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The Iron Horse
Licensor Information
20th Century Fox
Directed by: John Ford
Featuring: George O'Brien, Madge Bellamy, Charles Edward Bull, Cyril Chadwick, Will Walling, Francis Powers
The 1924 blockbuster that launched John Ford into Hollywood's emerging A-list of directors, The Iron Horse is an epic mythification of the American railroad's birth: a rambunctious blend of historical drama and Western actioner, revenge story and saloon comedy, noble biopic and all-bets-off tall tale.
Neighbour to the pre-presidential Abe Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois, young Davy Brandon accompanies his father westward to realise the elder's dream of a rail line bridging the ends of the continent. Years after Brandon Sr.'s murder and scalping by a two-fingered Cheyenne half-breed, the adult David (played by George O'Brien, three years before his lead role in Sunrise, here in the first of ten films he made with Ford) joins in the effort now underway to lay track and accommodate "the iron horse". Once more stir the blood and butterflies of Davy's past as Ford guides his characters' fates towards final convergence, like the merging of the tracks from east and west. With its expressive compositional prowess, incredible stunt work, and generous humour, The Iron Horse anticipates the bounteous universe that Ford would go on to calibrate perfectly in his greatest works.
The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present The Iron Horse in its US, full-length version for the first time on DVD in the UK. The first smash hit in the career of one of Hollywood's greatest and most enduringly popular directors: John Ford (The Searchers, Stagecoach, The Quiet Man, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Fort Apache, etc.), The Iron Horse was one of the great blockbusters of Hollywood's silent era, with over 6000 extras at work on the film, it is the grandfather of all Westerns.
Details by Film
The Iron Horse
US CutYear: 1925
Time: 149
Aspect Ratios
1.33:1
Audio
Musical Score Dolby Digital Surround 5.1
Musical Score Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0
The Iron Horse
International CutYear: 1925
Time: 132
Aspect Ratios
1.33:1
Audio
Musical Score Dolby Digital Surround 5.1
Musical Score Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0
Streaming Options
Release Information:
Technical Specifications
Format:
DVD
Discs:
DVD-9 (2 Discs)
Total: 2 Discs
Regions:
2 (DVD)
Aspect Ratio:
1.33:1
Audio Options:
Musical Score Dolby Digital Surround 5.1
Musical Score Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0
Resolution:
480p/29.97
Supplements
Types of Supplements Included: Alternate Version, Audio Commentary, Video Essay, DVD-ROM, Booklet
- Original US 150-minute version of the film from a high-definition master, accompanied by a 2007 score by Christopher Caliendo, plus shorter International 133-version of the film (which includes alternate takes) from a high-definition master, accompanied by an adaptation of the Caliendo score
- Audio commentary for the international version of the film by scholar Robert S. Birchard
- Then Came a Dream, a new and exclusive 20-minute video essay by Tag Gallagher, author of John Ford: The Man and His Films
- A DVD-ROM PDF on Disc 1 of the film's original shooting script
- A 40-PAGE illustrated booklet containing vintage artwork and publicity material (notes on the production, a profile of Ford, etc.)
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