Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Wagon Tracks Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 22, 2017

Lambert Hillyer's "Wagon Tracks" (1919) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Olive Films. There are no bonus features on the disc, but the film is presented with a brand new piano written and performed by Andrew Earle Simpson. Region-A "locked".

On the trail

The film opens up on a large Mississippi steamboat where during a game of poker a man (Leo Pierson) is shot and killed. The killer is the young and beautiful Jane Washburn (Jane Novak), who is heading west with her brother Donald (Robert McKim).

Soon after, Jane is questioned by the captain of the boat and he quickly concludes that it was all a tragic incident. It must have been because Donald’s description also confirms Jane’s story and details precisely how she fired the gun that killed the man while trying to protect herself.

Also on the boat is Buckskin Hamilton (William S. Hart), a veteran scout who has been hired to lead a large group of westbound travelers on the notorious Santa Fe Trail. Buckskin finds the entire story rather suspicious and moments later, and much to his horror, discovers that the dead man is his brother. Jane begs for his forgiveness, and while fighting her tears again tells her story.

On the Santa Fe Trail Buckskin observes Jane and becomes convinced that she could not have possibly emptied a gun into his brother and vows to find what truly happened on the steamboat. Then while slowly moving west under the scorching sun, Buckskin comes up with a simple but brilliant plan that would reveal the real killer.

Directed by Lambert Hillyer in 1919, Wagon Tracks is only a little over an hour long but it does a terrific job of telling a great story while capturing the raw beauty of a land that had inspired hundreds of thousands of people to risk their lives in search of a better life. It really is something of an eye-opener because the on-location shooting provides a very authentic sense of what people were leaving behind when they headed west and how an idea was essentially their ultimate guide.

There are plenty of silent films from the same period that tend to be overly melodramatic when they deal with murder and death, but in Wagon Tracks both are pretty much treated as regular occurrences. In addition to the striking footage from the Santa Fe Trail, it is largely why this film functions almost like a documentary feature -- after the big brawl where Bucksin’s brother is shot dead nature’s raw beauty quickly becomes the key character in the film.

*Olive Films’ recent release of Wagon Tracks is sourced from a new remaster that was struck from an original 35mm nitrate print. The remaster also preserves authentic tints. Additionally, the film can be viewed with a lovely new original piano score written and performed by Andrew Earle Simpson. The version of the film that is included on the disc is approximately 69 minutes long.

Wagon Tracks Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Lambert Hillyer's Wagon Tracks arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.

The release is sourced from a new remaster that was struck from an original 35mm nitrate print. The entire film looks wonderful in high-definition -- despite some sporadic minor source limitations depth is very pleasing; delineation is also very good, with many of the wider panoramic shots actually boasting the type of strong detail that you would see on much recent restorations; there is even proper fluidity, though a few minor bumps can be spotted. I also wish to mention that the grading job is very convincing. Obviously the tints support slightly different basic qualities, but I think that it is very easy to tell that image balance is indeed proper and very pleasing. There are no traces of problematic digital enhancements. My one and only minor criticism pertains to the presence of some tiny flecks that remain, but this is still a hugely impressive presentation of an nearly 100-year-old film. Well done. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Wagon Tracks Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. The film has original intertitles in English.

Wagon Tracks can be viewed with a lovely new original piano score written and performed by Andrew Earle Simpson. Obviously, this is a studio recording, so the excellent audio quality is not surprising. The dynamic range is very good for a recording of this type type. Also, there are no balance issues or digital distortions to report.

Wagon Tracks Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, there are no bonus features on this release.

Wagon Tracks Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Releases such as Wagon Tracks are the reason why I like Olive Films' catalog so much. The film, which is approximately 100 years old, is an absolute treasure that offers a fascinating glimpse at a remarkable period of America's history. Together with Kino Video's recent release of Beggars of Life it is one of the most special discoveries that I made this year, which is why I plan to have it on my Top Ten list at the end of the year. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.