Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf July 29, 2019

For this third picture, writer/director Philip Kaufman takes a trip into American legend with 1972’s “The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid,” examining the thin line between fact and fiction concerning the exploits of Jesse James and Cole Younger. The feature surveys the winding ways of the James- Younger Gang as they cross the country on a mission to collect a fortune from a small town bank, but Kaufman isn’t making a matinee distraction. Instead, he works his way into troubling personalities and tempers, highlighting the power of reputation and the reality of poisoned behaviors, making a bank robbery movie that’s more about psychological disease than straightforward horse-riding, guns blazing theatrics.

In the 1870s, Jesse James (Robert Duvall) and Cole Younger (Cliff Robertson) go their separate ways, enjoying a brief amnesty period provided by Missouri politicians. However, Pinkerton men remain in pursuit while the gangs divide, figuring out the next step in their troubled lives. A fortune is rumored to be found in Northfield, Minnesota, with Cole posing as a businessman to best investigate the situation, blending into the community. Jesse arrives in a rage, aiming for a fight as the sides reteam to collect piles of cash, renewing all sorts of trouble for themselves as plans for a clean job go awry.

At 91 minutes in length, it appears some trimming was required to get “The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid” down to size. An unnamed narrator (legendary voice artist Paul Frees) leads the viewing experience, quickly introducing the audience to the various participants of the story, identifying people with unusual speed before launching into the plot, which is also shorn of many details. Political machinations of Missouri are greatly reduced in importance, suggesting the real opening of Kaufman’s feature was far more expository, trying to understand the James-Younger Gang in their prime state of hellraising, establishing their seemingly noble need to defend the helpless by terrorizing the powerful.

The picture starts off mid-sprint with storytelling, but “The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid” soon catches up to Kaufman’s ideas, following the gang’s break-up when they’ve reached the end of their compatibility, heading their separate ways, with Cole trying to understand his place in the world while caught between his reputation as a hooligan and his willingness to experience a more refined life of businessman interests. Jesse remains a troubled man with murderous intent, still clinging to the concept of do-goodery but unafraid to kill men (and children) to make his point. Kaufman explores the area between legend and reality, which, for the feature, is a position of disturbing instability that spreads across the entire movie.

Kaufman brings in a sharp cast and keeps “The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid” immersed in period detail, with its visual presentation easily the greatest thing about the endeavor. The helmer is less certain about tone, content to allow chaos to take over the viewing experience from time to time. There are scenes of sobering severity, watching Jesse gun down enemies out of sheer habit, unable to control himself, getting off on the thrill of murder. And there’s a sequence where Cole visits a game of old-timey baseball, which is filled with Three Stooges-style antics as St. Paul tries to best Northfield, lacking gloves, stable balls, and a general appreciation for teamwork. One could receive whiplash from the sudden mood shifts, which isn’t quite as interesting as Kaufman imagines. Such disruptions tend to break the feature up into morsels of masterfulness, with “The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid” an authentic western with tremendous production values, but often shows little regard for audience involvement.

The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation resembles a typical Universal catalog titles, filtering out some of the textured cinematography in "The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid," which strives to offer a period look for the production. Colors remain adequate, with costuming retaining leathery browns and grays, and locations showcasing woodsy hues. Greenery is passable, visiting forests and small towns. Skintones are natural. Detail isn't inspired, working with smoothed features on colorful co-stars, highlighting personal wear and tear. Community visits shorten distances. Delineation is satisfactory. Source is in fine shape, without evidence of major damage, but mild scratches and speckling remain.

The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix isn't created with depth, aiming for more of a chaotic assembly of elements to reflect the wild west setting. Dialogue exchanges are clear, identifying looped lines and inherent damage. Scoring is loud and commanding, securing western moods, with reasonable instrumentation. Sound effects are acceptable, keeping up with gun shots and assorted acts of violence. A climatic fall onto a calliope registers with intended irritation.

The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features film historian Jim Hemphill, who identifies himself as a major fan of Philip Kaufman (even going as far as to highlight positives in the helmer's unwatchable 2004 effort, "Twisted"), delivering an extended, prepared biography of the director, also working through the details of his oeuvre. Film theory and play-by-play are included as well.

• Image Gallery (6:37) collects poster art, lobby cards, publicity shots, film stills, ad slicks, and press kit pages.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:24, SD) is included.

The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Thankfully, there's some genuine greatness in Kaufman's vision to get the feature past some serious tonal roadblocks. The central heist is a fascinating study in audience irritation, and certain lines resonate long after the film concludes (Cole, when told that baseball is America's sport, replies that, actually, "shooting" is). Kaufman isn't celebrating outlaw antics in full, always trying to peel back layers to show how these famous faces of the West actually processed challenges to their masculinity, and for James, his patience. They battle life and death, are celebrated and condemned, and achieve and lose fortunes. Kaufman doesn't have epic scope or much focus, but he gets gritty with his characters, making for a fascinating psychological examination.