Winchester '73 [blu-ray]

Noirish shadows spread across the frontier in this landmark western, the first of the celebrated collaborations between director Anthony Mann and actor James Stewart that redefined the genre with their moral and psychological intensity. Beginning his midcareer transition into increasingly edgy roles, Stewart portrays an avenging sharpshooter whose stolen rifle becomes a harbinger of death as it is passed from one doomed hand to the next.

General Note:

Based on a story by Stuart N. Lake.

Originally released as a motion picture in 1950.

Special features: New 4K digital restoration, undertaken by Universal Pictures in collaboration with The Film Foundation, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack ; audio commentary featuring actor James Stewart and film historian Paul Lindenschmidt ; new interview with film programmer Adam Piron on the portrayal of Native Americans in the western genre ; Forces of Nature: Anthony Mann at Universal, a program on a key chapter in the director's career ; Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of the film from 1951; trailer ; an essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith.

Performers:

James Stewart, Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea, Stephen McNally.

Technical Details:

Blu-ray, region A; aspect ratio 1.35:1; monaural; requires Blu-ray player.

Subject Term:

Frontier and pioneer life -- Drama.

Murderers -- Drama.

Rifles -- Drama.

Genre:

Feature films.

Video recordings for the hearing impaired.

Western films.