The Covered Wagon Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Covered Wagon Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 7, 2018

1923’s “The Covered Wagon” is a silent production that’s largely credited as having a role in the birth of the big screen epic. Director James Cruze doesn’t want a simple tale of Oregon Trail travel, going as big as possible to accurately detail the arduous cross-country trek, masterminding spectacle as the screenplay (an adaptation of a novel by Emerson Hough) secures simplistic but effects swings of melodrama, creating a love triangle to hold attention between wild displays of barely controlled chaos.

J. Warren Kerrigan and Alan Hale star in “The Covered Wagon,” taking hero and villain roles to provide sufficient tension for the human element of the story. It’s routine rivalry and intimidation stuff, but the actors deliver charmingly communicative performances, joined by Lois Wilson as the object of desire. The real draw of “The Covered Wagon” are the travel sequences, with the lengthy migration causing all sorts of problems for the wagon train, including fires, Native American entanglements, a buffalo stampede, and the general challenge of the trail, including the deadly art of crossing rivers. Reportedly using ancestral wagons to achieve authenticity, the dangers seem very real in the film, requiring little movie magic from the production as the needs of mayhem are met by tentative driving skills and uncontrollable elements such as rushing waters and panicked animals.

The Covered Wagon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.34:1 aspect ratio) presentation does what it can with a nearly 100-year-old movie that's not in the best shape. Restoration efforts only reach so far, securing a pleasing clarity to many sequences, giving life to facial details, which carry industry glamour and period crustiness. Vistas are also dimensional, taking in the bigness of the journey as it crosses America. Delineation is acceptable, finding no major issues with solidification. Whites are balanced as much as possible. There is considerable wear and tear in display, with scratches, speckling, and warping. Judder is common, and a few dips in resolution are encountered, reflecting the patchwork quilt-style nature of the HD upgrade.

The Covered Wagon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix offers a Wurlitzer organ score by Gaylord Carter, which supports the movie as intended. There's clear instrumentation to enjoy, and louder stings for dramatic reveals. Definition isn't disturbed.

The Covered Wagon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Booklet (ten pages) includes an essay by Matt Hauske.

• Commentary features film historian Toby Roan.

• "The Pie-Covered Wagon" (9:29, HD) is a 1932 spoof of "The Covered Wagon," starring a cast of children (including Shirley Temple), a talking dog, and a live bear.

The Covered Wagon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Covered Wagon" achieves a sense of scale, matching wide open vistas with a plot that involves the finger-twitching lure of greed, with love and tragedy working to accentuate the test of Oregon Trail endurance. It's a fascinating offering of filmmaking and merging of historical authenticity and high drama, creating grand entertainment with broad swings of emotion and genuine production danger.