7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Odd little Western that gets off to a snappy start when a man (Matt Dow) is mistaken as a train robber. After the town's sheriff shoots the kid he's riding with, Dow clears his name and ends up as the new sheriff. He romances a Swedish woman and settles in to a peaceful life only to find that the boy has a few secrets of his own.
Starring: James Cagney, Viveca Lindfors, John Derek, Jean Hersholt, Grant WithersWestern | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.00:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Lovers of the outré are salivating over the announcement by Olive Films that they will be releasing one of the oddest “westerns” ever filmed, Nicholas Ray’s 1954 Joan Crawford –Mercedes McCambridge subtext-fest Johnny Guitar. Sandwiched in between Johnny Guitar and what is arguably Ray’s most lasting screen accomplishment, 1955’s Rebel Without a Cause, came another odd western by the director, 1955’s Run for Cover, a piece that lacks Johnny Guitar’s patently weird combination of ideas and layers but which in its own way is anachronistic, if perhaps not quite to the level of the Crawford film. Featuring a rare later career western turn by James Cagney (whose previous entry in the genre had been 1939’s Oklahoma Kid), as well as a host of nice supporting performances by an “eclectic” cast including John Derek (Bo’s future husband), Viveca Lindfors and Oscar Humanitarian Award namesake Jean Hersholt, not to mention about to be Best Actor Oscar winner Ernest Borgnine in a minor but instrumental role, the film offers the sort of character driven drama that would become a mainstay of westerns for the rest of the decade and well into the sixties. Ray trades in the studio bound feel of Johnny Guitar for an expansive, often outdoor shot film that makes the most of its VistaVision capabilities, a scenic aspect which helps to at least partially offset some less than artful story development. The mid-fifties saw the rise of what were often called Adult Westerns, and while Run for Cover makes a valiant attempt to inject some of the ruminative elements that would make the Anthony Mann – James Stewart collaborations so memorable, it feels and plays much more like a traditional oater with some unusual elements thrown in for a little added flavor.
Run for Cover is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Olive Films licenses masters provided to them by Paramount and so far Paramount has generally been doing a great job of simply transferring the film elements without a lot of (if indeed any) digital tweaking. Run for Cover is one of the nicer looking Paramount catalog titles Olive has handled, perhaps due in part to its VistaVision roots. The image is decently sharp in close-ups, but tends toward softness in midrange shots. The elements here are in surprisingly good shape, with only a few minor blemishes dotting the landscape. There is some noticeable age related color fading, with a tendency toward the brown side of things, but overall the elements have retained a great deal of their original luster.
Run for Cover features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mix which is decently full in the mid- and high ranges, but which tends not to support much sonic verve in the low end. That said, the ubiquitous gun shots sound surprisingly fulsome and Howard Jackson's nicely effective score also comes through with above average fullness. Dialogue is always clean and clear and the track really has no egregious damage of any kind to report. This isn't a "wow" audio mix by any stretch of the imagination, but it adequately reproduces the original narrow theatrical rendering of the track, and even occasionally has moments of relative spaciousness to recommend it (listen carefully in the opening scene where Matt and Davey meet for some nice ambient environmental effects for a good example).
As continues to be the case with most of these Olive Films releases, no supplements of any kind are included.
The fifties were a halcyon era for the western on both the big screen and perhaps especially on television. That glut of material meant for highly variable results, and Run for Cover is neither the most exciting nor the most innovative western ever filmed. Still, it's competent on just about every level, and it offers two nice turns from Cagney and Derek in the leading roles, as well as some equally effective supporting performances from Lindfors, Borgnine and Hersholt. Ray always had an impeccable visual sense, and he brings a certain sweep to this tale of two men dealing with questions of their own morality, either past or present. This Blu-ray offers solid video and decent audio, and despite following in the Olive tradition of no supplements, it comes Recommended.
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