The Good
A solid collection of movies that span the western genre.
The Bad
No extras.The Western Classics Collection from Warner Home Video offers up the following 6 titles:
- Escape from Fort Bravo
- Many Rivers to Cross
- Cimarron
- The Law and Jake Wade
- Saddle the Wind
- The Stalking Moon
While certainly a mixed batch to be sure, it is nice to see that Warner Bros. isn't afraid to shake things up a bit with this release. Escape from Fort Bravo has William Holden fighting prisoners inside Fort Bravo and angry Native Americans on the outside. Many Rivers to Cross sees Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker looking for love. Cimarron has Glenn Ford starring in this tale of land rush settlers. The Law and Jake Wade sees Robert Taylor going up against Richard Widmark in this thriller. Saddle the Wind finds Taylor again with his back against the wall in this movie from Rod Serling and co-starring John Cassavetes. Lastly, The Stalking Moon finds Gregory Peck leading Eva Marie Saint to safety with Apaches quick on their tail.
Features
No Extras came with this Western Classics Collection.
Video
All of these films are presented in the following format: Widescreen Version. Presented in a "letterbox" widescreen format preserving the "scope" aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition. Enhanced for widescreen TVs. These movies looked pretty good. I don't think Warner Bros. went through them with a fine tooth comb before committing them to DVD or anything, but on the whole they did have the richness that most westerns of that time (the 1950s and 1960s) had.
Audio
The films in the Warner Home Video Western Classics Collection were a mix of Dolby Digital English: Mono and Dolby Digital English: Dolby Surround Stereo. Truthfully, I didn't hear too much of a difference in the films I watched in mono and the ones I watched in stereo. The audio, while good, wasn't so amazing that I felt it elevated the films in any direction.
Package
Robert Taylor is shown on the front of this colorful, slipcase cover. The back portion gives us DVD artwork of all the films, small descriptions, and underneath the slipcase are some minor technical specs. All 6 discs are stored in separate amaray cases. Each one gives us more in-depth information on each film. My only complaint is that I think Warner Home Video could've done this with slim cases instead of regular amaray ones.
Final Word
As I am a big fan of western movies I must admit that I was taken in by the Warner Home Video Western Classics Collection. I don't know how these films came to be in this collection, but it seems like whoever is putting it together really has eclectic tastes. I used to think that studios simply packaged this stuff together and maybe they do, but on the whole I really liked what this collection had to offer. It was rich with good stories of vengeance, pride, and at times, humor.
The Warner Home Video Western Classics Collection is the kind of release that should be on any serious collectors shelf.
Escape from Fort Bravo was released December 4, 1953.