Review of Winchester 73

Introduction

The Spaghetti Western is considered a turning point in the genre, the advent of the anti-hero that marked a gritty complexity to Westerns and shattered the myth of the hero dressed in white, honourable and forthright battling against the moustache twirling villain, backstabbing and duplicitous and dressed all in black. Yet the Spaghetti Western wasn`t so much revolution as it was evolution, a logical step in the development of the Western begun decades earlier. A prime example of a Western with complex themes and shaded characters is Winchester `73 made in 1950.

The Winchester repeating rifle first produced in 1873 was hailed as the rifle that won the West, outclassing its single shot rivals in terms of accuracy and sheer firepower. Yet despite its mass-produced nature, one in every thousand rifles would be perfect in every way, a cut above the rest. Such a weapon would have no price, be reserved for the likes of Presidents, or competed for as prizes. One such competition takes place in Dodge City, Kansas in 1876, under the watchful eye of Marshall Wyatt Earp, a shooting competition that draws competitors from far and wide. One man taking part is Lin McAdam, a sharpshooter who knows that the competition will attract a man who he has been hunting relentlessly. Confronting Dutch Henry Brown under the gaze of Wyatt Earp would be impossible, but competing against him for the prize certainly isn`t, and after a peerless display of shooting prowess head to head with Brown, McAdam emerges triumphant. He doesn`t have long to savour his victory, as Brown and his henchman bushwhack him and steal the rifle. Soon McAdam nursing a sore head and yet another grudge against Brown has saddled up, and with best friend High Spade is on the tail of Brown. The wayward rifle will make a convoluted journey before McAdam will get the chance to reclaim his prize and finally settle his grudges.

Video

Winchester `73 has a 4: 3 black and white transfer and the picture quality is variable in this 50-year-old film. As the film starts, the picture quality is really quite good, very sharp and well defined, with only a hint of print damage. Yet there is the occasional scene with a very soft look to it with visible grain, as if it is from a completely different print.

Audio

The sound is a simple DD 2.0 mono English track and you can`t really ask for more than clear dialogue. If there is a rare moment of hiss, it`s quite forgivable. The main feature is subtitled in English.

Features

One of the benefits of the DVD format is the capacity for extra features like commentaries. However this is a relatively contemporary addition, with films from recent years benefiting from cast and crew commentaries. For the simple reason of time`s passage, classics from the golden age of Hollywood only receive commentaries from film historians or cinema buffs, if at all. One can only dream wistfully of a John Wayne commentary or yak tracks from Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart, Richard Burton or Steve McQueen. The age of the Hollywood Greats just didn`t overlap with the digital age.

Yet, when the laserdisc of Winchester `73 was being produced, star James Stewart was interviewed while re-watching the film at Universal Studios. That interview is also on the DVD, and it`s a compelling document indeed. To hear James Stewart reminisce about making the film, his co-stars and his career in general is a special treat. As a DVD extra, I haven`t seen its like before, and I had no qualms about experiencing it back to back with the film. It should be noted that there aren`t any subtitles though.

The trailer is also here.

Conclusion

Winchester `73 is a thoroughly entertaining film from beginning to end, with an exciting and thrilling story, and rounded and faceted characters. It`s an intelligent and attractive intertwining of tales that serves to capture the audience`s attention. The human story is one of vengeance as we are introduced to Lin McAdam, a likable and genteel man on the surface, yet who harbours a thirst for revenge against Dutch Henry Brown. Rather than telling us why straight off, his motives remain mysterious and it`s only as the film as the film unfolds that we learn the reasons for his relentless manhunt. Told in parallel is the story of the Winchester rifle that McAdam won and then lost, and we see its journey as it passes from character to character, invariably associated with death and violence. It`s practically a character in its own right.

The cast is superb of course, with James Stewart shining as Lin McAdam, as mild-mannered as always yet hiding an intangible darkness. Millard Mitchell as High Spade, who plays the sidekick role to perfection, ably supports him. Stephen McNally is initially a stereotypical villain, but as the story unfolds his character deepens. Dan Duryea as Waco Johnny Dean is a charismatic charmer of a villain, and Shelley Winters is sparky as singer Lola Manners. Other recognisable faces include Will Geer as Wyatt Earp, a young Rock Hudson as an Indian chief, Tony Curtis as a fresh-faced cavalry officer, while poor James Best (Sheriff Rosco from the Dukes Of Hazzard) is merely arrow fodder.

Winchester `73 is certainly a Western that entertains from the classic one-upmanship of the opening contest, to the thrilling final confrontation with bullets ricocheting around rocky crags. The characters and the story are brilliant and the dialogue almost poetic. To top it all off, the interview with James Stewart is worth the price of the disc by itself.