Winchester '73

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Synopsis

Noirish shadows spread across the frontier in this landmark western, the first of the celebrated collaborations between director Anthony Mann and actor James Stewart that redefined the genre with their moral and psychological intensity. Beginning his midcareer transition into increasingly edgy roles, Stewart portrays an avenging sharpshooter whose stolen rifle becomes a harbinger of death as it is passed from one doomed hand to the next. Featuring a stellar cast that includes a touching Shelley Winters, a sensationally sleazy Dan Duryea, and a pre-stardom Rock Hudson, this elemental tale of violence begetting violence broke new ground with its evocation of the West as a no-man’s-land of antiheroes and villains.

Picture 9/10

Anthony Mann’s influential Western Winchester ’73 gets a stunning new 4K UHD edition from The Criterion Collection. The film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.35:1 on a dual-layer BD-66 disc, with an SDR 2160p/24hz ultra high-definition presentation sourced from a new 4K restoration. The restoration is based on a scan of the 35mm nitrate original negative. The release also includes a standard dual-layer Blu-ray featuring a 1080p high-definition presentation and all of the accompanying video supplements.

Criterion has delivered an absolute knockout of a presentation. The image is razor-sharp and impressively clean, showcasing an extraordinary grayscale range. Despite the absence of HDR, this is one of the more striking black-and-white presentations I’ve seen on the format in recent memory, and there have been quite a few good ones. The level of detail is, at times, staggering—you can clearly make out the texture of the denim worn by the characters, even in wide shots. The encode handles the film’s grain beautifully, though there are a couple of fleeting moments where it appears slightly buzzy in the highlights of the sky.

The restoration work is equally impressive. Nearly every blemish has been meticulously cleaned up, and I don’t recall spotting a single significant flaw—minor defects are practically nonexistent. Overall, this is an absolutely gorgeous restoration.

Audio 7/10

The audio, presented in lossless single-channel PCM, has also been lovingly restored. Dialogue comes through sharp and clear, while the music and action sequences exhibit a surprising amount of range for the era—gunshots, in particular, sound rather dynamic. The track is free of any drops, pops, or significant background noise, ensuring a clean and satisfying experience.

Extras 7/10

Sadly, Criterion doesn’t deliver a jam-packed edition for Winchester ’73, though they do include a handful of decent supplements. Among them is an audio commentary recorded in 1989 for Universal’s LaserDisc edition, featuring James Stewart being interviewed by film historian Paul Lindenschmidt. While there are some moments of dead space, it’s a surprisingly engaging track. Lindenschmidt does a great job keeping Stewart involved, asking him questions about the film’s production, his work with Anthony Mann, and even about the scenes as they play out.

It’s hard to say if all the stories Stewart shares are entirely factual, but they’re certainly entertaining. For instance, he explains how the coin shots in the opening contest were achieved—claiming a sharpshooter offscreen actually shot the coins—and recounts how he “whispered instructions” to his horse, Pie, for one particular scene. Whether or not he’s having a little fun with these anecdotes, they’re thoroughly enjoyable. The commentary is at its most compelling when Stewart reflects on Mann’s directorial style, comparing it to other greats he worked with, including John Ford and Alfred Hitchcock, while also sharing insights into his costars.

Admittedly, I had never heard this commentary before and wasn’t even aware of its existence (despite its inclusion on Universal’s DVD release), but I found it terrific and absolutely worth the time.

Other archival material is included as well, such as the film’s trailer and the 1951 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation, which features Stewart reprising his role. Interestingly, Stewart references this adaptation in his commentary, noting that it was initially supposed to be recorded before the film’s release. However, they ran into a problem: the dialogue in the film was so minimal and unimportant that adapting it seemed almost impossible. They weren’t far off. The radio version relies heavily on a narrator (purportedly Shelley Winters’ character from the film) to summarize much of the action, condensing sequences like the opening contest into a single sentence. The dialogue that does remain sticks mostly to the film but includes added exposition to fill in the gaps. As usual with these vintage radio adaptations, part of the fun comes from the advertisements, including one for Mervyn LeRoy’s Quo Vadis (ironically a film Anthony Mann worked on briefly before being replaced). The ad also cutely suggests that the Romans’ lives would have been much easier if they’d only had Lux soap!

Criterion also includes another archival feature: an extended version of Forces of Nature: Anthony Mann. This 47-minute documentary, which appeared in a truncated form on Arrow’s release of The Far Country, delves into Mann’s career and work at Universal. This version provides a broader overview, touching on his early crime films for Eagle-Lion before focusing on his collaborations with Stewart, including Winchester ’73 and The Far Country. It also explores their eventual falling-out when Stewart decided to change the trajectory of his career. Though it’s primarily a talking-heads documentary, it’s well-crafted and serves as an excellent primer on Mann’s career and his partnership with Stewart.

The sole new feature is an 18-minute interview with film programmer Adam Piron, who discusses the representation of Native Americans in this film and other Westerns of the era. Starting with Rock Hudson’s portrayal in Winchester ’73 (and the unfortunate use of makeup), Piron expands into a broader historical discussion, going back to the silent era. He highlights not only how Westerns portrayed Native Americans but also how Native filmmakers made their own contributions to the genre during that time. While Criterion likely included this feature in response to Hudson’s portrayal in the film, it’s a fascinating history lesson on a subject I wasn’t very familiar with, particularly regarding the silent era.

Finally, Imogen Sara Smith contributes an excellent essay on the film in the included insert. While I would have preferred an on-camera interview, her essay is thoughtful and insightful.

Overall, the material Criterion provides is solid, but given the film’s legacy—and the fact that it’s the first Mann/Stewart collaboration they’ve released—I expected more. Hopefully, this is just the beginning, and Criterion has plans to release more of their work together in the future.

(The commentary appears on both the 4K UHD disc and the Blu-ray, while the remaining supplements are only on the Blu-ray.)

Closing

Not the special edition many would hope for, but it still offers an engaging set of supplements and a stunning new 4K presentation.

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Directed by: Anthony Mann
Year: 1950
Time: 92 min.
 
Series: The Criterion Collection
Edition #: 1248
Licensor: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Release Date: January 28 2025
MSRP: $49.95
 
4K UHD Blu-ray/Blu-ray
2 Discs | BD-50/UHD-66
1.35:1 ratio
English 1.0 PCM Mono
Subtitles: English
Regions A/None
HDR: None
 
 Audio commentary featuring actor James Stewart and film historian Paul Lindenschmidt   New interview with film programmer Adam Piron on the portrayal of Native Americans in the western genre   Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of the film from 1951   Trailer   An essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith