The Big Country Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Big Country Blu-ray Movie Review

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has reissued its 60th Anniversary Special Edition Blu-ray from 2018 of William Wyler's THE BIG COUNTRY (1958). In the US, it has essentially superseded MGM's BD-50 from 2011, although units remain on the collector's market. Kino recorded a feature-length audio commentary and several new interviews to go with some bonus materials recycled from previous home video editions. In English, with optional English SDH for feature only. Region "A" locked.

The Big Country has been covered on our site by my colleague Jeff Kauffman, who wrote about the MGM Blu-ray released in America thirteen years ago. To read Jeff's views on the film and his evaluation of that disc's a/v presentations, please refer to the review linked above.

Jim McKay and Julie Maragon.

The Big Country Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release from this year comes with a slipcover and identical artwork on the front of the BD case, which may be one of the film's original posters. The reversible cover on the back's inside is a painting of all the characters standing alongside each other. The front of the 2018 Blu-ray has this same image. (This is replicated on the disc menu.) The reissue has identical file sizes and is a facsimile of the pressing from six years ago. The Big Country appears in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50 (disc size: 46.17 GB). I don't own MGM's 2001 "Western Legends" DVD or the studio's 2011 BD. I do own MGM/UA Home Video's 1996 LaserDisc distributed by Image Entertainment. Jeff noted via feedback from restoration expert Robert Harris that the old Blu-ray has moderate anamorphic stretching. Kino's transfer is thankfully not cropped, mis-framed, or stretched. In an essay on the inside of the LD's gatefold jacket, Stephen Pickard writes that Technirama's photographic process applies a 1.5% squeeze at the laboratory stage, producing a wider image akin to the dimensions of CinemaScope. For the 35 mm anamorphic release prints, the image is squeezed again at the ratio of 2.10:0.

The LD is notable in the home video history of The Big Country since it sports the first letterboxed transfer. The rear of the jacket claims it's presented in 2.35:1 but after watching and studying the transfer used for the LD, I believe that a 35 mm release print framed in 2.10:1 was sourced for the presentation. I have assembled a graphical comparison of ten screen captures from MGM/UA's letterboxed transfer with close-to-identical frame matches of Kino's. You'll notice that for nearly every shot, the Kino shows more information on all four sides. The print used on the LD appears zoomed in due to the compression/squeeze, which would explain the cropping.

The source print for the LD did not receive a photochemical restoration. There are cigarette burns and other print artifacts that pop up periodically on the three sides of the LD's two-disc set. Jeff mentioned registration issues and flickering on the 2011 transfer. Those image defects are also present on the LD. Kino has rectified all of those issues on this transfer, which is gorgeous. The vistas in Stockton, California (where the picture was shot) look warm and bright. Kino has encoded the feature at a mean video bitrate of just 23970 kbps. The lower bitrate is explainable because of the extras included. But the feature could have benefited from superior compression and a maxed-out bitrate.

Screenshot #s 1-15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, & 35 = Kino Lorber 2018 & 2024 BD-50
Screenshot #s 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, & 34 = MGM/UA Home Video 1996 Letterbox Collector's Edition

Kino has provided only eight chapters for the 167-minute film.

The Big Country Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Kino has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono mix (1561 kbps, 16-bit). I compared this lossless track with the PCM mono mix on the LD. Both are similar but I prefer the BD's track in just about every respect. Jeff is correct in his review when he points out that the fluctuations in dialogue levels are due to post-dubbing. Pickard notes in the aforementioned essay on the LD jacket that the surviving monaural magnetic track is taken from dubbing sessions done in 1958. Kino's seems to have more detail with equal or better dynamic range than MGM/UA's track. Jerome Moross's warm, Americana-flavored score sounds rich and grand on both mixes, albeit only from the front sound stage. Pickard states in his piece that there are no extant records that the film's original sound track recording or Moross's music was initially mixed in stereo. There are no pops, crackles, scratches, or dropouts on the DTS-HD MA mix.

Optional English SDH are available for the feature.

The Big Country Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

MGM's Blu-ray only has a 1958 production featurette and trailers for extras. The LD I own has some additional extras that Kino did not port over. When German label Koch Media released The Big Country in 2021, however, it included the LD supplements on a separate DVD (probably PAL encoded). These include archival audio recordings with Charlton Heston (made in 1995) and Burl Ives (made in 1985). Additionally, there's a 48-minute "audio documentary" on composer Jerome Moross by William H. Rosar, as well as an extensive still-frame image archive of Wyler directing, the fistfight scene, the cast on location, stills of various scenes, portraits, the press book, and the complete shooting screenplay.

• Audio Commentary by Noted Film Historian Sir Christopher Frayling - Frayling is a strong defender of The Big Country and explains how the critical discourse surrounding the film has largely misunderstood it. He spends a lot of time discussing the feud that ensued between William Wyler and Gregory Peck during production. Frayling calls Jerome Moross and his score the heir to Aaron Copland, which is a lofty comparison indeed. Frayling's track is filled with lots of good historical nuggets. (I listened to it twice.) In English, not subtitled.

• Directed by William Wyler (58:09, 480i) - this hour-long program devoted to Wyler's life and career originally aired on PBS in the mid-'80s as part of the American Masters series. Wyler is interviewed along with many of the director's collaborators and contemporaries, including: Barbra Streisand, Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier, John Huston, Bette Davis, Billy Wilder, Lillian Hellman, Talli (formerly Margaret Tallichet) Wyler, Greer Garson, Ralph Richardson, Audrey Hepburn, Charlton Heston, Terence Stamp, and Samantha Eggar. The doc covers Wyler's childhood and his early filmmaking adventures with Carl Laemmle Jr. and later Samuel Goldwyn. Interestingly, Super 8 mm "home movies" of the Wylers are featured from various trips the family took. Excerpts from fifteen of Wyler's features are shown. Naturally, the clips vary in quality and none appear to have been restored when the program was put together. The then-contemporary interview footage is very good, although it's analog sourced. (This doc has been released on VHS, LaserDisc, and DVD.) The narration and interviews are all in English, not subtitled.

• Wyler Doc – Outtakes with Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston, and Billy Wilder (22:46, upscaled to 1080p) - these "deleted scenes" from Directed by William Wyler were conducted ca. 1985 and are culled from the 1996 LD. The interview segment with Peck is a great one. He explains the challenge Wyler and he faced in improving upon the scripted material (seven writers!). He also reflects on a scene that caused a major rift between he and the director. Heston reminisces about the film's famous fisticuffs scene. Wilder has some nice anecdotes to share about Wyler but he's hard to hear at times. All interviewees speak in English, not subtitled.

• Epic: Gregory Peck and THE BIG COUNTRY – Interviews with Cecilia Peck, Carey Peck, and Tony Peck (12:26, 1080p) - Gregory's children are each interviewed individually. They discuss their father's performance in The Big Country, his role as a producer, working with Wyler, friendship with Heston, the picture's themes, and frequent changes to the screenplay. The Pecks speak in English, not subtitled.

• Charlton's Choice – Interview with Fraser C. Heston (11:05, 1080p) - Charleton's son describes The Big Country as a "new phase" for his father since the latter's character of Steve Leech is not a leading role but rather, a supporting one to Greg Peck's Jim McKay. Fraser critiques his father's part in the film, relationships with the other actors on the film, and collaborating with Wyler. Fraser also remembers riding a horse in between filming The Big Country. In English, not subtitled.

• Wyler's West – Interview with Catherine Wyler (12:44, 1080p) - William's daughter talks about her father's early Westerns, the preparatory approaches to his films, cinematographic method, reputation of doing tons of takes, and what transpired during filming. Catherine covers quite a bit of ground in a dozen minutes. In English, not subtitled.

• Fun in the Country (5:13, upscaled to 1080p) - this is the same vintage featurette that appeared on MGM's BD.

• Larry Cohen on Chuck Connors (2:46, 480i) - In this 2012 interview, Cohen gives a very brief appreciation of Connors's performance in The Big Country. Cohen also speculates on Connors's would-be acting career on the silver screen.

• Animated Image Gallery I (2:32, 1080p) - this slide show comprises 43 black-and-white photographs derived from The Big Country's publicity campaign, as well as ones taken on location during production. It moves fast so you may want to hit Pause on your remote to examine the stills.

• Animated Image Gallery II (4:12, 1080p) - this consists of 60 beautiful color photos of the location shoot. They look like they were captured with a vintage Kodak camera. (They have rounded edges.) They're of high resolution and great quality.

• Original Theatrical Trailer (2:56, upscaled to 1080p) - an unrestored original trailer for The Big Country displayed in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and with a DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono mix.

• TV Spot (0:58, upscaled to 1080p) - a vintage spot for The Big Country for its airing as The ABC Sunday Night Movie. The image is in black and white.

The Big Country Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

With his epic The Big Country, William Wyler largely succeeds in deconstructing classic tropes and archetypes of the Western. (Gregory Peck has a big hand in subverting genre myths with his portrait of Jim McKay, who's not really a traditional hero.) I am unable to confirm if Kino Lorber's restored transfer of the picture was made from a 2K or 4K scan since no details are listed on the packaging. I'm also unsure if the restoration team worked from an internegative or interpositive. (The original camera negative is probably lost.) In any case, the image looks splendid here, easily the best it's looked on home video. With Kino passing up an opportunity to put the film on 4K UHD last year for its 65th anniversary, it likely won't be released on the format in the States anytime soon. (It's equally unlikely that it will appear in 4K overseas as labels in France, Germany, and the UK have all utilized Kino's remastered transfer as the source for their BD releases in the 2020s.) If you didn't pick up Kino's 2018 Blu-ray, be certain to grab this one with the slipcover. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.