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When I saw Warner Brothers' Archives was releasing "The Naked Spur" on blu-ray, I preordered right away simply because I was so excited. I've bought a few other Archives' BD releases, and their video quality is excellent—at least to my mind and eyes. I never saw "The Naked Spur" on DVD, but I saw it via two different streaming networks (both decent ones), and it looked rather murky, which is one reason I never sprang for the DVD. The blu-ray arrived yesterday, and I am thrilled with it. Compared to what I've seen, the film looks fantastic: clear, colorful, with nice depth. I'm so happy I bought it! Because emotions are so important in this film, and sometimes subtle, visual clarity is very important, and in watching the blu-ray, I felt the force of the film more strongly than I've ever felt it before. The audio is very good too, although mono (DTS-HD 2.0), with voices clear and dialogue understandable.
As for the film itself, this is directed by Anthony Mann, a guy of genuine depth and social consciousness whose films tend to possess a moral depth, an ethical strata. In "The Naked Spur," Jimmy Stewart's bounty hunter and Civil War vet, Howard Kemp, tracks down a Kansas murderer in the Colorado Rockies, intent on bringing him to justice for a $5000 reward—what Howard believes will turn his life around after a serious betrayal and the loss of his ranch during his time away at war. Robert Ryan is the murderer, Ben Vandergroat, who comes with a former partner's lovely and toughly capable young daughter, Lina, played Janet Leigh; Ben has a mind that never stops calculating and a manner that can range from frightfully harsh to humorously amiable—the latter end of that range more common, though, and lending him charisma. Toss into this mix two more characters—Jesse, an old prospector (the obligatory stock character in so many Westerns) and a morally ambiguous Union soldier, Anderson (discharged dishonorably)—and you have your basic cast: three men who, as it quickly turns out, will have to split a bounty; the bounty head who knows greed can be a powerful weakness in men; and a young likable woman, struggling with loyalties and seemingly lost to the whims of fate, who honestly elicits sympathy (at least she did from me).
Across the boards, the acting is terrific. Robert Ryan is utterly on key, an amazing actor who deserved far more respect and kudos than he ever publicly received. Jimmy Stewart is fantastic as always, injecting a darkness into his character that he was so beautifully capable of (cf. Vertigo, Rope, and several other films in the 1950s). Here, his depth is especially notable. He thus has a great foil (and to an ambiguous degree, twin) in Ryan, and it's an intense meeting of forces.
All in all, the blu-ray bowled me over right to the end, where the climax was more moving than ever before. Thank goodness Warner Archives did this for The Naked Spur: a great Western, a great film of any genre—and with a screenplay that was nominated for an Oscar, the rare time that has happened for a Western.
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From the manufacturer
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
A division of WarnerMedia, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) brings together all of Warner Bros.’ businesses involved in the delivery of home entertainment content to consumers.
Based on the constantly changing ways by which consumers access entertainment, WBHE focuses on maximizing current and next-generation distribution scenarios to make the Studio’s content available to audiences through as many channels, platforms and devices as possible.
Warner Home Video
With distribution in 90 international territories, Warner Home Video has one of the largest distribution infrastructures in the global video marketplace. In 2019, Warner Home Video had 20% marketshare for overall home entertainment WHV also had the library with “Harry Potter Complete 8-Film Collection” and the television franchise with “Game of Thrones.”
Reviews with images
A Unique Western Classic
James Stewart made a number of classic Western films, mostly for director Anthony Mann, and this is one of the more unusual ones. Typically, there was extensive location shooting in Colorado and California. Through the use of vivid Technicolor, this film is visually quite impressive and memorable.The remarkable thing about this thrilling film is that there are basically only five actors in the story. Mann presumably used some Native Americans for a rather brutal and troubling encounter with a band of "Indians" that ends tragically for those unnamed individuals after they pose a significant threat to the five individuals.Jimmy is essentially a bounty hunter who tracks down a killer, portrayed by Robert Ryan. The wanted man is accompanied by a young woman, portrayed by Janet Leigh, who doesn't realize that the man she loves is not whom she thinks. There is, of course, a substantial reward for bringing Ryan to justice, where he will likely be hung (in Abilene, Kansas). The challenge is getting Ryan back to Kansas, especially since the two other men have questionable views about sharing the reward. There is an internal conflict between Jimmy and the others. The story conflict because Ryan tries basically to "divide and conquer" everyone, hoping that he and Janet Leigh can somehow get away and go to California for a new life.The impressive film, with its continuing conflicts, is enhanced by a fine musical by MGM staff composer and conductor Bronislaw Kaper. As in other Westerns, Jimmy uses the amazing horse Pie, who can be identified by the distinctive white spot on his forehead. This was actually the third film that Jimmy made for Anthony Mann and it is definitely one of the best.
Top reviews from other countries
Zorglub
A great western that is well done on many levels
Reviewed in Canada on July 30, 2017
