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Archive for the ‘John Dierkes’ Category

Blu-Ray/4K News #390: Shane (1953).

Posted in 1953, Alan Ladd, Ben Johnson, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Edgar Buchanan, Elisha Cook, Jr., George Stevens, Jack Palance, John Dierkes, Paramount, Van Heflin on May 4, 2025| 43 Comments »

Directed by George Stevens
Starring Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Jack Palance, Brandon De Wilde, Ben Johnson, Edgar Buchanan, Emile Meyer, Elisha Cook Jr., John Dierkes

Kino Lorber has given a July 15 date for their Blu-Ray and 4K release of George Stevens’ Shane (1953). This will come from a scan of the original camera negative and will undoubtedly be beautiful. Loyal Griggs’ incredible cinematography in this film looks more like a painting than a movie — making it ironic that it was subject to cropping during the post-CinemaScope widescreen freakout of 1953. Luckily, it doesn’t suffer too much, though the original 1.37 version looks best.

Of course, Shane is absolutely essential — it’s a great film — no matter what format you’re using. Get one.

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Blu-Ray & 4K News #367: Shane (1953).

Posted in 1953, Alan Ladd, Ben Johnson, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Edgar Buchanan, Elisha Cook, Jr., George Stevens, Jack Palance, John Dierkes, Kino Lorber, Paramount, Van Heflin on November 27, 2023| 9 Comments »

Directed by George Stevens
Starring Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Jack Palance, Brandon De Wilde, Ben Johnson, Edgar Buchanan, Emile Meyer, Elisha Cook Jr., John Dierkes

Kino Lorber has announced a Blu-Ray and 4K release of George Stevens’ Shane (1953). They’ve already plugged a 4K release of High Noon (1952), another of 50s Westerns’ Big Three — High Noon, Shane and The Searchers (1956). They say Warner Bros. is currently at work on The Searchers.

This 4K and Blu-Ray Shane release will come from a scan of the original camera negative and will undoubtedly be beautiful. Loyal Griggs’ incredible cinematography in this film looks more like a painting than a movie — making it ironic that it was subject to cropping during the post-CinemaScope widescreen freakout of 1953. Luckily, it doesn’t suffer too much, though the original 1.37 version looks best.

Of course, Shane is absolutely essential — it’s a great film — no matter what format you’re using. Get one.

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Blu-Ray News #365: One-Eyed Jacks (1961).

Posted in Ben Johnson, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Hank Worden, Imprint, John Dierkes, Karl Malden, Katy Jurado, Paramount, Slim Pickens on September 21, 2023| 21 Comments »

Directed by Marlon Brando
Starring Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Pina Pellicer, Katy Jurado, Ben Johnson, Slim Pickens

Imprint Films has announced a new six-movie, limited-edition Blu-Ray set, Film Focus: Marlon Brando. One of the films included is One-Eyed Jacks (1961), one of my all-time favorites.

It’s the incredible Film Foundation restoration, with the usual wealth of extras from Imprint. I’ll be providing a commentary, taking my book research and laying it on top of the film. It’s a real dream come true for me.

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Blu-Ray News #360: The Fastest Gun Alive (1956).

Posted in 1956, Chubby Johnson, Dub Taylor, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Glenn Ford, Glenn Strange, John Dehner, John Dierkes, John Doucette, MGM, Noah Beery Jr., Warner Archive on June 7, 2023| 16 Comments »

Directed by Russell Rouse
Starring Glenn Ford, Jeanne Crain, Broderick Crawford, Russ Tamblyn, Allyn Joslyn, Leif Erickson, John Dehner, Noah Beery Jr., J. M. Kerrigan, Rhys Williams, Virginia Gregg, Chubby Johnson, John Doucette, Paul Birch, Glenn Strange, Kermit Maynard, Dub Taylor, John Dierkes

Warner Archive has announced The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) for its next batch of Blu-Ray releases (July, I believe). Glenn Ford made so many terrific Westerns around this time — Jubal (1956), 3:10 To Yuma (1957), Cowboy (1958), etc., and I’ve always felt Fastest Gun gets lost in the crowd. (That’s why it gets a chapter in my book.)

It’s a really terrific movie and George Folsey’s cinematography will look great in hi-def. And look at that cast! Highly, highly recommended.

Thanks to Mr. Richard Vincent for the news.

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Blu-Ray/DVD News #328: John Wayne’s The Alamo (1960).

Posted in Denver Pyle, DVD/Blu-Ray News, Hank Worden, John Dierkes, John Wayne, Richard Boone, Richard Widmark, William H. Clothier on June 10, 2021| 22 Comments »

Directed by John Wayne
Starring John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Laurence Harvey, Frankie Avalon, Patrick Wayne, Linda Cristal, Joan O’Brien, Hank Worden, John Dierkes, Denver Pyle, Olive Carey, Chill Wills, Joseph Calleia, Ken Curtis, Richard Boone

We may never get to see John Wayne’s The Alamo (1960) restored the way we want it to be — the way it deserves to be. But there’s something out there — a Blu-Ray/DVD set from Germany — that’s a little closer to the ideal.

Koch has a three-disc set with the shorter cut on Blu-ray and the 202-minute roadshow version on DVD. (Sadly, the only known print of the longer cut has deteriorated to the point that nothing can be done with it.) There are a handful of extras, some in German, some in English. Amazon.de had a version with different cover art — that one is already sold out. 

Since this might be as good as we’ll ever get, this is highly recommended. If you have any details about this — like is the roadshow version anamorphic, is the intermission included and what sort of region lock might be on it — please let us know.

Thanks to Graham for bringing this up.

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Screening: Shane (1953).

Posted in 1953, Alan Ladd, Ben Johnson, Edgar Buchanan, Elisha Cook, Jr., Festivals, screenings, George Stevens, Jack Palance, John Dierkes, Paramount on November 17, 2020| 25 Comments »

Directed by George Stevens
Starring Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon deWilde, Jack Palance, Ben Johnson, Edgar Buchanan, Emile Meyer, Elisha Cook Jr., Douglas Spencer, John Dierkes, Ellen Corby

The Graham Cinema in Graham, NC, is running George Stevens’ Shane (1953) tonight through Thursday at 7PM.

Tuesday, November 17 thru Thursday, November 19 at 7:00 pm
Graham Cinema
119 N Main Street, Graham, NC 27253

It’s a great old theater, a real favorite of mine. Of course, Shane is terrific, too. And Loyal Griggs Oscar-winning cinematography really needs to be seen on the big screen.

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Remember The Alamo!

Posted in Denver Pyle, Dimitri Tiomkin, Hank Worden, John Dierkes, John Wayne, Richard Boone, Richard Widmark, The Real West, United Artists on March 6, 2020| Leave a Comment »

On this day in 1836, The Alamo fell as Mexican forces led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna stormed the fortress after a 13-day siege. All of the Texan defenders (almost 200 of them), including William Travis, James Bowie and Davy Crockett, were killed in battle.

The image is the 24-sheet poster (or billboard) for John Wayne’s epic tribute to those who served at The Alamo. Today’d be a good day to watch it.

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Now Available: A Million Feet Of Film: The Making Of One-Eyed Jacks.

Posted in Ben Johnson, Books, Elisha Cook, Jr., Hank Worden, John Dierkes, Karl Malden, Katy Jurado, Paramount, Sam Peckinpah, Slim Pickens on August 1, 2019| 11 Comments »

At long last, my book A Million Feet Of Film: The Making Of One-Eyed Jacks is actually available. All told, it took Brando five years to make the movie — and me almost 10 to write about it.

What Happens When “The World’s Greatest Actor”
Directs A Cowboy Movie?

We expected the unexpected, and that’s what we got.” — Martin Scorsese
More than three years from contracts to premiere. Six months of shooting. A thousand takes. Almost 200 miles of negative exposed. A revolving door of personnel, including Rod Serling, Sam Peckinpah and Stanley Kubrick — all of them gone before the first frame was shot. A budget that ballooned from $1.8 million to $6 million. And the eventual takeover of the film by Paramount.

If we’d made it the way Marlon wanted it made… it could have been a breakthrough Western.” — Karl Malden

A Million Feet Of Film is the story of One-Eyed Jacks (1961), Marlon Brando’s first, and only, time as director and a picture that may be better known for its troubled production than its merits as a film. 
It was an ass-breaker.” — Marlon Brando


A Million Feet Of Film is now available from Amazon. Click the sign to get yours today.

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A Million Feet Of Film: The Making Of One-Eyed Jacks.

Posted in Ben Johnson, Books, Elisha Cook, Jr., Hank Worden, John Dierkes, Karl Malden, Katy Jurado, Louis L'Amour, Slim Pickens on July 30, 2019| 60 Comments »

A Million Feet Of Film: The Making Of One-Eyed Jacks is the story of Marlon Brando’s One-Eyed Jacks, his first, and only, time as director and a picture that may be better known for its troubled production than its merits as a film. 

More than three years from contracts to premiere. Six months of shooting. Almost 200 miles of negative exposed. A revolving door of personnel, including Rod Serling, Sam Peckinpah and Stanley Kubrick — all gone before the first frame was shot. A budget that ballooned from $1.8 million to $6 million. And the eventual takeover of the film by Paramount. Click the cover to order.

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Almost There.

Posted in Ben Johnson, Books, Elisha Cook, Jr., Hank Worden, John Dierkes, Karl Malden, Katy Jurado, Paramount, Slim Pickens on July 8, 2019| 14 Comments »

It’s down to the bibliography, endnotes and index (and dealing with some trouble with a few stubborn photos). Once I slog my way through that stuff — why’d I include so many endnotes? — A Million Feet Of Film: The Making Of One-Eyed Jacks will be ready to go. I’ve got a proof in my hot little hands right now.

To those of you waiting for this thing, I appreciate your interest and patience. To those who’ve helped out along the way, I owe you my endless thanks. This has been quite a process, and I’m looking forward to getting it out there. More news on that soon.

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