Just spotted this announcement for a most welcome upcoming release on Blu-ray from Warner Archives. The Law and Jake Wade is a superb western – featuring Richard Widmark & Robert Taylor and directed by John Sturges – that never gets talked about enough as far as I’m concerned and has the potential to look great in hi-def. I wrote about the movie some years ago here and I’m very pleased to see it getting this well-deserved upgrade. The WA post on Facebook has this to say:
THE LAW AND JAKE WADE (1958)
NEW 2017 1080p HD REMASTER
Run Time 86:00
Subtitles English SDH
DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 Mono – English
ORIGINAL ASPECT RATIO – 2.35:1, 16 X 9 LETTERBOX
COLOR
BD 25
Special Features:
Theatrical Trailer (HD)
Robbing banks, holding up stagecoaches: That’s the life Jake Wade tried to leave behind when he put on a badge, found himself a pretty fiancée and set his path on the straight and narrow. But not yet. Wade’s outlaw partner resurfaces to take the lawman and his girl captive, forcing them into a trek to recover the loot Wade buried long ago — and plunging captors and captives into the violent heart of Comanche territory.
John Sturges (The Great Escape) directs, continuing his string of rugged, character-driven tales of action. Robert Taylor and Richard Widmark deliver vivid contrasts as the resolute hero and the depraved desperado. And the snowcapped Sierras provide towering backdrops for the mounting clash of wills.
Riding the High Country 
The Warner Archive Blu choices are often really surprising – this is very unexpected and very welcome. Would love to see this again in HD. I have more faith in the quality of their product that almost anybody – well, them and Sony 🙂
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Yes, the WA quality seems very consistent and there have been a handful of huge upgrades. Like you, I’m not sure of the criteria they use when deciding on titles but, whatever that may be, I’m not complaining in this case.
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No, quite. Just got the Criterion MILDRED PIERCE which is wonderful-looking (but then, so was the old DVD) and have ordered BREAKING POIINT from Barnes & Noble, hoping it won’t get stuck in customs. Just glad Warner is opening their archives up on different fronts (sic)
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Yes, they have so many great titles in their vaults that it’s not surprising they elected to farm some of them out. I thought about that new Mildred Pierce disc but, as you say, the old DVD is very good anyway so I’m not really able to justify it at the moment. Maybe later on, we’ll see.
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Must admit, if it hadn’t been for the recent Criterion sale (Amazon and Branes & Noble) I probably would have waited for both – but when it comes to Curtiz … Which reminds me (like I needed it), I really hope ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES makes an appearance soon. The US DVD suffered a bit from chroma sadly the Italian DVD is actually better in this regard actually) …
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Didn’t know that. My copy, from memory, is the UK one and I don’t think I noticed any particular problem – it’s been a while though.
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The US release is definitely a bit on the green side – The Italian release, which has all the extras but has an Italian dub (of course) was much improved. May be that they made an adjustment when creating the PAL version. Not a deal breaker but infuriating as it has always been my favourite. Not as bad as the DVD of ON DANGEROUS GROUND (the Blu is perfection). The grabs at DVD Beaver tell you all you need to know: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews8/gangsterbox.htm
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Ah yes, Ray’s film is on my list and will be had as soon as funds allow. The DVD really is, and always was, dreadful.
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I’ll have to make room on the shelf for this one. Have always been a fan.
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It’s worth a place on any western fan’s shelf, Mike. I remember being pleased when the DVD was released but, while it was OK overall, I still felt it could look better. I’m pretty confident the new BD will look terrific.
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Terrific western. Good on Warner Archive!
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Agreed! And let’s hope they keep on with more top notch titles.
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Off topic, but something we discussed earlier. I can happily confirm the Koch Blu Ray of SHOWDOWN is a stunning 1.85 transfer,despite it being noted as a 4×3 on the Koch website. Well recommended,the film is excellent IMHO.
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That’s not really off topic at all, John, and it’s very welcome bit of info. Personally, I’ve not been buying anything much lately but I am keeping notes and listing what I need to pick up when the time comes.
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Widmark rarely gets his due as a Western Star. He made nearly 20 Westerns and most of them were good for one reason: he was in them. He was really excellent – as either a goodguy or a badguy.
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Widmark was one of my favorite actors in any genre, and his western contributions were both extensive and compelling. One of the great movie stars.
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I love these Blu Ray updates.
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It’s just nice to be able to pass the info along.
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You provide great info.
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Just another link in the chain in this case, but thanks anyway.
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Europe is certainly the place for high quality Blu Ray Western releases. Only Warner Archive and Kino-Lorber are providing a great service for Western fans Stateside-though Kino tend to concentrate on A Lister Westerns (Lancaster,Peck,Douglas & so on) and Spaghetti’s. Explosive from Germany have just released BEND OF THE RIVER, NIGHT PASSAGE and THE RARE BREED on Blu with THE FAR COUNTRY (in 1.85 widescreen) to follow,in a couple of months. WINCHESTER’73 seems to have been bumped back till next year. There is also an imprint called Black Hill Pictures (Spirit Media) offering Blu Ray’s at very competitive prices,normally under 10 Euros. Their recent LAWMAN looks fine but for some reason minus the Sheree North topless scene,which no doubt will appear in the
forthcoming Twilight Time version.
Speaking of Twilight Time their forthcoming Blu Ray of GUN FURY uses the Italian poster artwork which is quiet stunning. Black Hill have also Blu Ray’s forthcoming of THE LAST HARD MEN, TELL THEM WILLIE BOY IS HERE and THE MAN FROM THE ALAMO.
A new..ish French imprint called Movinside have some rare Westerns slated for later this year including THE EAGLE & THE HAWK and the very interesting SIERRA BARON in widescreen at last. They also have announced on Blu Ray McCrea’s CATTLE EMPIRE at the tail end of this year. I purchased Movinside’s recent Blu Ray of Stephen Frears’ quirky Road Movie/Crime Thriller THE HIT and it’s an excellent transfer with removable subs-though from your remote, not the
menu.
Oddly enough,confirmed by Home Theater Forum and DVDClassik the Sidonis Blu Ray of ALZAREZ KELLY does have removable subs though I’m sure this is only a “glitch” The picture quality is excellent-far from Widmark’s best but good fun and nice to have in high-def.
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That’s a line-up to send my wallet and credit card off whimpering and in search of respite!
And seeing as you mention Alvarez Kelly, that’s a movie I haven’t watched in ages and I remember feeling a bit underwhelmed at the time – I should give it another go soon to see how it looks to me nowadays.
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My copy arrived on Friday, and the family sat down and watched it that night. It’s beautiful.
This is a movie that gets better each time I see it. And I’ve never seen it looking anything like this.
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That’s good to hear, not that I really had any worries about the way WB were going to present the movie. Anyway, it’s nice to know a fine movie has been treated right.
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Colin – JAKE WADE is a good film, and one of the few Robert Taylor movies I like. As stated above, I too think Richard Widmark was a terrific actor, always good. Remember him as the ship’s captain in THE BEDFORD INCIDENT?
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The Bedford Incident is a tough and bleak film, and one that uses Widmark (and all the cast really) very effectively.
But did I read that first line right? You don;t like many Robert Taylor films? I’m going to have to go off and lie down for a bit now that I’ve seen that. 😉
Seriously though, I’m a big fan of Taylor’s films, and especially his westerns. I think The Last Hunt is an exceptional piece of filmmaking but can’t find a lot to complain about in most of the others. Generally, I feel his post-war credits are strong.
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I just watched it for the very first time and I thought it was excellent. I’m not a big fan of Taylor, but he was really great. The color camera work was beautiful!
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It’s a very fine film, and everyone in front of and behind the camera did terrific work. For me, Taylor got better as he aged, and was doing some excellent stuff by the mid to late 1950s.
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A very good and for some reason a rather unmentioned duster. It is coming up here on TCM in the next couple of weeks and i already have the recording set on the dvr.
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Yes, it does seem to get a bit lost in the mix, doesn’t it? I picked up the Blu-ray a couple of months ago as the old DVD was a little weak – still (sadly) not found the time to actually watch it again though.
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