The Yearling Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

The Yearling Blu-ray Movie Review

Based on the best-selling novel by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Clarence Brown's The Yearling is a strong adaptation of fine source material and a stone-cold family classic whose minimal cast creates maximum emotional impact. Set in the Lake George area circa 1878, it follows the Baxter family as they scrape out a modest living on their Florida farmland. Patriarch Ezra AKA "Penny" (Gregory Peck) and his pre-teen son Jody (Claude Jarman Jr.) handle most of the exterior chores and share a strong bond; in contrast, mother Ora (Jane Wyman) is emotionally closed off after the early death of several children many years ago. Unwilling to open up to Jody for fear of his own death, her trauma ultimately forms a somewhat lopsided triangle that's nonetheless reasonably balanced out by never-ending hard work.

Unsurprisingly, life in the surrounding area proves to be just as unforgiving. After the family discovers two of their animals dead in the barn one morning, Ezra and Jody set out to confront the culprit: a bear nicknamed "Old Slewfoot" that's been terrorizing their land for years. They have three hunting dogs in tow but only two return and, compounded with other troubles, Ezra is prompted to trade one of their remaining dogs for a better hunting rifle with a neighboring family. Jody becomes fast friends with the family's crippled son Fodderwing (Donn Gift), whose collection of pets is of great interest to the young boy. It's not like there's much else to do in the middle of nowhere.

As luck would have it, a perfect pet is just around the corner. Our title character is a fawn whose life intersects with the Baxters in an interesting way: its mother is killed to save the life of Ezra, who's badly injured by a rattlesnake but uses the dead deer's liver to draw out the venom. Still recovering, he allows Jody to adopt the orphaned fawn despite strong objections from Ora... but only until the fawn grows old enough to survive on its own. Before long, the two "kids" are inseparable best friends but, as implied by the temporary arrangement, such times are fleeting.

End spoilers.

Deliberately paced at 128 minutes, The Yearling is a well-constructed drama that doesn't even introduce the Baxters' four-legged family member until after the one-hour mark. Instead, it takes its time establishing tone, family dynamics, and realistic drama set against the rugged backdrop of Florida swampland and dense woods where danger potentially lurks around every corner. The story's simple, lightweight construction and accessible nature make it a durable family film for most ages, although a number of inevitable outcomes push it squarely into Old Yeller territory: perhaps a little tough for younger animal lovers, but The Yearling is ultimately an effective and uplifting film whose handful of tragic moments are warmly outshined by family growth and togetherness. And if the accessible plot and other fundamental strengths aren't enough, The Yearling is bolstered by a trio of top-tier performances: the reliably great Peck and Wyman were nominated for Best Acting Oscars that year, and young Claude Jarman Jr. even earned one of the first-ever Academy Juvenile Awards, previously given to the likes of Shirley Temple, Judy Garland, and others.

All told, The Yearling is solidly stuff providing you're into old-fashioned family films, and it works just fine even if you don't have kids of your own. As usual, Warner Archive has put together a fine package for this Technicolor beauty: their new Blu-ray is sourced from a fresh 4K scan of the original camera negatives and shines like new. Other merits are good to great as well, making it a easy purchase for established fans and a low-risk blind buy for new ones too.

The Yearling Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

In a twist that absolutely everyone saw coming, Warner Bros. has given The Yearling a particularly beautiful 1080p transfer that shows off its stunning cinematography and rich, earth-toned palette beautifully. Sourced from a recent 4K scan of the original Technicolor negatives, the resulting image is perfectly in line with the studio's careful treatment of similar era-specific films, boasting incredible amounts of fine detail and depth with an overall appearance that has been polished to an absolute shine but still retains a purely film-like texture. Rich and stable, it's a transfer that's leaps and bounds ahead of previous home video presentations including Warner Archive's own 2014 DVD edition and, of course, the "snapper case" release from Warner Bros. a full two decades ago. Again, this is just more absolutely phenomenal work from the most reliable boutique label in the business and earns them yet another perfect score.

The Yearling Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Similarly, the DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix supports the film's one-channel roots with a clean and entirely trouble-free presentation that includes crisp dialogue and well-balanced background effects with plenty of room left over for the orchestral score by Herbert Stothart, the bulk of which includes arrangements of music by English composer Frederick Delius. No major issues were heard along the way; aside from a slightly strained high end during the film's loudest moments, it's a remarkably strong-sounding mix with no apparent hiss, pops, or sync issues along the way.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the main feature and may come in handy to decipher some of the stronger regional dialects. Unfortunately as usual for a Warner Archive Blu-ray release, no such subtitles are included during the bonus features despite their appearance on the earlier DVD edition by Warner Bros.

The Yearling Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with poster-themed cover art and no inserts of any kind. A few vintage bonus features are included, offering a mix of pre-show entertainment and film-specific content.

• Tom and Jerry Cartoon: "The Cat Concerto" (7:27) - This all-time classic T&J short follows Tom's ill-fated performance at a piano concert after jilting Jerry. It looks and sounds nearly identical to the version found on Warner Bros.' Tom and Jerry: Golden Collection (which has since been re-issued by Warner Archive), although it now sports a slightly more robust DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix rather than Dolby Digital.

• Screen Guild Players Radio Broadcast (29:43) - Originally broadcast on January 6, 1947, this condensed production of The Yearling features Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman reprising their lead roles.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:01) - This classy but rather vague promotional piece can also be seen here.

The Yearling Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Clarence Brown's The Yearling is a fine adaptation of the popular novel by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings; warm, poignant, heartbreaking, and uplifting, it's a truly durable family drama that holds up well more than 75 years after its theatrical debut. Featuring strong lead performances by Gregory Peck, Jane Wyman, and newcomer Claude Jarman Jr. (who was given a Academy Juvenile Award for his efforts) as well as other fundamental strengths, this is the kind of film that is shared between several generations and keeps its impact. Warner Archive gives the film plenty of support with another outstanding Blu-ray release, this one pairing a top-tier 4K-sourced restoration with fine lossless audio and a few era-specific extras to boot. A bargain at its current price point, The Yearling comes firmly recommended.