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Jubal



A trio of exceptional performances from Glenn Ford, Ernest Borgnine, and Rod Steiger form the center of Jubal, an overlooked Hollywood treasure from genre master Delmer Daves. In this Shakespearean tale of jealousy and betrayal, Ford is an honorable itinerant cattleman, befriended and hired by Borgnine’s bighearted ranch owner despite his unwillingness to talk about his past. When the new hand becomes the target of the flirtatious attentions of the owner’s bored wife (Valerie French) and is entrusted by the boss with a foreman’s responsibilities, his presence at the ranch starts to rankle his shifty fellow cowhand, played by Steiger. The resulting emotional showdown imparts unparalleled psychology intensity to this western, a vivid melodrama featuring expressive location photography in Technicolor and CinemaScope.

Disc Features

• New high-definition digital restoration, with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Kent Jones

3:10 to Yuma



In this beautifully shot and acted, psychologically complex western, Van Heflin is a mild-mannered cattle rancher who takes on the task of shepherding a captured outlaw, played with cucumber-cool charisma by Glenn Ford, to the train that will take him to prison. This apparently simple plan turns into a nerve-racking cat-and-mouse game that will test each man’s particular brand of honor. Based on a story by Elmore Leonard, 3:10 to Yuma is a thrilling, humane action movie, directed by the supremely talented studio filmmaker Delmer Daves with intense feeling and precision.

Disc Features

• New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
• Alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray edition
• New interviews with author Elmore Leonard and Glenn Ford’s son and biographer, Peter Ford
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Kent Jones

Pricing 3:10 to Yuma at $39.99 MSRP is a grim joke. They should have just included Jubal as a bonus feature a la The Killing/Killer's Kiss...

I always have a hard time understanding the logic that prices the value of two interviews the same as, say, Lonesome, where we got two entire extra features, a commentary, a visual essay, and an interview, all on an infinitely less well known movie. On the other hand, I'm still probably going to buy both of these, so maybe that's the logic.

mfunk9786 wrote:Pricing 3:10 to Yuma at $39.99 MSRP is a grim joke. They should have just included Jubal as a bonus feature a la The Killing/Killer's Kiss...

That would suggest Jubal was somehow lesser though (beyond that I agree I would have more likely double dipped with such a situation). Jubal's a masterpiece with a shocking sexuality imposed on an already violently naked story. Had Daves just pushed a little harder this could have been his Kiss Me Deadly.

Let's be optimistic and hope for that mysterious "MORE!"

I'm surprised there's no Jim Kitses commentary for either of these, seeing as they obtained his services for both past westerns "The Furies" and "Stagecoach."

While I'm not familiar with "Jubal," and will refrain from commenting on its inclusion in the collection, is this the first instance that Criterion picked up a studio title for near-barebones release? This seems more like an Olive Films or Twilight Time disc than what we're used to.

Well, so now there are two more westerns in the Collection, which I suppose is something, but was anyone really clamoring for these two titles in particular? Note that neither of them made the forum's recent westerns list, despite being readily available on DVD.

It seems like an awful lot of Glenn Ford, when a little of Ford goes a long way. I saw 3:10 to Yuma when it first came out, and it made such an impression on a boy who loved Westerns that I can't remember a damn thing about it except there's a train involved. :-k

It's surprising that Criterion will even be able to sell the 3:10 to Yuma DVD at a $30 SRP by offering two interviews and a booklet when the old DVD release can be had for about $5. I'd think all the folks for whom money's no object would opt for the blu-ray.
I'm glad to see these two Daves films in the Collection but the lack of extra material is disappointing. I would've liked to see a video essay or written piece by Michael Walker of the journal Movie, for example. Something from Kitses probably would have been nice as well.

Buttery Jeb wrote:While I'm not familiar with "Jubal," and will refrain from commenting on its inclusion in the collection, is this the first instance that Criterion picked up a studio title for near-barebones release?

Something Wild came pretty close.

As a fan of Glenn Ford and Delmer Daves, Jubal is a nice surprise (and easily my preferred of the two films). 3:10 To Yuma is one of those films that I really want to love, but just can't quite connect to. On paper, it has a lot going for it (a director steeped in the genre, a strong cast, a sense of both myth and history, an attempt at an interesting theme), yet it never manages to coalesce into a moving aesthetic experience, it remains rigid and lifeless - undone in part by its overbearingly solemn score.

Jubal has more modest aims - shunning populist mythology in favor of character study- and emerges the stronger for it.

Anyone who considers 3:10 Daves worst western obviously hasn't seen Drum Beat starring Alan Ladd, compared to that aimless waste, the pretensions of 3:10 can be seen as virtues.

If Criterion ever decides to continue with Daves' westerns, I wish they would consider The Last Wagon, which is perhaps the strongest of them all.

Two widescreen Westerns shot by Charles Lawton, one in color, one in B&W. I'm in for the Blus.

Gregory wrote:It's surprising that Criterion will even be able to sell the 3:10 to Yuma DVD at a $30 SRP by offering two interviews and a booklet when the old DVD release can be had for about $5. I'd think all the folks for whom money's no object would opt for the blu-ray.
I'm glad to see these two Daves films in the Collection but the lack of extra material is disappointing. I would've liked to see a video essay or written piece by Michael Walker of the journal Movie, for example. Something from Kitses probably would have been nice as well.

Including the original short story seems to be a no duh for 3:10.

Yeah, depending on whether they could get the rights without paying through the nose. I'd rather see material about the films and Daves, though.

A short Tag Gallagher type essay on Daves would be amazing, but even I realize he's too much of an obscurity to get the respect he deserves.

Criterion occasionally does (nearly) bare-bones mainline titles of films by a variety of directors, so I don't think it's simply a matter of lack of respect. And while I believe Daves's best films (including 3:10) are underrated, I don't think he's that obscure for people who would be likely to buy releases of westerns beyond the major blockbuster ones.

Gregory wrote:Criterion occasionally does (nearly) bare-bones mainline titles of films by a variety of directors, so I don't think it's simply a matter of lack of respect. And while I believe Daves's best films (including 3:10) are underrated, I don't think he's that obscure for people who would be likely to buy releases of westerns beyond the major blockbuster ones.

I just meant for the extras to be focused on him. Leonard seems more likely to be a focus I'd assume since he's a much more popular name.

zedz wrote:

Buttery Jeb wrote:While I'm not familiar with "Jubal," and will refrain from commenting on its inclusion in the collection, is this the first instance that Criterion picked up a studio title for near-barebones release?

Something Wild came pretty close.

The Bank Dick was licenced from Universal and it had dick-all on it. Night Train to Munich, from Fox, might as well have been barebones as well.

The Criterion edition of Jubal should look much better than the existing dvd from 2005. Sony debuted a major restoration of the film at the TCM film festival in 2010.

Links to DVDBeaver reviews of the Sony Home Video releases:

Jubal
3:10 to Yuma

manicsounds wrote:Blu-ray.com reviews "3:10 to Yuma"

The Fuck? 29 minutes of bonus features. Why is this $40? Maybe if Jubal was thrown on there as a bonus film. Ministry of Fear has 21 minutes. So that extra 8 minutes = an extra $10? Also, why aren't the trailers on either of these two?

Any other reason why Criterion didn't give a shit about these two releases? Why even bother licensing them.

Eh, maybe it was a Benjamin Button situation where they did the studio a favor?

I hope its just a case where they were very lazy.

Minkin wrote:

manicsounds wrote:Blu-ray.com reviews "3:10 to Yuma"

The Fuck? 29 minutes of bonus features. Why is this $40? Maybe if Jubal was thrown on there as a bonus film. Ministry of Fear has 21 minutes. So that extra 8 minutes = an extra $10? Also, why aren't the trailers on either of these two?

Any other reason why Criterion didn't give a shit about these two releases? Why even bother licensing them.

It's pretty distressing that two interviews was all they could muster for such an iconic western. Either package them together with Jubal as an extra or make them both $29.95 titles. Westerns are the one genre I am most anxious to see more of from Criterion, but if they are going to half-ass them like this I'm not sure why they are even bothering.