Blu-ray Review 3 Godfathers Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

In 3 Godfathers the color is beautiful, and the story is engaging in this western classic.



3 Godfathers (1948)



Released: 13 Jan 1949
Rated: Passed
Runtime: 106 min




Director: John Ford
Genre: Drama, Western



Cast: John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz, Harry Carey Jr.
Writer(s): Laurence Stallings, Frank S. Nugent, Peter B. Kyne



Plot: Three outlaws on the run risk their freedom and their lives to return a newborn to civilization.



IMDB rating: 7.0
MetaScore: 82





Disc Information



Studio: MGM
Distributed By: Warner Archive
Video Resolution: 1080P/AVC



Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HDMA



Subtitles: English SDH
Rating: Not Rated...

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[Robert Crawford]

Of course, I love this movie more than you because it’s been one of my favorite movies since I was kid back in the 1960’s. I thought including the 1936 film adaptation in 1080p with really good video and audio presentations along with the original trailers for both movies deserves more than a 2/5 stars score for Special Features.

 

[Dan McW]

I've noticed with different HTF reviewers over the years that there has to be a hell of a lot of special features just to get even a 4, much less a 5, on the 5-point scale.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

The numerical grading is, in my view, the hardest part of the review because it’s trying to condense a reasoned opinion into a single numeric digit. If you were to poll reviewers around the world from all publications, you’d probably find that most of them dislike that part of the job; they’re a necessarily evil.

I just gave 5/5 on special features to Kino Lorber’s release of Stanley Kubrick’s Fear & Desire. They included every bit of extant footage shot by Kubrick prior to his studio work, and commissioned not one but two new audio commentaries, both of which were of high quality. In other words, I felt they had reasonably done all that could be done for that title.

I don’t want to speak for Matt but Warner didn’t really include anything on this disc that would give the viewer insight into how this John Ford production came into being, nothing about its place in film history or in Ford or Wayne’s filmographies, and only a trailer to show how it was original marketed, eschewing the inclusion of vintage newsreels, cartoons and shorts that originally played with the movie that they’ve included on other releases of similar films. Had I been the reviewer on this title, all of those things would have been on my mind when trying to give it a number.

I’ve given discs high marks for special features when they’ve included a small number of outstanding material, and I’ve given discs low numbers when they’ve included large amounts of useless material. But since no two releases are equal there isn’t a simple formula to draw from to assign a number. More meaningful, I believe, is the text the reviewer offers explaining what content is provided and how they felt about that included material - in opinion that tells the reader more about whether or not they’ll find the special features worthwhile than any number ever could.

 

[Paul Penna]

I don't know if I'm an outlier on this, and I'm certainly not passing judgement on those who feel otherwise, but I give no weight at all to numerical grading in making my want/don't want decisions.

 

[jim_falconer]

Another excellent review Matt.
I will say in response to your one minor quibble, the scene where Wayne comes back from from wagon and relates the story was done on purpose by Ford. John Wayne had never done such a long scripted speech at that point in his career, and Ford wanted to push his acting chops. If you rewatch it, you’ll see there are no cuts in his delivery. It must have taken Wayne quite a while to memorize all those lines for a single take, especially knowing a task master like Ford was watching just a few feet away

 

[Dan McW]

I’ve given discs high marks for special features when they’ve included a small number of outstanding material, and I’ve given discs low numbers when they’ve included large amounts of useless material.

I probably fired off my comment a little hastily (and I apologize to the reviewers), but this statement by Josh is something I hadn't taken into consideration.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

It’s all good, I honestly struggle with figuring out the number part for special features more than any of the other numbers.

 

[Wayne Klein]

I do like that they included the original film. It might not get a high def release otherwise.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Another excellent review Matt.
I will say in response to your one minor quibble, the scene where Wayne comes back from from wagon and relates the story was done on purpose by Ford. John Wayne had never done such a long scripted speech at that point in his career, and Ford wanted to push his acting chops. If you rewatch it, you’ll see there are no cuts in his delivery. It must have taken Wayne quite a while to memorize all those lines for a single take, especially knowing a task master like Ford was watching just a few feet away

I think it’s one of Wayne’s best acting moments in his career. The look on his face and his body language during that long sequence of dialogue is outstanding.