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The Big Country

William Wyler (Director), Gregory Peck (Actor), Heston, Charlton (Actor) Rated:
NR
Format: Blu-ray
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 3,895 ratings
IMDb7.9/10.0
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February 6, 2024
Special Edition
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June 5, 2018 		—
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January 13, 2014 		—
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Product Description

This 60th Anniversary Special Edition was Newly Remastered in HD! From William Wyler, the legendary director of Mrs. Miniver, The Best Years of Our Lives and Ben-Hur, comes this epic western featuring an incredible cast of screen legends Gregory Peck (On the Beach), Jean Simmons (Elmer Gantry), Charlton Heston (The Ten Commandments), Carroll Baker (Baby Doll) and Burl Ives (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) in his Oscar-winning performance (Best Actor in a Supporting Role). This bold, sweeping tale of a ship's captain (Peck) who ventures west to find a hotbed of jealousy, hatred and dangerous rivalries. As the reluctant hero is thrust into the maelstrom, he must summon all of his resolve to save not only his own life, but also the life of the woman he loves. The Big Country is an action-packed adventure that triumphs as a work of art. The film’s legendary rousing score by Jerome Moross (The War Lord) was nominated for an Oscar. The stellar cast includes Charles Bickford (Duel in the Sun) and Chuck Connors (TV’s The Rifleman and Branded).

Special Features:
-Audio Commentary by Noted Cultural Historian Sir Christopher Frayling
-Directed by William Wyler - 60 Minute Documentary
-Wyler Doc Outtakes with Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston and Billy Wilder
-Interviews with Cecilia Peck, Carey Peck and Tony Peck
-Interview with Fraser Heston
-Interview with Catherine Wyler
-Fun in the Country - Featurette
-Larry Cohen on Chuck Connors
-Original Theatrical Trailer
-TV Spot
-Two Animated Image Galleries
-Reversible Blu-ray Art

Product details

  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 5.92 ounces
  • Director ‏ : ‎ William Wyler
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Anamorphic, Subtitled
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 46 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ June 5, 2018
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Gregory Peck, Heston, Charlton
  • Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ KL Studio Classics
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07C5K53YD
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 3,895 ratings

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
3,895 global ratings
”Bravo! Mucho!” A spectacular revival of THE BIG COUNTRY on Kino Lorber's blu ray
5 Stars
”Bravo! Mucho!” A spectacular revival of THE BIG COUNTRY on Kino Lorber's blu ray
When played on my Sony BDP-S6700 4K.blu ray, most (if not all) dvd's of movies filmed in widescreen (CinemaScope, VistaVision, etc.) project a quite satisfactory aspect ratio with very good picture and audio. Recently I watched and thoroughly enjoyed the Cult Camp Classic dvd of LAND OF THE PHARAOHS (1955) and Paramount's dvd of GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL (1957). As I see it, there's no urgency for blu ray replacements for these two and other similarly widescreen dvd's I own. But that's not saying I could restrain my intentions if (and hopefully when) KL offers more quality blu ray classic epics along the same tradition as their well-beyond-the-call-of-duty release of THE BIG COUNTRY (1958). Those folks at KinoLorber sure know exactly what a genuine classic film nut wants and deserves..
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Top reviews from the United States

William M.
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Big Screen Film
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2024
Verified Purchase
Big stars on a big screen back when movies were big! It really is a Big Country and this film has a lot going for it. Besides stars like Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives, Jean Simmons, et. al. it has action, humor, and enough relationships for you to mull over and discuss afterwards. No one portrays a decent, moral, good-guy like Gregory Peck. If you like any of the above, watch it! You'll be glad you did!
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Charles Justus Garard
5.0 out of 5 stars A wide-screen epic for the panoramic screen
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2010
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THE BIG COUNTRY is what the big screen was created for, and THE BIG COUNTRY was certainly created for the big screen. Wide open spaces in the American west never looked so vast and intimidating, so welcoming and foreboding.

Some have argued that the plot is too thin for such a lengthy running time. When I first saw it as a youth on the screen of my father's small-town theatre, it seemed just like another western -- if longer than most. It seemed to lack the punch of a character-driven, action-filled western like WARLOCK or the excitement of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN -- still two of my all-time favorite westerns. Viewing it on DVD as an adult, I have changed my mind. I have since come to appreciate the skills of quintessential director William Wyler, the master of the mise-en-scene (or the arrangement of people and objects on the screen). Orson Welles may have originated the creative use of deep focus photography, but Wyler has utilized it to the point of perfection in THE BIG COUNTRY.

The repetition of the line "it's a big country" became a humorous point for a friend of mine from graduate school and I to have fun with, but this is appropriate for the wide-screen vistas and almost leisurely pace of this now-classic motion picture. Wyler breaks a few stereotypes by allowing the characters in some of the more important action sequences to be photographed from a distance -- the fist fight between Peck and Heston, and the final shootout between Ives and Bickford. Human beings are dwarfed by the landscape, often seen as no more than insects -- a decision purposely made by Wyler and his cinematographer to emphasize their petty hatreds and feuds. Particularly stirring is the sequence early in the film where the Terrill men, led by the Major (Bickford), gallop through the bleached-white canyon to reach the modest ranch of the Hannassey family. The music score accompanying this ride is stirring and grandiose. One might wonder, in fact, what this film would be like without this magnificent soundtrack. From the opening title sequence to the wordless finale, it is orchestral perfection -- possibly one of the greatest motion picture scores ever.

Although William Wyler's later production BED-HUR won scores of awards, THE BIG COUNTRY is, in my view, a greater film. Burl Ives deserved the Oscar for his role as the patriarch of a clan of cattlemen who are down-scale from their opponents -- the Terrills -- an actor who can hold our attention by merely looking out the window away from the camera. Despite his lower-class environment and his obvious hatred for Terrill (Bickford), he is still a man of justice and fair-play. In his struggle against the wealthy Major, he is the antagonist with whom we would be more likely to sympathize. His own son Buck (Chuck Connors) with a few two many rough edges is clearly a disappointment to him; he would prefer that Buck acquire a few of the gentlemanly attributes possessed by the eastern newcomer Jim McKay (Gregory Peck). The action he takes when he is forced to choose honor over love for his son might strain credibility for some viewers, but Ives makes his choice believable and touching.

Gregory Peck and Jean Simmons as the top-lined of the four leads are, at times, hard to swallow. Both are so virtuous as to be almost nauseating. Simmons is as beautiful as she was earlier in THE EGYPTIAN and later in SPARTACUS; she is a schoolteacher never seen near a schoolroom who had can afford a house to herself. Salaries in those small towns must have been more generous than they are for teachers today. All well-drawn characters are shown to have a dark or shadowy side, as we all have as human beings, but these two characters lack even a trace of a shadow. A character who has a shadow side but is able to overcome it in the end in order to emerge triumphant is not only more believable but compelling and enjoyable in a dramatic sense.

Peck appears as an eastern gentleman whose sense of honor and hatred of violence remains steadfast throughout. Only twice does he resort to fisticuffs -- once against Heston and later against Connors. In both cases, he appears to be over-matched physically. He is the one-dimensional purveyor of morality and justice -- the squeaky clean goodie-two-shoes who might be more believable if he were wearing a parson's grab. Peck (that "skinny liberal" as John Wayne once called him) has portrayed these morally upright characters before and since, mostly notably as a lawman in MacKENNA'S GOLD. The way he keeps dodging the physical affections of the amorous Native American lass (Julie Newmar) stretches credibility beyond the breaking point. In DUEL IN THE SUN, Peck plays a spoiled outlaw, again squaring off against Charles Bickford. In that film, however, the roles are reversed: Bickford is the older decent character who falls in love with Peck's backstreet half-breed mistress, Jennifer Jones -- unfortunately for him as Peck guns him down mercilessly.

Heston, not a great actor, is more believable as a character who changes his perspective regarding violence. He decides that he has fought the Major's battles long enough -- even though he relents at the last minute and is wounded in a canyon battle for his efforts. Carroll Baker is also more believable than the Simmons character as a spoiled daddy's girl with an Electra complex. The ending of the film leaves a few questions in our minds, trying to figure out what might happen beyond the classical happy ending.

In China, I often show films about American history when I am explaining the development of the English language. I have, for example, shown NEW WORLD, REVOLUTION, HOW THE WEST WAS WON, and others. I am planning on showing such films as THE LAST FRONTIER as believable views of the west as it was. THE BIG COUNTRY, one of the great westerns like SHANE and THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, would also be an appropriate choice to show the wide vistas of the American west and the concerns of those humans who are often, as shown in THE BIG COUNTRY, dwarfed by the landscape.
14 people found this helpful
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R. D. Karam
5.0 out of 5 stars ”Bravo! Mucho!” A spectacular revival of THE BIG COUNTRY on Kino Lorber's blu ray
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2024
Verified Purchase
When played on my Sony BDP-S6700 4K.blu ray, most (if not all) dvd's of movies filmed in widescreen (CinemaScope, VistaVision, etc.) project a quite satisfactory aspect ratio with very good picture and audio. Recently I watched and thoroughly enjoyed the Cult Camp Classic dvd of LAND OF THE PHARAOHS (1955) and Paramount's dvd of GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL (1957). As I see it, there's no urgency for blu ray replacements for these two and other similarly widescreen dvd's I own. But that's not saying I could restrain my intentions if (and hopefully when) KL offers more quality blu ray classic epics along the same tradition as their well-beyond-the-call-of-duty release of THE BIG COUNTRY (1958). Those folks at KinoLorber sure know exactly what a genuine classic film nut wants and deserves..
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R. D. Karam
5.0 out of 5 stars ”Bravo! Mucho!” A spectacular revival of THE BIG COUNTRY on Kino Lorber's blu ray
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2024
When played on my Sony BDP-S6700 4K.blu ray, most (if not all) dvd's of movies filmed in widescreen (CinemaScope, VistaVision, etc.) project a quite satisfactory aspect ratio with very good picture and audio. Recently I watched and thoroughly enjoyed the Cult Camp Classic dvd of LAND OF THE PHARAOHS (1955) and Paramount's dvd of GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL (1957). As I see it, there's no urgency for blu ray replacements for these two and other similarly widescreen dvd's I own. But that's not saying I could restrain my intentions if (and hopefully when) KL offers more quality blu ray classic epics along the same tradition as their well-beyond-the-call-of-duty release of THE BIG COUNTRY (1958). Those folks at KinoLorber sure know exactly what a genuine classic film nut wants and deserves..
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John R. Linnell
5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic to be Revisited From Time to Time
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2007
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I enjoy a good Western. My three all time favorites are Silverado, The Professionals and The Big Country. Those are simply great.

The set up of The Big Country is a classic. Two battling landowning families, water rights, a man from the East (James MacKay played by Gregory Peck) coming to marry the daughter of the largest landowner, Major Henry Terrill, (played by Charles Bickford) whose ranch foreman, Steve Leech, (played by Charleton Heston) has eyes and hopes for also. The prize to be won is control of The Big Muddy, a stretch of river that is used by both Terrill and his counterpart Rufus Hannessey (played by Burl Ives) when the usual watering areas start to go dry.

The land through which the Big Muddy flows is owned by Julie Maragon (played by Jean Simmons) who inherited it from her father who was a revered gentlemen who gave watering rights to all who needed them. Julie has continued the tradition, however Terrill in an effort to provoke a confromtation with the Hanesseys has driven their cattle wawy from the river.

MacKay, a retied sea captain, although quite young to have been retired arrives to meet his fiance's family, he having met her while she attended school in the East. It isn't long before he finds himself in the middle of the feuding families activities. On the ride out to the ranch, Mackay and his fiancee, Pat Terrill (Carol Baker) are intercepted and Mackay is roughed up in a hazing type of fashion by Buck Hannessey and three of his ranch hands. The Major goes looking for Buck and in the process manages to invade and shoot up the Hannessey compound while Rufus is away and beat up the three ranch hands where he finds them in town while Buck is cowering in a buckboard, undiscovered.

As one might imagine, Rufus does not take kindly to that and shows up in the middle of a large welcoming party for Mackay to tell the Major what he thinks of it his face. It is a classic scene and one of several that propelled Ives to the Academy Award that year.

It is one that also gets MacKay wondering about what kind of family he is marrying into. A series of events where MacKay refuses to be provoked into fighting or otherwise "showing his manhood" in the eyes of Pat Terrill, lead to harsh words between them and Mackay leaves the ranch, however before doing so, he goes to Leeche's bunkhouse to advise he is leaving and that he has come to say "goodbye." What follows is a classic fight between the two of them which is at best a draw and Leech gains a new respect for "the dude" while with both of them lying in the dust, winded and bloodied, Leech looks at his adversary and says, "You sure take a long time to say goodbye."

Unbeknown to his finacee, Mackay has done a survey of the Maragon land on his own and has gotten Julie Maragon to agree to sell the land to him as a wedding present with his promise that all who have need of its waters shall have them.

Maragon tells Pat of this after she finds out that the couple have parted and she is also instrumental in showing her that Mackay has his own manly way of doing things. Terrill rides into town to apologize and in the process of doing so makes matters far worse so that the rift between them is permanent.

After having his cattle run off of the Big Muddy, Rufus dispatches Buck to bring Julie Maragon to him, willingly or unwillingly. Buck has been feeding his father full of the line that Julie is "sweet on him." The confrontation between Rufus, Julie and Buck is another classic scene in which Julie disabuses Rufus of any notion that she has any interest in Buck and reveals that she no longer owns the land on The Big Muddy.

Major Terrill is told that Julie has been kidnapped and predictably organizes a rescue party to invade the Hanassey compound in Blanco Canyon which is just what Rufus wants as he has set up the mother of all ambushes to await the Terrill rescue efort which he tells Julie will make "Henry Terrill the most surprised dead man you ever saw."

MacKay also gets wind of the kidnapping and rides in alone to try and persuade Rufus to release her and demonstrates that he owns the land and promises that Hannesey will always have access to the water. He and Buck get into a confrontation that leads to one of the most dramtic parts of the movie, but before that, MacKay also tells Rufus that this is not about all them men that will die in the Blanco Canyon massacre that awaits. It is about Rufus and the Major, two selfish and pathetic old men.

Following the confronmtation with Buck, Makay and Julie are allowed to leave and as that happens the Terrill men are riding into a death trap which is sprung and the shooting starts.

Hanassey has gotten the message and rides to the area and tells his men to "Keep them covered, but hold your fire," after which he calls out Major Terrill and says this is about the two of them and they should resolve it. They do and the rest is history.

The scenery, the music and the acting in this movie are subperb, but the enduring memory one takes from this is the character of Rufus Hanessey, Burl Ives got the role because he was a poker buddy of Gregory Peck and Peck instinctively knew that this was the man for the job. One cannot imagine anyone else in that role.

This movie was made the same year that Ives also played Big Daddy in Cat in a Hot Tin Roof, yet it was the role of Rufus which brought him the Oscar.

It also brought all of us a memorable movie. If you love Westerns, you need to own this one.
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desertrwind
5.0 out of 5 stars Great viewing for Classic Western Movie Lovers.
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2024
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I have enjoyed adding this classic to our Video Library. Great Cast, good viewing. Shipping was prompt and was kept informed of shipping and arrival. Very pleased. Thank You.
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William
5.0 out of 5 stars Peck and Heston says it all
Reviewed in Canada on March 29, 2024
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Gregory Peck’s character Jim McKay is a perfect role model for the way a gentleman should behave.
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Ann-Marie
5.0 out of 5 stars Big Country film
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2024
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Great film good price
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max le parisien
5.0 out of 5 stars RIVALITE ENTRE DEUX CHEFS DE CLAN
Reviewed in France on February 2, 2021
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Les grands espaces sont magnifiques GREGORY PECK CHARLTON HESTON ET JEAN SIMON aussi mais on peut se demander comment un marin richissime et réfléchi avait pu s'amouracher d'une petite écervelée , capricieuse et fille à papa , cela dit la rivalité des deux familles éleveurs est plausible et la betise animale du fils aussi de BURLES IVES
en vieux pionnier à principes qui est parfait , plus que le major et son sens de l'honneur militaire désavoué à la fin par ses hommes. Un grand film inoubliable .
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Martin Püsch
5.0 out of 5 stars The Big Country auf Bluray!
Reviewed in Germany on December 30, 2013
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James McKay (Gregory Peck), der Sohn eines reichen Reeders von der Ostküste, kommt in den Westen, um Patricia Terrill (Carroll Baker), die Tochter des einflussreichen Ranchers Major Henry Terrill (Charles Bickford) zu heiraten. Der Neuankömmling sieht sich in der für ihn ungewohnten Umgebung nicht nur wegen seiner Kleidung zunächst einigem Spott und mancher Feindseligkeit ausgesetzt. Vor allem Steve Leech (Charlton Heston), der Vorarbeiter und Ziehsohn Major Terrills, macht aus seiner Abneigung gegen den feinen, auf den ersten Blick etwas steif wirkenden Herrn aus dem Osten keinen Hehl. Die Tatsache, dass Leech selbst in Patricia verliebt ist, von ihr aber zurückgewiesen wurde, verstärkt die Spannungen noch.

James McKay jedoch ist alles andere als ein Weichling. Er ist jahrelang unter großen Entbehrungen zur See gefahren, hat so ein gutes Stück von der Welt gesehen und gelernt, sich zu behaupten. Er schließt Freundschaft mit dem mexikanischen Pferdeknecht Ramon (Alfonso Bedoya) und es gelingt ihm sogar, Old Thunder, das widerspenstigste Pferd auf der Ranch, zu zähmen.

Henry Terrill führt seit vielen Jahren eine Fehde mit dem Rinder-Baron Rufus Hannassey (Burl Ives). Es geht um das alleinige Recht der Nutzung des Gebietes Big Muddy, das genug Weideland für das Vieh und vor allem einen Flusslauf als Tränke bietet. Eigentümerin dieses Gebietes ist Patricias beste Freundin, die Lehrerin Julie Maragon (Jean Simmons). Auf diese hat es wiederum Buck (Chuck Connors), der missratene Sohn des alten Rufus abgesehen, jedoch will Julie nichts von ihm wissen. Seit Julies Großvater nicht mehr lebt, droht der Konflikt um Big Muddy zu eskalieren. Julie selbst befindet sich in einem Dilemma. Sie liebt dieses Land, doch die Situation ist ihr eine Bürde. Aber sie will und kann ihr Erbe nicht einfach an eine der verfeindeten Parteien abtreten, denn dies würde zwangsläufig zu Blutvergießen führen. James McKay versucht, zu vermitteln. Er gerät dabei zwischen die Fronten. Seine pazifistische Einstellung führt letztlich zum Bruch mit dem unbelehrbaren, machthungrigen Major Terrill, besonders aber mit seiner Verlobten Patricia, die denselben Hass auf die Hannasseys hegt wie ihr Vater.

Major Henry Terrill, der mitunter den Eindruck vermittelt, als wolle er seinen Gegner bei lebendigem Leibe fressen, nutzt jede Gelegenheit, Hannasseys Rinder vom Wasser fernzuhalten und ihn zu provozieren. Steve Leech steht seinem Ziehvater loyal zur Seite. Dass Rufus Hannassey der Konfrontation nicht ausweicht und gleichsam auf seinem Standpunkt beharrt, ist ganz in Terrills Sinne. "What I appreciate even more than a devoted friend is a dedicated enemy"...

Rufus Hannassey, eine nicht nur körperlich imposante Erscheinung, lebt nach einem alten Ehrenkodex, der besonders bei dem Pistolen-Duell zwischen Buck und James McKay zum Tragen kommen wird, Als Vater hat er, wie er sich zunehmend eingestehen muss, aber versagt. Buck, der sich von seinem Vater so manche Demütigung gefallen lassen muss, ist nicht nur ein verrohter Prolet, sondern auch ein Feigling. Der alte Mann empfindet Henry Terrill wiederum als skrupellosen Emporkömmling und Heuchler.

Hannassey, der Julies Großvater Clem Maragon als wahren Gentleman schätzte und respektierte, sieht seit dessen Tod sein Imperium akut bedroht. Auch er lässt, je mehr der Konflikt sich zuspitzt, nichts unversucht, die junge Frau dazu zu bringen, ihm allein das Land zu überschreiben. Doch Julie hat längst eine eine Entscheidung getroffen, denn Big Muddy ist mittlerweile im Besitz von James McKay, der den Entschluss gefasst hat, sich dort niederzulassen. Vor allem aber will er auf diese Weise für Frieden sorgen und gleichzeitig sicherstellen, dass Julie de facto das Gebiet behalten kann. Wie zu Lebzeiten des alten Maragon sollen die Terrills und die Hannasseys gleichberechtigt das Wasser nutzen dürfen.

Trotz der Bemühungen McKays ist die Konfrontation der unversöhnlichen Patriarchen letztlich nicht abzuwenden. Die beiden Erzfeinde hassen sich so sehr, dass der Konflikt endet, wie ein Konflikt dieses Ausmaßes enden muss.

Regie-Altmeister William Wyler drehte dieses fast drei Stunden lange Epos 1958 nach dem gleichnamigen Roman von Donald Hamilton. Gregory Peck, der mit Wyler bereits den Klassiker "Ein Herz und eine Krone" (Roman Holiday, 1953) gedreht hatte, spielte hier nicht nur die Hauptrolle, sondern war auch als Co- Produzent an Bord, was zwischen beiden zu diversen Reibereien führte. Die Produktionsgeschichte von "Weites Land" war insgesamt schwierig. Besonders am Drehbuch wurde lange gefeilt. Herausgekommen ist allerfeinstes Breitwand-Kino der alten Schule.

Wyler nutzt die atemberaubenden Landschafts-Panoramen nicht nur als reines Augenfutter, sondern erzählt dank genialer Kamera- Arbeit, psychologisch fein gezeichneter Figuren und mit exquisiter Regie eine sorgfältig aufgebaute, zeitlos packende Geschichte über Hass, Gier, Ehre, falsche und echte Loyalität, die einem William Shakespeare aus der Feder geflossen sein könnte, und die von begnadeten Darstellern zum Leben erweckt wird. Dazu kommt natürlich noch die Musik von Jerome Moross, die zu den berühmtesten im Western-Genre gehört.

Gregory Peck glänzt wie so oft als die Integrität in Person und auch der in vielen anderen Filmen oft hölzern agierende Charlton Heston bietet eine exzellente Vorstellung. Auch die anderen Darsteller spielen grandios. Hestons Zusammenarbeit mit William Wyler in diesem Film trug ihm kurz darauf die Hauptrolle in "Ben Hur" (1959) ein, die ihn, wiederum unter Wylers Regie, weltberühmt machte. Alfonso Bedoya ist vor allem als mexikanischer Bandit Gold Hat in John Hustons "Der Schatz der Sierra Madre" (The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre, 1947) unvergessen.

Nebenbei liefert dieser Film in der mittlerweile legendären Auseinandersetzung zwischen James McKay und Steve Leech eine der besten Prügeleien der Filmgeschichte. Besonders bemerkenswert ist, wie dieser Faustkampf inszeniert wurde. Indem die Kamera immer wieder so weit wie möglich von den Kontrahenten entfernt steht und sie oft nicht größer als Ameisen zeigt, verdeutlicht Wyler die Sinnlosigkeit von Gewalt beim Lösen von Konflikten. Bezeichnend ist, dass der Kampf dann auch keinen wirklichen Sieger findet. McKay bringt es am Ende auf den Punkt, als er seinen Gegner fragt: "What have we proven?"

Überhaupt rückt Wyler die Gewalt in seiner Inszenierung wiederholt gezielt in den Hintergrund, beziehungsweise aus dem Blickfeld des Betrachters, eben um den Irrsinn des Konfliktes zu betonen. Besonders eindrucksvoll gelingt ihm dies auch bei dem finalen Showdown im Blanco Canyon.

Burl Ives erhielt zu Recht einen Oscar und einen Golden Globe für seine Darstellung des alten Hannassey. Eine weitere Oscar-Nominierung gab es für die Musik. William Wyler wurde immerhin von der Director`s Guild Of America (DGA) als bester Regisseur des Jahres nominiert.

Auf Bluray erstrahlt "The Big Country" in einer im Heimkino bisher bei diesem Film nicht gekannten Pracht! Der Film wurde mit Hilfe der Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts And Sciences in Bild und Ton sorgfältig restauriert. Auf früheren DVDs war das Bild oft von unscharfen Passagen und Defekten gekennzeichnet. Vor allem in der Titelsequenz waren am Bildrand Streifen zu sehen, die von einem beschädigten Negativ herrührten. Auch der Ton war auf DVD eher flach. Solche Mängel sind nun in der HD-Version endlich beseitigt worden.

Schade, dass die Disc außer einem kurzen Feature von den Dreharbeiten, einem TV-Spot und dem Original-Trailer keine weitern Extras bietet. Ein Making-Of oder ein Audio-Kommentar wären toll gewesen, aber man kann nicht alles haben.

Das Bild liegt im korrekten Format 16:9 (2:35.1 Letterbox) vor. Es gibt mehrere Optionen für Tonspuren und Untertitel. Der Mono-Ton wurde in DTS aufbereitet. Besonders das amerikanische Original klingt hervorragend, aber auch der deutsche Ton und die anderen ausländischen Fassungen können sich hören lassen! Ich empfehle, den Film möglichst auf Englisch zu schauen. Die deutsche Synchronisation ist zwar nicht schlecht, aber die Dialoge wirken im Original einfach viel tiefgründiger und eingängiger!

"Weites Land" ist wie zum Beispiel "Lawrence von Arabien" einer dieser Filme, die ihre volle Wucht eigentlich nur auf der ganz großen Leinwand entfalten. Im Heimkino hat man, obwohl wie gesagt das Format korrekt und der Bildausschnitt vollständig ist, leider bei solchen Filmen immer die unvermeidlichen schwarzen Balken oben und unten. Daher gilt: Je größer der Fernseher, desto besser!

"Weites Land" ist ein Film, für den die Bezeichnung Edel-Western erfunden worden sein könnte. In epischer Breite mitreißend inszeniert, perfekt besetzt und durch die Bank großartig gespielt! Auf Bluray kann man ihn nun zu Hause endlich in angemessener Qualität genießen!
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Lothar Heinze
5.0 out of 5 stars Klasse Western
Reviewed in Germany on April 25, 2024
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Ein mus für alle Westernfans,kann ich nur empfehlen
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