I’ve
always found GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL ($20) to be
one of the most entertaining westerns of the 1950s. Directed by the
legendary John Sturges, and featuring legendary leading men Burt Lancaster
and Kirk Douglas GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL is a
classic retelling of one of the most legendary western stories. Lancaster
and Douglas portray larger-than-life western figures Wyatt Earp and Doc
Holliday- men on opposite sides of the law, who form an unexpected
friendship, first out of need, but deepening out of mutual respect. Both
actors are in top form in GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL;
Lancaster is perfectly suited to the stoic lawman, while Douglas brings to
life the volatile gambler/gunslinger with his typical bravado.
As
GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL opens, Wyatt Earp crosses
paths with Doc Holiday, while the Marshal is trailing an outlaw to a town
outside his jurisdiction. Although Earp has a genuine dislike former
dentist turned gambler, he doesn’t shy away from doing the right thing
by saving Holiday from a lynch mob and an unscrupulous sheriff. Upon his
return to Dodge City, Earp once again finds Doc Holiday thrust upon him-
only this time, the gambler wants to settle his debt to the Marshal. Even
after Doc Holiday settles his debt, he follows Wyatt Earp to Tombstone to
help the Marshal and his brothers stave off the cattle rustling Clanton
gang. The solid cast of GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL
also features Rhonda Fleming, Jo Van Fleet, John Ireland, Lyle Bettger,
Frank Faylen, Earl Holliman, DeForest Kelley, John Hudson, Martin Milner,
Kenneth Tobey, Lee Van Cleef, Jack Elam and Dennis Hopper.
Paramount
Home Entertainment has made GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL
available on DVD in a 1.78:1 wide screen presentation that features the
anamorphic enhancement for 16:9 displays. Having sat through previous
broadcast and Laserdisc presentations of GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K.
CORRAL, I can honestly say that this DVD transfer is nothing short of
a revelation. Whereas the colors on previous transfers were wildly
inconsistent and rarely gave one the impression of what an original IB
Technicolor print might have looked like, the hues here are quite lovely
and totally cohesive. The dusty tones of the old west predominate, while
more intensely saturated hues occasionally accent the image. Flesh tones
tend to have the homogenous quality of a makeup man’s kit, but are never
unappealing.
The
image itself is quite sharp and very well defined, which is indicative of
the larger photographic area of the VistaVision format. Blacks appear
accurate, whites are clean and contrast is generally smooth. Although
shadow detail isn’t up to the standards of today’s film stocks, the
image does produce a nice sense of depth. The film element used for the
transfer displays few blemishes or scratches; however, a grain structure
does become noticeable at various times during the presentation. Digital
compression artifacts are always well concealed on this cleanly authored
dual layer DVD.
GUNFIGHT
AT THE O.K. CORRAL comes with a very pleasant sounding
Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack. Virtually all signs of age, including
background hiss and surface noise, have been digitally cleaned from the
soundtrack- leaving a very crisp, precise sound. Dimitri Tiomkin’s fine
musical score benefits from the digital cleanup, never coming across in
either a harsh or distorted manner. There are some limitations in the
fidelity of these forty five year old recordings, but the music still
sounds good with a bit of amplification. Dialogue reproduction is
excellent, with the actors’ voice maintaining a genuine sense of
presence and complete intelligibility. No other language tracks are
provided on the DVD, although English subtitles are included. The basic
interactive menus allow one access to the standard scene selection and set
up features. No supplemental content has been added to the DVD.
As
I stated above, I think that GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL
is one of the most entertaining westerns of the 1950s. Both Burt Lancaster
and Kirk Douglas turn in great performances, and this film is certainly a
prime example of why they were a great team on the silver screen. As for
the DVD, Paramount has done a terrific job with the transfer; offering the
very finest home presentation of GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K.
CORRAL that is possible to see this side of high definition. If you
are a movie buff, western fan or are someone just discovering the films of
Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, this is a must own DVD.
I’ve
always found GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL ($20) to be
one of the most entertaining westerns of the 1950s. Directed by the
legendary John Sturges, and featuring legendary leading men Burt Lancaster
and Kirk Douglas GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL is a
classic retelling of one of the most legendary western stories. Lancaster
and Douglas portray larger-than-life western figures Wyatt Earp and Doc
Holliday- men on opposite sides of the law, who form an unexpected
friendship, first out of need, but deepening out of mutual respect. Both
actors are in top form in GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL;
Lancaster is perfectly suited to the stoic lawman, while Douglas brings to
life the volatile gambler/gunslinger with his typical bravado.
As
GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL opens, Wyatt Earp crosses
paths with Doc Holiday, while the Marshal is trailing an outlaw to a town
outside his jurisdiction. Although Earp has a genuine dislike former
dentist turned gambler, he doesn’t shy away from doing the right thing
by saving Holiday from a lynch mob and an unscrupulous sheriff. Upon his
return to Dodge City, Earp once again finds Doc Holiday thrust upon him-
only this time, the gambler wants to settle his debt to the Marshal. Even
after Doc Holiday settles his debt, he follows Wyatt Earp to Tombstone to
help the Marshal and his brothers stave off the cattle rustling Clanton
gang. The solid cast of GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL
also features Rhonda Fleming, Jo Van Fleet, John Ireland, Lyle Bettger,
Frank Faylen, Earl Holliman, DeForest Kelley, John Hudson, Martin Milner,
Kenneth Tobey, Lee Van Cleef, Jack Elam and Dennis Hopper.
Paramount
Home Entertainment has made GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL
available on DVD in a 1.78:1 wide screen presentation that features the
anamorphic enhancement for 16:9 displays. Having sat through previous
broadcast and Laserdisc presentations of GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K.
CORRAL, I can honestly say that this DVD transfer is nothing short of
a revelation. Whereas the colors on previous transfers were wildly
inconsistent and rarely gave one the impression of what an original IB
Technicolor print might have looked like, the hues here are quite lovely
and totally cohesive. The dusty tones of the old west predominate, while
more intensely saturated hues occasionally accent the image. Flesh tones
tend to have the homogenous quality of a makeup man’s kit, but are never
unappealing.
The
image itself is quite sharp and very well defined, which is indicative of
the larger photographic area of the VistaVision format. Blacks appear
accurate, whites are clean and contrast is generally smooth. Although
shadow detail isn’t up to the standards of today’s film stocks, the
image does produce a nice sense of depth. The film element used for the
transfer displays few blemishes or scratches; however, a grain structure
does become noticeable at various times during the presentation. Digital
compression artifacts are always well concealed on this cleanly authored
dual layer DVD.
GUNFIGHT
AT THE O.K. CORRAL comes with a very pleasant sounding
Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack. Virtually all signs of age, including
background hiss and surface noise, have been digitally cleaned from the
soundtrack- leaving a very crisp, precise sound. Dimitri Tiomkin’s fine
musical score benefits from the digital cleanup, never coming across in
either a harsh or distorted manner. There are some limitations in the
fidelity of these forty five year old recordings, but the music still
sounds good with a bit of amplification. Dialogue reproduction is
excellent, with the actors’ voice maintaining a genuine sense of
presence and complete intelligibility. No other language tracks are
provided on the DVD, although English subtitles are included. The basic
interactive menus allow one access to the standard scene selection and set
up features. No supplemental content has been added to the DVD.
As
I stated above, I think that GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL
is one of the most entertaining westerns of the 1950s. Both Burt Lancaster
and Kirk Douglas turn in great performances, and this film is certainly a
prime example of why they were a great team on the silver screen. As for
the DVD, Paramount has done a terrific job with the transfer; offering the
very finest home presentation of GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K.
CORRAL that is possible to see this side of high definition. If you
are a movie buff, western fan or are someone just discovering the films of
Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, this is a must own DVD.
