6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.7 |
After he is accused of murdering a lawman in 1901 Texas, a Mexican-American farmer flees and manages to elude a large posse for two weeks before he is finally captured.
Starring: Tom Bower, James Gammon, Edward James Olmos, Bruce McGill, Brion JamesWestern | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM Mono
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Robert M. Young's "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez" (1982) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on he disc include an exclusive new interview with Edward James Olmos; filmed recent panel discussion with cast and crew members; and new video interview with Chon Noriega. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by professor Charles Ramirez Berg and technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
The fugitive
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Robert M. Young's The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"This new 2K restoration was funded by the Academy Film Archive and partly supported by a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. The thirty-six reels of the unconformed 16mm original camera negative were transferred in high-definition; since these reels totaled nearly sixteen hours of material that was not in the order of the final edit, actor Edward James Olmos's personal 35mm print, a 16mm television negative, and the original 35mm magnetic audio tracks were used to build a map of the film. Sections of the original negative were then scanned in 2K resolution and conformed to the final version. Color correction and digital restoration were performed, and the opening and end credits were fully recreated. The color grading was approved by the director of photography Reynaldo Villalobos. The sound was transferred from the original 35mm magnetic tracks.
Restoration supervision: Josef Lindner, Tessa Idlewine/Academy Film Archive, Los Angeles.
Scanning and restoration: Modern VideoFilm, Burbank, CA.
Color grading: Gregg Garvin/Modern VideoFilm.
Editing and conform: Craig Price/Modern VideoFilm.
Audio restoration: John Polito, Ellis Burman/Audio Mechanics, Burbank, CA."
I have never ever owned a copy of this film in my library and therefore do not have another source to do a direct comparison or at least reference in our review, but the quality on display is such that it is very easy to declare that there is zero chance that the film has looked this good before. Indeed, the entire film looks remarkably healthy and vibrant, and there isn't even a whiff of any troubling age-related imperfections. Density and depth are very good, though I should point out that some fluctuations exist. As far as I can tell they are part of the original cinematography, though some of the unevenness in terms of density can also be traced back to the elements that were used to reconstruct the film. Regardless, the end result is a very convincing organic presentation. Colors are stable, natural, and nicely balanced. Image stability is outstanding. (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).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. (with large portions of Spanish). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. Please see the main review for additional information about the audio and the manner in which the film is presented on Blu-ray.
There are no technical issues to report in our review. The audio is clean and stable. Because the film has some quite unique organic qualities occasionally some light dynamic unevenness is present, but it is a fluctuation that is part of the original audio mix. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report.
I am a fan of Edward James Olmos' work but I had never owned a copy of The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez in my library. However, I have to admit that I don't remember actively looking for one, so I don't know if a proper version of it was easy or difficult to track down over the years. It is an interesting film that in certain ways emulates the stylistic qualities that Monte Hellman promoted with his experimental westerns during the '60s, but it certainly has a unique identity of its own. It apparently meant a lot to Olmos and he credits it as the most important work that he did throughout his career. Criterion's release is sourced from a new 2K restoration and reconstruction of the film, and comes with a good selection of bonus features. RECOMMENDED.
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