7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
When Edward Creighton leads the construction of the Western Union to unite East with West, he hires a Western reformed outlaw and a tenderfoot Eastern surveyor.
Starring: Robert Young (I), Randolph Scott (I), Dean Jagger (I), Virginia Gilmore, John CarradineWestern | 100% |
History | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
None
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Following up 1940’s “The Return of Frank James” with another western, director Fritz Lang opts to recreate America’s developing communication woes with “Western Union.” While it’s not rooted in any true events, the feature takes a look at the expansion of the telegraph, and how that specialized intrusion on private land plays out with troubled characters all battling for something they can’t have. Lang aims to tell a quintessential American story with heightened dramatic intentions, and he ends up with a curious picture that resides somewhere meditative and cartoon, periodically visiting both extremes.
The AVC encoded image (1.37:1 aspect ratio) presentation deals with the Technicolor ambitions of "Western Union" successfully, bringing out hearty primaries and exaggerated skintones, which truly identify some of the Native American shenanigans that take place in the movie. Hues are bold, but reds are somewhat problematic, finding select costuming unable to process such intensity. Posturization emerges during a few evening sequences. Detail makes an impression with facial close-ups, allowing inspection of every pore and hair, while grader distances are secured, and set decoration is crisp. Source is in decent condition, with some mild speckling and scratches.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix is restrained a bit by age and detectable hiss, but the basics are represented here, leading with louder scoring cues to give the feature a sonic scale to match its visuals. Instrumentation is adequate, and music never threatens to squash performances. Dialogue exchanges are tight and intelligible, dealing with accents and brawny displays. Atmospherics and sound effects are a tad too hot, but perhaps inherently so, creating quite the commotion once hostilities graduate to violence.
There is no supplementary material on this disc.
Violence periodically breaks out, allowing Lang to stage chases and arrange battle zones where men on horseback try to survive certain doom. However, "Western Union" is a stronger picture when focused on character, arranging charged relationships and shadowy intentions, which deliver more engaging turns of plot. It's not Lang's most advanced feature, but as a chewy genre offering, it keeps up with formula and offers a handful of surprises.
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