Customer Reviews

John Wayne: Screen Legend Collection (Reap the Wild Wind / Rooster Cogburn / The Hellfighters / The War Wagon / The Spoilers)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For those wondering, I can confirm that Hellfighters, War Wagon, and Rooster Cogburn are all presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. That makes this collection a nice improvement over the previous non-anamorphic standalone versions of those DVDs. The other features (Reap the Wild Wind and The Spoilers) are in full-frame (1.33:1) format, which I believe was their original theatrical format.

The five films come on three disks:
1. Reap the Wild Wind
2. The Spoilers and The War Wagon (both on side A)
3. Hellfighters (side A) and Rooster Cogburn (side B)

The only extras are trailers (except for Hellfighters) and some John Wayne trivia on the inside of the packaging.

Hello Folks,

This is a collection of films that have been out on DVD...being a fan of the Duke ..I just bought it anyway. I can say I am glad already because although Universal doesn't tout this...the print of ROOSTER COGBURN is a revelation compared to the previous available editions! The previously available DVD of that fine film had noticable grain , color problems, and annoying dirt etc. The transfer/print of Rooster Cogburn on this collection is striking in its improved look ( a tribute to legendary Cinematographer Harry Stradling Jr who photographed this splendid movie). I haven't compared The War Wagon and others yet but I wouldn't be surprised if they also were an improvement. I picked this up for under $20...and 5 John Wayne films for $4 each is a no brainer...
Happy 100th Duke ..long may you ride!!
Yeeehaaaaa
UPDATE: I just compared the War Wagon with the previously available edition and like Rooster..its a HUGE upgrade in picture quality...this set gets better and better...snap it up!

Not a dud film here. Includes a good share of my favorite Wayne films(even if he didn't get top billing in the two from 1942) All are in color except for "The Spoilers", which should have been, to show off Marlene Dietrich's outfits, if for no other reason. No other woman, given the opportunity, came close as the ultimate dancehall queen(I'm sure Wayne would agree). "Reap the Wild Wind" and "Rooster Cogburn", made 33 years apart, are two of my favorite Wayne movies. Wayne seemed way too old and slow to be playing his character in "The War Wagon" This was after his one lung had been removed. But, Kirk Douglas, no spring chicken himself, helped make up for the Duke's relative lethargy. I found it an entertaining film. "Hellfighters" brought home the dangers and challenges of putting out oilwell fires, which became very relevant during the first Gulf War. Sure burned up a lot of fuel in that one! The DVD quality of all was excellent. My only regret is the lack of commentary features, but I can't really quibble for the price.

What I love about this collection is not just the selection of his movies over the years of his career but also the different characters he gets to play.
Reap The Wild is set in the 1840s Key West and John Wayne plays a sea captain. And he's not even the main character!
The Spoilers is set in Alaska 1890s during a gold rush. Along side Marlene Dietrich and Randolph Scott this film really shines bright with great acting.
The War Wagon is a good, old fashion action film with lots of action and Kirk Douglas to boot!
Hellfighters is about firefighters and how they handle the job and their lives, trying to balance the two together. Lots of action, romance and gritty reality.
Rooster Cogburn, named after the character John Wayne played in True Grit, brings that character back to match him up with Katharine Hepburn to bring justice to the West.
Outside of Rooster Cogburn I have never seen any of this films and it really allowed me to enjoy and come to respect the many skills and sides of John Wayne. I look forward to buying up more and more of his films in the future. The inside of the collection's box folds out and has information about John Wayne and the films in the set.

There's only one thing you need to know to understand how awesome John Wayne is: there are not one, but TWO different movies where he fights a giant octopus. One of them is in this set--Reap the Wild Wind (the other is Wake of the Red Witch, another great movie, however not included in this set). And one of my all time favorite movie fist-fights is in The Spoilers, between Wayne & Randolph Scott. The War Wagon is also a very underrated action western--Wayne & Kirk Douglas in a fun heist movie with plenty of action and fun dialogue. This is a great collection to have, and a great price!!!!

I'm glad I listened to the other reviews that touted the great transfer quality of these movies. Thank you. They didn't exagerate. So far the best of them is The War Wagon. The picture quality is so good you think your'e looking out your window to a beautiful panoramic view of the West. I suppose this also requires a good quality set to view it on, 36" sony Wega. Can't wait to some day see it on a 60" Hi-Def system. One can only dream. Anyway, this is a great set to own. And at $20 how can you say no?

The movies in this collection are top notch. I watched all of them the first three days I had the set. The video and audio quality is excellent. The DVD is restored video which I am coming to expect now. I like to watch the unrestored trailers to see how good the movies look after they are restored. Sometimes technology is wonderful! It wasn't too long ago that we were in danger of losing some of these old films. Of course, the Duke is the Duke, that is why I bought the set. The set appears to have been done by or for TCM which is first rate, too. If you love John Wayne, as I do, you'll have to have this set. Overall, beautifully done.

These DVD's arrived in a fairly timely manner considering that they were traveling up to Alaska. I was a little disappointed that the titles for each DVD was not labeled which caused some confusion as to what movie was on each disk. The quality of the movies is very good otherwise.

I have always been a John Wayne fan. I purchased this three movie, two disk set and was very pleased to find high end packaging guaranteeing the disks will be protected well into the future. Most importantly, the movies themselves were of a high quality. These three movies look as though they were just made. The color and dialoge were clear and concise. Well done.

This turned out to be the perfect John Wayne Box Set for my Dad. He is a huge John Wayne fan and since I bought him this he has watched all of the movies, some of them twice. It is a great gift for a John Wayne fan.