The Night of the Grizzly Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

The Night of the Grizzly Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 23, 2016

Joseph Pevney's "The Night of the Grizzly" (1966) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films. The supplemental features on the disc include archival video interviews with actor Clint Walker; archival footage from the film's world premiere; and exclusive new audio commentary by film historian Toby Roan. Also included with this release is an illustrated booklet featuring C. Courtney Joyner's essay "Blood on the Claw: How Cheyenne Bodie Became a Movie Star". In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Olive Films' new Blu-ray release of Joseph Pevney's The Night of the Grizzly is part of the label's recently announced Signature Line. It is sourced from a brand new digital restoration of the film, which was first introduced on Blu-ray in 2012. The upcoming release offers a better technical presentation of the film, as well as more new and archival supplemental features. For a complete analysis of the film, please see Jeffrey Kauffman's review of Olive Films' first release here.

The Night of the Grizzly Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Joseph Pevney's The Night of the Grizzly arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.

The release is sourced from a new digital restoration of the film and I think that the end result is very, very good. The master that was used appears to be the same one that Olive Films accessed for the first release of the film but there is additional work done that changes a lot of things. For example, the entire dynamic range is improved and as a result depth is a lot more convincing (you should be able to see that brightness levels and various hues are much better balanced). Contrast levels are largely unaltered, but because of the overall adjustments they also appear more convincing. The color scheme is better as well, though I believe that there is still some room for minor improvement (see screencapture #14). Grain is better exposed and resolved on this release; the stronger encoding has clearly helped. There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. Overall stability is very good. Finally, there no large distracting debris, cuts, damage marks, stains, or warped/torn frames to report. Lovely presentation. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Night of the Grizzly Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

Clarity and depth are very good, but while viewing the film I noticed a few segments with some light static in the upper register. It is very small and never becomes distracting, but this is something that can be attenuated with digital tools. A good example is the segment where Jim Cole is visited by the "booze bandits". The music is crisp and clear. The dialog is very easy to follow.

The Night of the Grizzly Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Legend of Big Jim Cole - in this video interview, Clint Walker discusses the true story of the character he portrayed in The Night of the Grizzly and discusses in great detail the shooting of the film. The interview is also included on the first release from Olive Films. In English, not subtitled. (27 min, 1080p).

• The Night of the Grizzly World Premiere Footage - presented here is rare archival footage from the world premiere of The Night of the Grizzly in Palm Springs from 1966. In English, not subtitled. (7 min, 1080i).

• At Home with Clint Walker and His Home Gymnasium - in this archival interview, Clint Walker discusses some of his hobbies (skiing, shark hunting) and shows his quite impressive personal gym while demonstrating different training exercises. In English, not subtitled. (12 min, 1080p).

• Blood on the Claw: How Cheyenne Bodie Became a Movie Star - presented here is an essay, in text-format, from C. Courtney Joyner. (1080p).

• Commentary - in this brand new audio commentary, film historian Toby Roan discusses in great detail how and where various sequences from The Night of the Grizzly were shot, what the film meant to Clint Walker, its enormous popularity during the 1970s, the careers of different cast members, Joseph Pevney's body of work (The Night of the Grizzly was the final theatrical film he made before moving to TV work), etc. The commentary was recorded exclusively for Olive Films.

• Booklet - illustrated booklet featuring C. Courtney Joyner's essay "Blood on the Claw: How Cheyenne Bodie Became a Movie Star".

The Night of the Grizzly Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I am big fan of Clint Walker and the various westerns he made during the years. A few remain with Warner Bros. and they have not been put on Blu-ray yet, but Olive Films and Kino Lorber have already released some of the best. The Night of the Grizzly initially appeared on Blu-ray in 2012. This upcoming release from Olive Films is sourced from a new digital restoration of the film and I have to say that I like it a lot. Definitely consider adding it to your collections, folks. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.