Jurado, Katy

High Noon (Collector's Edition)

One of the greatest Westerns ever made gets the deluxe treatment on this superior disc from Republic Home Video's Silver Screen Classics line of special-edition DVDs. Written by Carl Foreman (who was later blacklisted during the anticommunist hearings of the '50s) and superbly directed by Fred Zinnemann, this 1952 classic stars Gary Cooper as just-married lawman Will Kane, who is about to retire as a small-town sheriff and begin a new life with his bride (Grace Kelly) when he learns that gunslinger Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald) is due to arrive at high noon to settle an old score. Kane seeks assistance from deputies and townsfolk, but soon realizes he'll have to stand alone in his showdown with Miller and his henchmen. Innovative for its time, the suspenseful story unfolds in approximate real time (from 10:40 a.m. to high noon in an 84-minute film), and many interpreted Foreman's drama as an allegorical reflection of apathy and passive acceptance of Senator Joseph McCarthy's anticommunist campaign. Political underpinnings aside, this remains a milestone of its genre (often referred to as the first "adult" Western), and Cooper is flawless in his Oscar-winning role. The first-rate DVD gives this landmark film all the respect it deserves, beginning with a digitally remastered transfer from the original film negative. Additional features include the exclusive documentary The Making of High Noon, hosted by film historian Leonard Maltin and featuring interviews with the late Lloyd Bridges (who played Cooper's rival ex-deputy), director Fred Zinnemann, and producer Stanley Kramer. Also included is the original theatrical trailer and a special chapter stop highlighting the Oscar-winning song "Do Not Forsake Me." Offered in English and dubbed French and Spanish, with English closed-captioning or Spanish and French subtitles. --Jeff Shannon

A newly married town marshal defends an ungrateful town against outlaws. Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 02/01/2005 Starring: Gary Cooper Run time: 85 minutes Rating: Nr

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid may be the most beautiful and ambitious film that Sam Peckinpah ever made. The time is 1881. Powerful interests want New Mexico tamed for their brand of progress, and Sheriff Pat Garrett (James Coburn) is commissioned to rid the territory of his old gunfighting comrades. He serves fair notice to William Bonney--Billy the Kid (Kris Kristofferson)--and his Fort Sumter cronies, but it's not in their nature, or his, to go quietly. Peckinpah's theme, more than ever, is the closing of the frontier and the nature of the loss that that entails. But this time his vision takes him beyond genre convention, beyond history and legend, to the bleeding heart of myth--and surely of himself.

This is one strange and original movie. In 1973 most American reviewers responded by panning it and deriding its director, whom they saw as having betrayed the promise of Ride the High Country, been swept up in his own cult of violence, and become incoherent as a storyteller. Coherence wasn't helped by MGM's cutting at least a quarter-of-an-hour out of the finished film and removing a bitter, retrospective prelude. Subsequent releases have restored a lot of material, and now there's more widespread appreciation of the depth and power of Peckinpah's achievement.

The cast, teeming with fine character actors, is extraordinary, making the gallery of frontier denizens vivid and resonant. Coburn's Garrett, a man who comes to loathe himself for his mission yet cannot abandon it, is the high-water mark of the actor's career. L.Q. Jones, Luke Askew, Harry Dean Stanton, Jack Elam, and Richard Bright create indelible moments, and Slim Pickens becomes the center of an unforgettably moving scene. The presence of Kristofferson (just starting out as an actor) and Bob Dylan (whose enigmatic role is nearly wordless) nudges us toward recognizing Old West outlawry as an early form of rock stardom--flesh-and-blood gods for a primitive society to feed on. --Richard T. Jameson

Barabbas

Starring Anthony Quinn in the title role, Barabbas was released in 1961 in the midst of a wave of widescreen epics based on biblical characters. The screenplay, by playwright Christopher Fry (who also contributed to Ben-Hur), is an unusually intelligent one. Further assets are the imaginative, sparingly orchestrated score by Mario Nascimbene and a handsome production design by art director Mario Chiari that is so rewarding to the eye in Aldo Tonti's often dazzling cinematography.

Many scenes, such as Christ's crucifixion, are shot and staged like tableaux in a style reminiscent of the great masters of art. And director Richard Fleischer surpasses anything Ridley Scott achieved years later in Gladiator: he fills the huge arena--a vast Roman amphitheatre--with a gladiatorial school of hand-to-hand combat, a parade of elephants, and a den of lions, and then caps his production with a riveting and thrillingly mounted duel between Jack Palance, careering round the circumference of the arena in his chariot, and Barabbas dodging him on foot. --Adrian Edwards

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 08/31/2004 Starring: Antony Quinn Run time: 137 minutes Rating: Nr Director: Richard Fleischer

One-Eyed Jacks

ONE EYED JACKS (DVD MOVIE)

Nosotros Los Pobres

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 01/08/2008 Run time: 115 minutes

Under the Volcano - Criterion Collection

The Criterion Collection release of Under The Volcano reaffirms director John Huston's affinity for tragedies starring outcasts and wayward souls (see also The Misfits and Night of the Iguana). Adapted from Malcolm Lowry's novel set in Cuernavaca, Mexico, 1938, on the eve of WW II, Under The Volcano recounts the tragic life of British Consul Geoffrey Firmin's (Albert Finney) final struggles with alcoholism during Day of the Dead, as his estranged wife, Yvonne (Jaqueline Bisset) returns from New York to patch up their marriage and to encourage his sobering up. From the opening scene, Firmin is relentlessly drunk, mumbling Shakespearean-like rants with a dark sense of humor about the horrors of war and the perils of love. Finney's stunning performance recalls the best of Richard Burton (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), who was originally offered the role. Fortunately for the viewer, Finney was cast, as his compellingly dour portrayal of Firmin is undeniably masterful. Set in bars, restaurants, and amongst the plaza's Dia de los Muertos festivities featuring devils and skeletons alongside garlands and balloons, Under The Volcano's visual splendor underscores the decadence of Finney's drinking habit. There is not a single shot missing a bottle of liquor, and as Finney's health deteriorates the weather in the film subtly mimics his psychological state. The film is as wondrous as it is devastating. Included as extras on this DVD are the Richard Burton-narrated "Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life of Malcolm Lowry," a captivating documentary about the author's life, and an hour-long documentary about the making of the film. --Trinie Dalton

Under the Volcano follows the final day in the life of self-destructive British consul Geoffrey Firmin (Albert Finney in an Oscar-nominated tour de force)on the eve of World War II. Withering from alcoholism Firmin stumbles through a small Mexican village amidst the Day of the Dead fiesta attmepting to reconnect with his estranged wife (Jacqueline Bisset) but only further alienating himself. John Huston's ambitious tackling of Malcom Lowry's towering "unadaptable" novel gave the incomparable Finney one of his grandest roles and was the legendary The Treasure of Sierra Madre director's triumphant return to filmmaking in Mexico.System Requirements:Running Time: 112 Mins. Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 715515026420 Manufacturer No: CC1718DDVD

Broken Lance

Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 05/13/2008 Run time: 96 minutes Rating: Nr

Broken Lance is a noble entry in the trend of adult Westerns of the early 1950s, scoring on a couple of fronts: (1) as a multigenerational saga, with Shakespearian overtones, of a family bickering over a giant ranch, and (2) as a grown-up look at the dilemma of the Native American... its title perhaps inspired by the Indian-friendly Broken Arrow? Spencer Tracy stars as the blustery patriarch of a cattle spread, threatened by pollution from a nearby copper mine as well as the shiftiness of his older sons (Richard Widmark, Hugh O'Brian, and Earl Holliman). Tracy's bluff characterization--as ever, he seems to be yanking at the script like a cat unraveling a ball of yarn--carries the film effortlessly along. The central character is actually his youngest and wisest son, played by Robert Wagner, who's not especially convincing as the mixed-race issue of Tracy's second marriage, to an Indian woman (Oscar nominee Katy Jurado). Edward Dmytryk directs in a style that could be called "intelligent," which is another way of saying "not very exciting." The early CinemaScope probably accounts for some of the static set-ups, although there are exteriors that are breathtaking (watching this film in its full-screen version would be crazy). The cast is certainly tops; Widmark is overqualified to play a third lead, but who's complaining? Most memorable is the loving relationship between Tracy's cattleman and his Indian wife, although the subject of Native Americans is secondary here (check out The Devil's Doorway and Apache for more overt Fifties looks at the topic). Veteran screenwriter Philip Yordan won an Oscar for his "original story," a curious and long-defunct Academy Award category. --Robert Horton

Children of Sanchez

Anthony Quinn stars as the widowed Jesus Sanchez a poor farmer struggling to provide for his family in Mexico City. Also starring Lupita Ferrer as Consuelo and Stathis Giallelis as Roberto. Chuck Mangione was nominated for a Golden Globe and won a Grammy award for his original musical score.System Requirements:Running Time - 117 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 692865159339 Manufacturer No: T-1593

Stay Away, Joe

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 08/07/2007 Run time: 101 minutes Rating: Pg

High Noon

One of the greatest Westerns ever made gets the deluxe treatment on this superior disc from Republic Home Video's Silver Screen Classics line of special-edition DVDs. Written by Carl Foreman (who was later blacklisted during the anticommunist hearings of the '50s) and superbly directed by Fred Zinnemann, this 1952 classic stars Gary Cooper as just-married lawman Will Kane, who is about to retire as a small-town sheriff and begin a new life with his bride (Grace Kelly) when he learns that gunslinger Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald) is due to arrive at high noon to settle an old score. Kane seeks assistance from deputies and townsfolk, but soon realizes he'll have to stand alone in his showdown with Miller and his henchmen. Innovative for its time, the suspenseful story unfolds in approximate real time (from 10:40 a.m. to high noon in an 84-minute film), and many interpreted Foreman's drama as an allegorical reflection of apathy and passive acceptance of Senator Joseph McCarthy's anticommunist campaign. Political underpinnings aside, this remains a milestone of its genre (often referred to as the first "adult" Western), and Cooper is flawless in his Oscar-winning role. The first-rate DVD gives this landmark film all the respect it deserves, beginning with a digitally remastered transfer from the original film negative. Additional features include the exclusive documentary The Making of High Noon, hosted by film historian Leonard Maltin and featuring interviews with the late Lloyd Bridges (who played Cooper's rival ex-deputy), director Fred Zinnemann, and producer Stanley Kramer. Also included is the original theatrical trailer and a special chapter stop highlighting the Oscar-winning song "Do Not Forsake Me." Offered in English and dubbed French and Spanish, with English closed-captioning or Spanish and French subtitles. --Jeff Shannon