Will Penny Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Will Penny Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 5, 2023

Tom Gries' "Will Penny" (1967) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by author/screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner, critic Henry Parke, and Will Penny script supervisor Michael Preece; archival programs with Charlton Heston and Jon Gries; and vintage trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Will Penny looks to be a few years younger than Monte Walsh. Maybe three to five but definitely not more. During a candid conversation, Will reveals that he is almost fifty, which seems about right, though the deep wrinkles and tiny yet unmissable patches on his face can easily trick one to conclude that he is approaching sixty. The brutal winter wind and scorching summer sun will make a cowboy’s skin age faster than it should. It is inevitable.

The environment Will emerges from is almost identical to the one where Monte resides. It is a place populated with tough men who ride horses and work hard to make ends meet. They round up cattle and frequently sleep under the stars. They drink cheap whiskey and rarely wash. Whenever possible, they make love to women that demand to be paid for temporarily making them feel like boys again.

After enduring similar drama, Will and Monte are shown a different way of living by two women who love them as they are -- imperfect and aging. Will accidentally meets a younger woman who has come from the other side of the country with her boy after one of his buddies is wounded by several troublemakers led by a loopy preacher. Monte returns to an older woman he has known for a long time but never dared to think of as a soulmate. After that, Will and Monte begin reexamining what it means to make the best of the time they have left to live.

Will and Monte are played by Charlton Heston and Lee Marvin, respectively, and both are characters in westerns from the late 1960s that aim to accomplish the same thing. They reveal what happens to cowboys when they realize that there is more time behind them than in front of them. Interestingly, both reveal completely different yet equally authentic scenarios. (A third western, also from the 1960s, reveals yet another scenario that is just as authentic, though in it the aging cowboy is a symbolic character).

Directed by Tom Gries in 1968, Will Penny is the more sobering of the two westerns, though this does not make it look bleaker. In it, Heston simply chooses to reach the end of the line on his own terms and entirely alone. He has several good reasons and one admirable reason to do so too so in the grand scheme of things his decision makes perfect sense.

The drama that flourishes throughout Will Penny is carefully managed to reveal another aspect of Heston’s decision as well. Indeed, he is not just getting old, his chosen lifestyle is irreversibly changing because the West is irreversibly changing. (This particular development is at the center of the third western that is mentioned above, though in it the change is almost complete). Wealthy ranchers will still hire men like him but their responsibilities will gradually become different and force them to either adapt or walk away from the lifestyle. When Heston walks away from the woman that invites him to start a new life with her, he already has a perfect grasp of the future.

Joan Hackett is superb as the determined newcomer who has been abandoned by her husband on the way to California. In the second half, the chemistry between her and Heston is simply magical.

Unfortunately, Donald Pleasence, Bruce Dern, and Tony Zerbe push Will Penny in a very awkward, almost cartoonish territory. Pleasence is the biggest offender as the behavior of his loopy preacher does not look even remotely authentic.

Will Penny Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Will Penny arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a new 4K master that was prepared after the film was fully restored in 4K by Paramount Pictures. I think that the film looks really good now. Excluding a few areas where I felt that the blues should be a tad more prominent, the overall appearance of the visuals is as good convincing as it can be in 1080p. Indeed, delineation, clarity, and depth range from very good to excellent, in some areas even outstanding. Fluidity is great too, so if you project you will witness very solid visuals that make large panoramic footage and close-ups look terrific. Grain exposure is very nice, but this is one area of the presentation that could be even more impressive with specific encoding optimizations. (I assume that if viewed in native 4K the entire film would be a visual stunner). Colors are stable and healthy. Image stability is excellent. There are no distracting age-related imperfections. (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).

Will Penny 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.

The lossless track is outstanding. All exchanges are very clear -- which is important because there are some quite thick accents and plenty of mumbling in Will Penny -- and clean. I did not notice any age-related anomalies. Dynamic intensity is rather impressive too, though the film does not have any memorable action footage.

Will Penny Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Remembering Will Penny - in this archival program, Charlton Heston and Jon Gries discuss the production of Will Penny and what it was like to work with first-time director John Gries. Also, there are some quite interesting observations about the characterizations and what they were not stereotypical. Film historian Miles Hood Swarthhout contributes to the discussion as well. The program was produced for Paramount Pictures in 2002. In English, not subtitled. (14 min).

• The Cowboys of Will Penny - in this archival program, Charlton Heston discusses the terrific cast that was assembled to play the cowboys in Will Penny. Jon Gries also recalls having a difficult time with Bruce Dern who was apparently very much "into his role". The program was produced for Paramount Pictures in 2002. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for Will Penny. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by author/screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner, critic Henry Parke, and Will Penny script supervisor Michael Preece. It is a predictably great audio commentary -- Mr. Joyner is as knowledgeable about westerns (and other older genre films) as Paul Talbot is about everything that has anything to do with Charles Bronson -- with wonderful comments about the style and personality of Will Penny and recollections about the shooting process. Also, there are many interesting comments about the careers and lives of the great actors that made the film.

Will Penny Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is the truest film about what the West was really like that I have ever seen, let alone have been in. This is a big statement from Charlton Heston but hardly surprising because Will Penny was his favorite film. However, the West was probably like the place that Tom Gries reveals in his directorial debut -- unpredictable, dangerous, and for a long time very, very lonely playground for dreamers, shady characters, and hard-working cowboys. Heston is one such hard-working, aging cowboy that is gradually coming to terms with the fact that there is more time behind him than in front of him. Kino Lorber's release introduces a fabulous new 4K restoration of Will Penny that was prepared at Paramount Pictures. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. (If you decide to pick up Will Penny for your collection, I suggest you bundle it with its very close relatives Lonely Are the Brave and Monte Walsh).