Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Winchester '73 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 21, 2024

Anthony Mann's "Winchester '73" (1950) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include archival audio commentary recorded by Jimmy Stewart and film historian Paul Lindenschmidt; documentary about Anthony Mann's work at Universal Studios; archival radio-play; vintage trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Jimmy Stewart and Anthony Mann made eight films together, five of them westerns, and Winchester ‘73 was their first. This film did a lot for their careers. However, it was more important to Stewart, who had appeared in several box office misfires and desperately needed another hit. It is not an exaggeration to state that without it, Stewart would not have become the iconic actor he is considered today.

Shortly after arriving in Dodge City, veteran gunslinger Lin McAdam (Stewart) surrenders his pistol to Sheriff Wyatt Earp (Will Geer) and joins a highly anticipated marksmanship contest, whose winner will receive a shiny Winchester, the newest and most accurate rifle in the Old West. McAdam and another gunslinger named Dutch Henry Brown (Stephen McNally), whom the former has been tracking down for killing his old man, quickly emerge as the best participants. After several extra rounds, McAdam finally wins the Winchester, but before he can leave Dodge City, Brown, assisted by a couple of other outlaws, steals it from him and disappears without a trace. McAdam vows to recover his prize and put a bullet in Brown’s head, even if he must ride to the other side of the country.

A day later, while McAdam helps Lola Manners (Shelley Winters), abandoned by her future husband, Steve Miller (Charles Drake), avoid getting scalped by Young Bull (Rock Hudson) and his warriors, Brown loses the Winchester to a shady Indian trader (John McIntire) in a card game. But the Indian trader also loses the Winchester, along with his life, after left-handed outlaw Waco Johnny Dean (Dan Duryea) lays eyes on it on his way to meet Brown and his crew, who are looking for a partner to rob a bank. In Tascosa, Texas, fate finally offers McAdam a chance to face Brown while holding his pistol, but somehow he sneaks out again. McAdam rides after him, and somewhere in the desert mountains, with the sun beating down on them, the two engage in a deadly duel.

Winchester ‘73 is a big, glorious, old-fashioned American western. Its stars are at their very best, so even the transitional material that does some rather predictable things to prepare for the next shootout looks great. Also, it blends action, comedy, and drama with such casual yet brilliant confidence that it almost feels odd to think of it as a first effort. Other films like Winchester ’73 always materialize after a director and actors have worked together for many years.

The most intriguing aspect of Winchester ‘73 is that it allows Stewart to lead without being dominant. It is virtually impossible to name another western from the 1950s, or earlier, with a star like Stweart that does the same. John Wayne, Randolph Scott, Gary Cooper, Rory Calhoun, and Joel McCrea were always dominant while wearing a cowboy hat and firing a pistol. This is arguably the biggest reason Stewart looks so natural in Winchester ’73.

The one and only undeniable flaw of Winchester ‘73 is its length -- it is a little over ninety minutes long but feels substantially shorter. Why is that? There are too many interesting characters around Stewart, and it feels like they deserve a lot more time before the camera. Duryea’s outlaw for instance is outstanding, and his antics could have easily occupied half of the film, but he is given only two big scenes. The same can be said about Winters, who is the source of the most clever and colorful content.

Mann and Oscar winner William Daniels shot on location in Arizona, undoubtedly the state with the greatest western terrains. The most impressive visuals emerge in the final act, where Stweart goes after McNally.

In 1967, Herschel Daugherty directed a TV remake of Winchester '73, starring Tom Tryon, John Saxon, John Drew Barrymore, and Joan Blondell. Duryea also had a part in it.

Winchester '73 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's release of Winchester '73 is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked".

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this release:

"Undertaken by Universal Pictures in collaboration with The Film Foundation, this new 4K restoration was created from the 35mm nitrate original camera negative. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm nitrate optical soundtrack negative.

Restoration: NBCUniversal StudioPost."

Please note that some of the screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

Screencaptures #1-24 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #27-33 are from the 4K Blu-ray.

In native 4K, the 4K restoration cannot be viewed with Dolby Vision or HDR grades. I viewed it in its entirety in native 4K and later spent time with the 1080p presentation on the Blu-ray.

On my system, the entire film looked tremendous. All of its visuals were very healthy, wonderfully detailed, and boasting a stable organic appearance. To be honest, I did not notice any big fluctuations affecting clarity and depth, though there are several areas where the lensing choices introduce minor unevenness. So, if any important reconstructive work was performed, it is impossible to tell because the consistency of the visuals is very impressive. The grayscale is fantastic. I thought that the outdoor daylight footage, the darker indoor footage, and the nighttime footage looked great. Blacks, grays, and white are wonderfully balanced, as you can probably tell from the screencaptures included with this article. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. The surface of the visuals is in impeccable condition, too.

How does the 1080p presentation look? Every area of it that I scrutinized looked outstanding on my system. I specifically looked for discrepancies in the density of the visuals that sometimes emerge when comparing 1080p and native 4K presentations of the same restored content, and I could not spot any. Perhaps folks that project will conclude that the superior encoding of the native 4K presentation enhances the visuals in some meaningful ways, but on my system both presentations looked equally impressive.

Winchester '73 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is free of any age-related anomalies. All exchanges are very clear, sharp, and stable, so they are exceptionally easy to follow. During the action material, and especially during the big shootout with Young Bull's warriors, dynamic activity is great, too. The music is lush and clear. I did not encounter any encoding issues to report.

Winchester '73 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by Jimmy Stewart and film historian Paul Lindenschmidt in 1989. Stewart shares a lot of information about the preparation work he and Anthony Mann did, the importance of movement (especially in backgrounds) in Mann's westerns and how he liked to shoot violent material, the locations seen throughout the film, Mann's "stinginess" with words (in all of his westerns), etc. Also, there are some good comments about the importance of humor in the film.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by Jimmy Stewart and film historian Paul Lindenschmidt in 1989. Stewart shares a lot of information about the preparation work he and Anthony Mann did, the importance of movement (especially in backgrounds) in Mann's westerns and how he liked to shoot violent material, the locations seen throughout the film, Mann's "stinginess" with words (in all of his westerns), etc. Also, there are some good comments about the importance of humor in the film.

• Forces of Nature: Anthony Mann at Universal - this documentary takes a closer look at Anthony Mann's work at Universal Studios, where he created his best films. Included in it are clips from interviews with critic, C. Courtney Joyner, script supervisor (for Anthony Mann) Michael Preece, and critic Michael Schlesinger, among others. The documentary was produced by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures. In English, not subtitled. (48 min).

• Lux Radio Theatre - presented here is an archival radio-play version of Winchester '73, featuring Jimmy Stewart. The radio-play was first broadcast by Lux Radio Theatre in 1951. In English, not subtitled. (61 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Winchester '73. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Adam Piron - in this new program, film programmer Adam Piron discusses how American Indians are represented in westerns. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith and technical credits.

Winchester '73 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A lot of people have argued that the first of the five westerns Jimmy Stewart and Anthony Mann made is also the best. I am unsure if this is true, or that it is an important detail, because all of them are very good. However, Winchester '73 is unquestionably the most important of these films because it was made at a crucial time in Stewart's career. Without Winchester '73, the future progression of this career almost certainly would have been very different, and it is unclear whether Stewart would have become the iconic actor he is considered today. Criterion's upcoming combo pack introduces a fabulous 4K restoration of the film that looks great on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray. A separate Blu-ray release streets on the same date. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.