Customer Reviews

TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Western Adventures (The Wild Bunch / McCabe & Mrs. Miller / Jeremiah Johnson / The Train Robbers)

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

 

 

I really enjoyed the TCM Greatest Western collection. For the price, having 4 top films bundled together is quite a bargain. Plus, each has extra content which gives the viewer more insight into the selected films. This is a perfect format for people who want to revisit some of the greatest films in various genres.

This DVD set is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, you get four good-to-excellent movies. "The Wild Bunch" and "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" are both classics, and "Jeremiah Johnson" and "The Train Robbers" are nice additions. On the other hand, the packaging and presentation are very cheap. Instead of four discs each containing one movie, there are two double-sided discs that seem to have been haphazardly made. I had to immediately take back the first copy of this set I bought and exchange it, because one of the discs was badly scratched.

The sad thing is that this could easily be a 5-star set, especially with the inclusion of "McCabe and Mrs. Miller," which is a very underrated film and possibly Robert Altman's best. I would hope that TCM will pay more attention to the quality of their products in the future.

You cant go wrong with this deal. the copies are crisp and clear and the selection dead on. Cant wait for more of these sets to be released.

These are not the best westerns in the Warner Home Video stable, but they are interesting films nonetheless.

"The Wild Bunch" (1969) has Sam Peckinpah directing a stellar cast in one of his best westerns. Some of the supporting cast could have been better developed, but in the end it is a fine example of the genre in acting, story, and action. This film is available in a special 2 disc edition, The Wild Bunch - The Original Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition).

"McCabe and Mrs. Miller" (1971) is an anti-establishment film typical of the late Vietnam war period that just happens to be set in the old west. There are no heroes to be found, and the outlook is quite cynical. The previous print of this film was released in 2002 and I find the colors to be a bit washed out. Let's hope this is a fresh transfer of this unusual western.

"Jeremiah Johnson" (1972) stars Robert Redford in what is the true story of a mountain man who turns to revenge after his wife and unborn child are killed by Indians. It is more than that, though, as Johnson struggles with survival against the elements prior to all of this tragedy. The latest print of this film was put on DVD in 1997, so the old print is quite VHS-like, for lack of a better term. Let's hope a better transfer of this film is in this set too.

"The Train Robbers" (1973) is the only film with John Wayne in it, and it is not one of his best, mainly because the so-called bad guys are just not up to the level you expect of any nemesis of The Duke. You expect John Wayne to have worthy opponents and these guys just don't fit the bill. Wayne does have good chemistry with the other players though and he has some good lines as he escorts a widow to a gold mine her husband left for her. The single DVD of this film was made in 2005 or 2007 and looks quite good, so there is really no need for improvement there.

I was able to view The Train Robbers but the track for The Wild Bunch has a flaw and we could not watch it. Haven't tried the other movies on this disc.