small town somewhere in the Old West. Carrying a bag full of money, Link boards a train to Forth Worth, where he plans to hire a schoolteacher for his town.

Long before the train can reach its destination, however, a gang of outlaws attack it, and in the ensuing chaos someone knocks Link unconscious and steals his money. The train then takes off, leaving Link behind together with the bubbly gambler Sam Beasley (Arthur O'Connell, Anatomy of a Murder) and the stunningly beautiful saloon singer Billie Ellis (Julie London, Saddle the Wind).

The visibly irritated Link leads Sam and Billie to a hidden cabin, which years ago he called home, where they can wait until the next train appears. But he is shocked to discover that his uncle, Dock Tobin (Lee J. Cobb, The Three Faces of Eve), a notorious outlaw, and his boys are now using it.

To protect Billie from Dock’s boys, Link announces that she is "his woman" and that he has decided to rejoin his uncle’s gang. Dock seems to like the idea as he has been planning to rob a bank in Lassoo and needs an old-timer like Link to help him do the job, but his boys are not convinced that Link can be trusted. When one of them, Coaley (Jack Lord, Dr. No), decides to test him and in the process humiliates Billie, all hell breaks loose.

Anthony Mann’s final big western, Man of the West, is loosely based on Will C. Brown’s novel The Border Jumpers, and a script by the great Reginald Rose. A year before Man of the West, Rose also wrote the script for Sidney Lumet’s classic film 12 Angry Men.

This film very much feels like a unique re-imagining of a classic Greek tragedy in which a sinner has come to terms with his violent past but is forced to confront it one final time and prove that he has become a different man. Admittedly, Cooper is a bit too old to play the man and as a result his internal struggle which the film takes very seriously isn’t overly convincing, but the excellent atmosphere makes the film fascinating to behold.

The film is very gritty, even uncharacteristically brutal at times, but there is a very distinctive sense of tranquility that permeates it. Indeed, it sees the old Old West as a beautiful, irresistibly romantic but very dangerous place where only the strong can survive. There is an interesting question the film asks, however: Are the strong ones the outlaws who constantly challenge death or those that are unafraid to confront the outlaws and defend themselves?

London is terrific next to Cooper and it has to be said that it is very unfortunate that her career never took off. Another wonderful western to see with London is Robert Parrish’s The Wonderful Country, in which she is an unhappily married wife who falls in love with a wanted gunslinger played by Robert Mitchum. Cobb and especially Lord also leave lasting impressions.

Shot across the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the film frequently looks astonishingly beautiful. Many of the wide panoramic vistas, in particular, are wonderfully framed. Mann shot the film with the great American cinematographer Ernest Haller (Gone with the Wind, Rebel Without a Cause).

Man of the West 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, Anthony Mann's Man of the West arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.

The high-definition transfer has been struck from a dated master and more often than not it is very easy to tell. When there is an abundance of natural light image depth could be rather pleasing, with the close-ups in particular looking quite good. However, in parts of the film where light is restricted depth and shadow definition clearly suffer (see screencaptures #3 and 4). Contrast levels remain stable, but some very minor fluctuations are present. Generally speaking, color reproduction is satisfactory, but color stability and color saturation clearly can be better. For example, there are various transitions with light color pulsations (sporadic fluttering) and during some of the outdoor footage saturation is clearly problematic (see screencapture #15). Despite the limitations mentioned above, however, the film does have a stable organic appearance. To be perfectly clear, no attempts have been made to digitally repolish it -- there are no traces of recent degraining and sharpening adjustments -- and this makes all the difference. Rather predictably, even though there is room for important improvements, many of the organic qualities we expect to see when an older film transitions to Blu-ray are indeed retained. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Man of the West Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. For the record, Eureka Entertainment have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

Clarity and depth are very good, though it is easy to tell that the audio has not been remastered because some minor fluctuations in terms of dynamic intensity remain. Also, some extremely light background hiss occasionally makes its presence felt, but it never becomes distracting. The dialog is stable and easy to follow. The music is well balanced as well. There are no audio dropouts, pops, or digital distortions to report in this review.

Man of the West Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Man of the West. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Douglas Pye - in this new video interview, Douglas Pye, Senior Visiting Fellow in the Department of Film, Theatre & Television at University of Reading, discusses the production history of Anthony Mann's Man of the West and some of the key differences between the film and Will C. Brown's novel that inspired it. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).

• Commentary - film critics Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme discuss some of the key themes in Anthony Mann's film as well as what makes it unique, the locations where different sequences were shot (the Sierra Nevadas), the various conflicts between the main protagonists, etc. In English, not subtitled.

• Booklet - 44-page illustrated booklet featuring: "Superman" by Jean-Luc Godard (originally appeared in Cahiers du cinéma no. 92, 1959); "Man(n) of the West(ern)" by Robin Wood (originally appeared in CineAction no. 46, 1998); and technical credits.

Man of the West Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Director Anthony Mann's final big western, Man of the West, certainly can look better on Blu-ray, but the current release unquestionably represents a good upgrade in quality. Viewers with larger screens or projectors, in particular, will easily be able to tell how superior the Blu-ray is next to the old DVD releases of the film. Eureka Entertainment's release also comes with a wonderful new video interview with Douglas Pye from University of Reading. RECOMMENDED.