Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

Old Henry 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson April 8, 2023

The most commonly written history of the American Western may place the revisionist period of the genre somewhere in the mid-Eighties when Pale Rider (1985) and Silverado (1985) were released. Ever since, the genre has alternated between throwback Westerns and revisionist Westerns. Potsy Ponciroli's Old Henry (2021) borrows aspects from each of these sub-genres. It also may be characterized as either historical revisionist or historical fiction of the Old West, depending on how a critic looks at it. The film is set in 1906 in the Oklahoma Territory where farmer Henry McCarty (Tim Blake Nelson) leads a bucolic life with his 14-year-old son, Wyatt (Gavin Lewis). Henry became a widower after his beloved wife succumbed to tuberculosis ten years ago. His impatient son is itching to experience the wider world and accelerate his path to becoming a man. Wyatt would like to go hunting with Henry's brother-in-law Al (Trace Adkins) but his old man forbids him from operating a gun. When Henry spots a riderless horse and finds blood on it at the hilltop, he make the ride across the plains to locate its owner. Henry discovers a wounded man on the creek bed lying unconscious along with a satchel full of cash nearby. He brings Curry (Scott Haze) back to his farmhouse where he ties him up to a bedstead. After Curry awakens and quarrels with Wyatt, he warns Henry that three men will be coming to the farm to round him (Curry) up and search for the missing money. Curry claims that he is a true lawman and the three cowboys are really bank robbers. Sure enough, Ketchum (Stephen Dorff) arrives at the McCarty farm with his two "deputies," Dugan (Richard Speight Jr.) and the Mexican tracker Stilwell (Max Arciniega). Ketchum contradicts Curry by counterclaiming that he is the sheriff of a nearby county and Curry is a criminal/fugitive that he wants to arrest. Henry isn't trusting of Ketchum and tells him that Curry isn't in his house. Old Henry is a character mystery in that it attempts to probe the hidden identities of Curry, Ketchum (to a lesser degree), and most especially, old Henry.

It is clear that Ponciroli studied Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven (1992) as the character arc of Henry McCarty is much like Bill Munny's (Eastwood). Both Bill and Henry are aging, grizzled farmers who are former cowboys with pasts that they would much prefer be left behind. But their pasts inevitably catch up to both of them. They're compelled to re-inhabit their younger personas. I also thought about and examined Vincent D'Onofrio's underrated Western The Kid (2019) for this review. There are some specific historical connections between Old Henry and The Kid but I don't want to spoil them for those who haven't seen either or both. The D'Onofrio and Ponciroli films showcase tests for masculine growth: e.g., the teenage Wyatt in Old Henry and the considerably younger Rio Cutler (Jake Schur) in The Kid. Both pictures are well worth seeing.

Old Henry 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots included in this article are taken directly from the 4K UHD transfer and downscaled to Blu-ray resolution. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content.

This marks the second physical media release of Old Henry in the US. A year and a half ago, my colleague Brian Orndorf reviewed the Blu-ray-only edition of Old Henry. Shout! Studios has packaged the same BD-50 with a 4K Ultra HD (BD-100) that comes with a slipcover. It isn't definitively known if the movie's DI was finished in 4K so I can't conclusively state if this 3840x2160 presentation is an upscale or native 4K. In Germany, Koch Media released a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray combo in DigiBook packaging that apparently includes both HDR10 and Dolby Vision. The Shout! release only includes HDR10 (the presentation was produced by Shout!'s Brian Ward). Shout!'s video encode has a mean bitrate of 85.00 Mbps while Koch's UHD disc averages 66.90 Mbps.

Old Henry appears in its originally composed (and ultra-wide) ratio of 2.66:1. Digitalmediaworld.tv and Cinematography World magazine reported that cinematographer John Matyśiak shot the picture using the ARRI Alexa Mini 2.8K. He chose Tiffen diffusion filters to better control contrast and sharpness. Matyśiak selected ARRI Master Anamorphic lenses. He utilized Tiffen Pearlescent for exteriors, Black Satin for interiors, and also Black Pearlescent filters. Brian wrote of the 1080p transfer: "The AVC encoded image (2.66:1 aspect ratio) presentation provides a softer sense of screen detail, preserving the period look of the feature. Skin textures are especially raw here, surveying ragged men and bodily harm. Farmland details are also open for inspection, and distances are quite dimensional. Colors are intentionally muted, reaching sepia-like tones with evening events. Greenery is a bit brighter, along with golden sunsets and red blood. Skintones are natural. Delineation is acceptable." On the 2160p presentation, I would affirm Brian's observation that the image often looks soft as Matyśiak sought a more diffused appearance. Brian's description of intentionally muted colors also matches how the picture appeared on the big screen when it played on the festival circuit. For example, Ethan Brehm of Spo!ler Magazine noted how the visuals are "washed out with low contrast and overall flattened coloring." How do the 2K and 4K transfers compare? I would say that on the Ultra HD, I noticed increased texture. For shots of wide-open vistas with the sky present, the extra resolution augmented levels of faux grain. For instance, see Screenshot #18. My video score for the 4K is 4.25/5.00.

A side note: although it still remains a mystery whether or not the DI for The Kid (2019) was indeed finished at 2K, Matthew J. Lloyd's cinematography is comparatively sharper and clearer with higher brightness levels on Lionsgate's 4K Ultra HD than Matyśiak's work is on this 2160p presentation. Although the Lionsgate 4K disc only features SDR, this leads me to believe that not all of The Kid's compositions were shot at a resolution equivalent to 2K.

Twelve scene selections accompany the 99-minute feature on the Shout! discs.

Old Henry 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shout! has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround track (3200 kbps, 24-bit) and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo downmix (1730 kbps, 24-bit). Brian wrote about the main track: "The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track presents a largely frontal listening experience, dealing primarily with dialogue exchanges, which sound crisp and emotive, even with some tight-jawed acting from Nelson. Scoring cues retain warmer orchestral moods and precise instrumentation. Atmospherics offer compelling surround activity, exploring open air events and hollow room tone. Horse movement inspires a few directional offerings. Low- end isn't pronounced, but suspense beats and weaponry offer weight and snap." I would second these remarks and add that gunshots ricocheting off trees deliver the most robust activity along the rear channels. In addition, the pulsating drum beats from Jordan Lehning's score provide some real thumps.

The sound tracks are primarily delivered in English but also feature some Spanish dialogue. Shout! incorporates compulsory English subtitles for the latter (see Screenshot #20). There are also English SDH that the user can switch on or off. There are only optional German subtitles for the feature on the Koch release.

Old Henry 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The same two items that Brian reviewed on the Blu-ray have resurfaced on the UHD disc:

• A Behind-the-Scenes Look at OLD HENRY with the Cast and Filmmakers (8:03, 1080p) - a typical EPK featurette containing interview snippets with writer/director Potsy Ponciroli as well as actors Tim Blake Nelson, Stephen Dorff, Max Arciniega, Richard Speight Jr., and Gavin Lewis. The participants took a break from filming to talk to one of the publicists. In English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:30, 1080p) - Shout! Studios' official trailer for Old Henry presented in 2.66:1 anamorphic widescreen (average bitrate: 28418 kbps) with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound (192 kbps). This trailer shows clips from scenes late in the film so don't watch it if you haven't seen Old Henry before.

Old Henry 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Old Henry boasts an inimitable performance by Tim Blake Nelson in the title role. If you enjoyed his parts in the Coen brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), you'll likely love him in this film. Stephen Dorff hasn't consistently appeared in movies that are deserving of his talent but he does a remarkable job here as Ketchum. There isn't a tremendous difference between the Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD but detail, grain, and texture are most evident in the 2160p presentation. Even though the Koch Media combo edition features Dolby Vision, it doesn't include Dolby Atmos (just an English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and a German-dubbed DTS-HD MA 5.1), so I would not declare it a deal breaker compared to the Shout! Studios package, which sports a significantly higher average video bitrate. Between the two, I would choose the Shout! I hope we get more classic Westerns on BD and UHD like Peckinpah's Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973) which has yet to receive even a Blu-ray release! It's nice that Shout! includes both the standard Blu-ray and the 4K. A STRONG RECOMMENDATION.