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A Few Words About A few words about...™ She Wore a Yellow Ribbon -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Robert Harris

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For those who may discuss identifying the quintessential John Ford / John Wayne film, many will point toward their 1949 Argosy production for RKO, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. I'd take it over The Quiet Man, as I'm a huge fan of their calvary films.

Photographed in blazing three-strip Technicolor, by one of the masters of the era, Winton Hoch, it immediately brings to mind not only Mr. Hoch's later VistaVision work on another Ford western, but also his work on 3 Godfathers, Joan of Arc and The Quiet Man.

Look at camera placement, and the way that Mr. Hoch used foregrounds as he did again in 1956.

It also brings to mind the extraordinary production design work of William Cameron Menzies on Gone With the Wind.

I mention this, as Warner Archive's new Blu-ray, is a wonderful representation of the original.

Not perfect, as it was taken from an IP derived from the original three-strip negatives, but so good, and with such accurate color (matched to an original nitrate), and perfect registration, that if I had to decide which way to go for the difference in cost, I'd do precisely what Warner Archive has done.

There is a beautiful sheen of grain over the body of the film -- a bit less on the main title sequence for some reason -- and audio cleaned from a 35 mag derived from an original nitrate track print. The original track negative no longer surveys, but the print would be the proper source.

Shadow detail is superb, with nice black levels, and wonderful stabilization...

but it's that Technicolor palette that will knock you out of your seat.

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is one of the Great ones, and an absolute must own for any serious cinephile!

For those who may have considered picking up the Japanese pressing, a comparison will have that one appearing as a bad dupe, with inconsistent color and extremely limited shadow detail.

There is no comparison.

Image - 4.5 (main title 4.25)

Audio - 5

4k Up-rez - 4.5

Pass / Fail - Pass

Very Highly Recommended

RAH
 

jim_falconer

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Thanks for the wonderful review. As much as John Wayne does a fine job portraying a man 20 years his senior, it's the scenes with Ben Johnson that stand out to me. Every single scene he is in, is just minutes to be savored.

What a wonderful actor, and also a great man
 

PaulaJ

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This was so sweet on the big screen at the Turner Classic Movies film festival. Can't wait for the Blu-ray to savor it again.

Jim (and anyone else interested) -- Ben Johnson's home town plans to honor him with a bronze sculpture from a design by the late sculptor John D. Free. The project is currently underway. If anyone is interested in more information and perhaps even donate to the memorial, here is a link: http://www.artsintheosage.org/the-ben-johnson-project.html
 

notmicro

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taken from an IP derived from the original three-strip negatives, but so good, and with such accurate color (matched to an original nitrate), and perfect registration

I'm confused; is this a reference to a scanned color IP, which was optically registered from the 3 negatives? Or 3 B&W optical IPs scanned and digitally merged / registered?
 

Mark-P

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I'm really happy to be finally getting the missing link of the Cavalry trilogy on Blu-ray. And I have absolutely no complaint that Warner is opting for the less expensive process of scanning a Technicolor IP rather than the Ultra-resolution process for which they just don't have the budget.
 

Josh Steinberg

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I've never seen this before (westerns are definitely a gap in my film knowledge) but for the past couple weeks I've been watching and enjoying Jimmy Stewart westerns. I think I will probably grab this on a blind buy.
 

Robert Crawford

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I've never seen this before (westerns are definitely a gap in my film knowledge) but for the past couple weeks I've been watching and enjoying Jimmy Stewart westerns. I think I will probably grab this on a blind buy.
You need to grab Fort Apache and Rio Grande beforehand as it would enhance your viewing experience for this Cavalry Trilogy. They're pretty cheap as Amazon is selling Fort Apache for $6.99 and Rio Grande for $16.99
 

PMF

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And how do the other two BD's look, in comparison to "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon?"
 

Robert Crawford

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PMF

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Dear RAH,
Just read "A Few Words About..."Fort Apache" on BD, from 02/17/12.
Being that this disc is now well over 4 years old, do you feel that WAC would be able and willing to improve upon it?
 
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PMF

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I just read "A Few Words About..."Rio Grande" on BD; from August of 2012.
In a single word: Ouch!
But then, again, we're talking Olive; and a four-year old Olive, at that.
Nonetheless, I am now much too interested in discovering this Calvary Trilogy;
so, when viewing, this particular Olive will definitely require a Martini chaser.:D
 
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JoeDoakes

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Not perfect, as it was taken from an IP derived from the original three-strip negatives, but so good, and with such accurate color (matched to an original nitrate), and perfect registration, that if I had to decide which way to go for the difference in cost, I'd do precisely what Warner Archive has done.

So, are you saying that they didn't do something that would have improved the image but cost more? If so, what?
 

PMF

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Only a guess, but the financial trade-offs here have probably made it possible for WAC to produce the recent influx of titles we've so recently been thrilled by.:chatter:
But, if there's any doubts - take heart - as RAH had also stated that "...if I had to decide which way to go for the difference in cost, I'd do precisely what Warner Archive has done".:)
 
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Robert Harris

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Dear RAH,
Just read "A Few Words About..."Fort Apache" on BD, from 02/17/12.
Being that this disc is now well over 4 years old, do you feel that WAC would be able and willing to improve upon it?

I'd redo it without further thought.

It's possible that the body of the film could be used as a base, without a need to return.
 

Winston T. Boogie

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Well, Mr. Harris has a far more discerning eye than most and I trust his eyes so I'm sure whatever he found to dock the image a half point is there...but damn I could not find it. I found this stunningly beautiful and certainly the best I have ever seen this film look. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is in the running for my favorite disc of the year. Tremendous work from the Archive...they really are having their best year so far.
 

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