It's a tribute to the greatness of THE QUIET MAN that despite the sub par picture quality, it still held up as one of the most entertaining movies ever made. The Academy Award-winning cinematography of Winton C. Hoch can now be viewed the way it should be, making the film's stature even larger. As is typical of any John Ford directed film, just about every shot looks like a painting--but this Blu-ray brings out so much depth and perspective the "paintings" seem to leap off the screen. Maureen O'Hara always looks good, but in this presentation she's absolutely stunning--a hundred "Maxim" cover girls combined couldn't hold a candle to her.
The only extra on the Blu-ray disc is a featurette called THE MAKING OF THE QUIET MAN from Leonard Maltin....this had already appeared on earlier DVD versions of THE QUIET MAN. The Blu-ray does come with a 36-page booklet on the film's production adapted from Joseph McBride's fine John Ford biography.
There's a lot of people who think that it doesn't make any difference if you put an "old" movie on Blu-ray. THE QUIET MAN from Olive Films is a perfect example of how the technology can not only make an "old" film look better, it can also increase an audience's appreciation of it. Anyone who loves classic cinema should see how THE QUIET MAN looks now.
Hi, I am a member of GAOH, and that is where I saw your blog post.
ReplyDeleteI am almost embarrassed to admit this, but I---a huge lover of classic films---have never seen this film. That is partly because I'm not a huge John Wayne fan. I do, however, adore Maureen O'Hara. I really do want to give this one a try.
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ReplyDeleteDan - This film is one of my wife's favorites and she was so disappointed with the picture quality when the DVD release came out. When I saw that Olive was releasing this to Blu-Ray I had to buy her a copy. It arrived this week and we watched it last evening and all I can say is the picture was amazing! Like Patti I'm not a huge fan of John Wayne but this film is unique to him and he really does an outstanding job. Maureen is so lovely in this film. My only complaint about her is that parts, especially early on, her acting was more like what you have seen in a silent film 25 years earlier. She was a stunningly beautiful woman though. What really gives this film it's real depth are the character actors who play the local Irish villagers. They were outstanding!
ReplyDeleteSorry for the delete I had to edit it to say Blu-Ray and not DVD!