Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Night Passage Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 22, 2020

James Neilson's "Night Passage" (1957) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film as well as an exclusive new audio commentary by film historian Toby Roan. In English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

There are a lot of interesting stories about how this film got made, and if even half of them are true then it is probably fair to say that plenty of people that contributed to it knew from the get-go that it would not turn out to be special. For example, the only thing that apparently kept Jimmy Stewart on board was the fact that his character was a gunslinger who would never lose sight of his favorite accordion, which provided the iconic star with a great excuse to show off his performing skills. Also, Anthony Mann, who was initially considered to be in charge with the project, reportedly walked away from it because he wasn’t convinced that the script was good enough, and it is said that it was this exact decision that consequently irreversibly damaged his relationship with Stewart. James Neilson was brought over to direct only after it was made clear that Mann wasn’t interested and had already shifted his attention to an entirely different project.

The film is set against the backdrop of the Westward Expansion as large construction camps emerge across the railroad tracks where workers, aspiring businessmen and all sorts of shady opportunists are trying to coexist. Stewart is Grant McLaine, a loner who visits these sites and makes ends meet by playing his accordion in front of anyone that is willing to throw a few dimes at him. He is also a man who knows how to kill, which is why he is approached in Colorado and offered a lucrative deal: If he agrees to transport $10,000 in payroll money to a construction site that has become a target for the Whitey Harbin gang, he will be paid a nice fee for his service that could help him turn his life around. McLaine agrees to do the job and soon after jumps on the train that would take him to his final destination. However, it quickly becomes clear that Whitey Harbin’s men already know the exact day that the payroll money will be transported and have prepared for another robbery.

It is really difficult not to compare Night Passage to the great westerns that Stewart made during the 1960s, and unfortunately the closer one examines these films, the clearer it becomes that Mann was right to stay away from it. There is a lot here that simply does not gel, and even with Stewart working hard to make it look legit the end result remains average at best.

The entire film relies heavily on two character transformations to build up the drama and infuse the story with a classic western flavor that would make it attractive. McLaine quickly emerges as a man with a long and possibly dark past but by the time he boards the train it is already painfully obvious how his personality would evolve and the rest of the film basically ends up confirming the inevitable. The other character is the Utica Kid (Audie Murphy), who also has a troubled past, and during the robbery is expected to make some ‘crucial’ decisions to redeem himself. The climax, however, is so predictable and so transparent that it essentially becomes yet another inevitable formality.

After the train leaves the camp there are some spectacular panoramic vistas from the American countryside, but regrettably nature’s beauty remains the film’s biggest strength.

The energetic soundtrack was created by Oscar-winning composer Dimitri Tiomkin, whose credits include such legendary westerns as The Alamo, Red River, and High Noon.

Night Passage Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Night Passage arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The technical presentation is a mixed bag. The release is sourced from the exact same master that Universal supplied to Swiss label Explosive Media for this Region-B release, which we reviewed in 2017. Below is the good and the bad.

The good: The master is very healthy and when projected the film looks exceptionally tight and solid, as it should. Also, the native density levels of this master are outstanding. Fluidity is also strong. Furthermore, the master has a very convincing color scheme. The primaries are lush, stable, and properly balanced. There are excellent ranges of nuances as well. So, in its raw form this master could have produced a very solid Blu-ray release.

The bad: At some point a decision was made to apply a gentle filter over the entire film to make it look 'cleaner' than it should. Unfortunately, the filtering has introduced anomalies that compromise the integrity of the visuals. For example, background detail and nuances often appear smeary, and in select areas completely collapse. In darker/nighttime footage the effect is most obvious, but even during daylight footage there are plenty of problematic areas. (You can see a very obvious example on the left side of the frame in screencapture #1). Larger panoramic shots struggle as well, and the bigger your screen is, the easier it will be for you to see and realize that the film does not look as it should. So, while from time to time it may appear that the the technical presentation is convincing, in reality the film simply does not have a solid and consistent organic appearance. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" release. Therefore, you will be able to play on your player or PS3 regardless of your geographical location).

Night Passage 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 subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the frame.

I like the lossless audio track. I think that it was remastered when the current master was created because in terms of stability, clarity, and dynamic balance it performs as well as it should. There are no encoding anomalies to report.

Night Passage Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• U.S. Trailer - original U.S. trailer for Night Passage. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 480/60i).

• Additional Trailers - additional trailers for the following titles from Kino Lorber's catalog:
  
  1. Made for Each Other
  2. Broken Arrow
  3. No Highway in the Sky
  4. Bend of the River
  5. Thunder Bay
  6. The Rare Breed

• Commentary - in this new commentary, film historian Toby Roan digs deep into the production history of Night Passage and discusses the technical merits of the production, the careers of the people that made the film, its reception, etc. The commentary was recorded exclusively for Kino Lorber.

Night Passage Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I don't dislike Night Passage and actually think that rather large parts of it are incredibly beautiful, but I believe that folks that have argued over the years that it was made from a pretty average script are right. It is a very uneven film and on top of this it plays safe with its characters in a way that essentially forces the viewer to remain indifferent. There are a few sequences where Jimmy Stewart shines, but the truth is that there are far better westerns in his filmography. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by Universal Pictures. I can't say that I like it because at some point it was compromised. The raw master was almost certainly very beautiful, but the 'finished' master isn't. RECOMMENDED only to hardcore fans of Jimmy Stewart, and until a better release emerges on the market.