Wagon Master

[domino harvey]

Coming in September

[What A Disgrace]

You mean its not burned on demand?

Yay!

[Derek Estes]

About. Fucking. Time!! Yay! I was worried this would neve come out. Now if they could just release 7 Women!
BTW, Anyone notice how they put a still from "7 Women" on the back of "The Women", I guess they just figred the title was close enough.

[Matt]

BTW, Anyone notice how they put a still from "7 Women" on the back of "The Women", I guess they just figred the title was close enough.

Huh? Are you sure about that?

[Derek Estes]

I have the one from the joan Crawford set. And it's clearly a picture of 7 Women. Eddie Arnold never appeared in The Women, Nor did any man!

[George Kaplan]

My Crawford box set edition has the same image. I'm unable to successfully post it here but, this is a link to it at laserdisken.dk, the single best DVD image source that I have yet to find.

The image is small but seems clearly from 7 WOMEN with, from left to right, Anne Bancroft, Sue Lyon, Mildred Dunnock, Margaret Leighton, Eddie Albert and Betty Field.

[zone_resident]

Beaver

[foggy eyes]

Beaver

Looks better than I imagined it would - glad it didn't go the way of the Archive...

[Perkins Cobb]

Maybe if we all buy one, Warners will release another DVD this year.

[OliverB]

wow a real DVD with original art work... Warners must think it's still 2004 or something!


Really looking forward to this!!

[domino harvey]

Maybe if we all buy one, Warners will release another DVD this year.

Hahaha =D>

[htdm]

Looks better than I imagined it would - glad it didn't go the way of the Archive...

Ditto!
Definitely picking this one up.

[GringoTex]

Just watched the dvd, my first viewing of the film, and the image is jaw-dropping. I think it's Ford's masterpiece. Plotwise, he has almost nothing to do and there are are no stars, which means he can throwing himself into the full poetry of everything. Lindsay Anderson famously declared it an "avant garde Western." That's not much of an exaggeration- it's essentially an 85-minute lateral tracking shot rhythmically punctuated by romance, religion, evil, and the grace of horses. What I really want to do is call it the apex of American cinema, but I'm still drunk off my first viewing.

[Props55]

Amen Brothers Tex and Hare! Not much more I can add at short notice (and length) but to mention my own difficulty in ever getting this masterpiece programmed in either college or commercial rep, likely due to the noted lack of "stars" or narrative. My only experience of it is therefore from television and tape so it will be great to see this on a projection system. It and THE SUN SHINES BRIGHT are two of my very favorite Fords and for much the same reasons: small scale, narrative simplicity and visual poetry, although SUN is diminished somewhat in the last instance due to its being stage and backlot bound for the most part. If only Paramount/Lionsgate could manage to make it available! I doubt it would require much in the way of restoration, certainly not anything approaching the effort required for THE QUIET MAN.

BTW the final image of the colt Fording (pun intended!) the river is repeated as the final shot in Ford's episode (THE COLTER CRAVEN STORY) of the television series WAGON
TRAIN. For those unfamiliar the series starred Ward Bond and was more or less inspired by the film. It represents his last film work as he died shortly after completing the first season.

[Yojimbo]

Coming in September

love the artwork

[Yojimbo]

Beaver

Its a pity he didn't do a comparison with my French Montparnasse version
(which I have yet to watch)
I first saw this film about 20 years ago and loved it instantly and in fact wondered why I hadn't heard much about it previously.
'Clementine' is still my favourite Ford, but its a toss-up between this one and 'Stagecoach' for my 2nd favourite Ford Western.

[Frankinho007]

I don't know, whether you can see the pictures but a fellow user of a German forum made a comparison between both editions:

http://forum.cinefacts.de/6390221-post93.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Yojimbo]

I don't know, whether you can see the pictures but a fellow user of a German forum made a comparison between both editions:

http://forum.cinefacts.de/6390221-post93.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

seems to be some inconsistency between the two sets; the US edition might be slightly better, overall, but one can judge better with larger captures

[Frankinho007]

But you clicked on the thumbnails?

[Napier]

The Warner disc is clearly better. And and it's a great Ford film to boot.

[GringoTex]

I agree, I feel like throwing off the burden of simply calling it my favorite Ford and calling it the Greatest Ford.

I simply think it is, despite the incredible competition.

The DVD image is heartbreakingly beautiful.

There's something very heartbreaking about the film itself. It embodies a purity that no longer exists and never did exist. It only exists in this film.

[Gregory]

I agree that this and Seven Women are both outstanding -- and hope the latter will get released if this one meets their expectations.

Not about to launch into a big sales pitch for a Warner title, but it seems safe to say they're going to be watching the sales figures for Wagon Master pretty closely. Both in light of some of the statements Feltenstein made in the MacLeans interview and this being one of the lone Warner Classics releases this year, its success or failure may indeed influence them to either deepen their retreat or to continue testing the waters by releasing a classic title now and then to see how it does. The forthcoming film noir set (fingers crossed) will be equally important.
Unfortunately, I'm afraid to think how low the sales for Wagon Master will be. It seems that relatively few on the forum love the western, for example. As for the Holiday gift-buying season, I'm not sure how well single titles due compared to boxes sets, especially a single title that may not appear on people's radar due to the lack of any popular leading man. Maybe Mormons will buy it in droves.

[domino harvey]

So I'm really going to have to be the first to dissent? This was a weird, mostly awful film that ranks among the worst I've seen from Ford. I don't get the praise glutting out right now, but then again, I think people on this board have defended other indefensible Ford films in the past (Tobacco Road, the Long Voyage Home), so I shouldn't be shocked. But I still am a bit. I solved the mystery of why Warners sat so long on the release within minutes of it starting.

[Yojimbo]

So I'm really going to have to be the first to dissent? This was a weird, mostly awful film that ranks among the worst I've seen from Ford. I don't get the praise glutting out right now, but then again, I think people on this board have defended other indefensible Ford films in the past (Tobacco Road, the Long Voyage Home), so I shouldn't be shocked. But I still am a bit. I solved the mystery of why Warners sat so long on the release within minutes of it starting.

I'd agree with you if you're referring to 'Seven Women'.

But I love 'The Long Voyage Home'

[Tommaso]

What exactly are your reasons for disliking "Wagon Master", Domino?

I think it's very much a prototypical Ford film, with all the key elements (myth, humanity, flawless characterisation and camera art) in there and perhaps at the top of the game. I share the praise for "Sun shines bright", of course, and very much hope for that one to get a release in the not too distant future.