Product Details

• Actors: John Wayne, Marguerite Churchill, El Brendel, Tully Marshall, Tyrone Power Sr.
• Directors: Louis R. Loeffler, Raoul Walsh
• Writers: Raoul Walsh, Florence Postal, Hal G. Evarts, Jack Peabody, Marie Boyle
• Producers: Winfield R. Sheehan
• Format: Black & White, Dubbed, DVD, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.20:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: May 13, 2008
• Run Time: 122 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0014BJ1A4
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,144 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #6 in	Movies & TV > Westerns > Western Directors > Raoul Walsh
  #34 in	Movies & TV > Westerns > Epic
  #63 in	Movies & TV > Westerns > Western Stars > John Wayne

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
One of very few widescreen productions filmed at the dawn of the talkies, The Big Trail was dismissed by reviewers of the day, little seen, and soon shelved and forgotten--for more than half a century, as it turned out. For movie buffs, it became a sort of Holy Grail. After all, the esteemed Raoul Walsh had directed, the early 70mm angle was tantalizing, and wasn't this the movie that was intended to make a star of Duke Morrison, a 22-year-old former prop man whom Walsh had rechristened John Wayne for the occasion? For curiosity value alone, surely it rated a look.

Restored in the late 1980s and warmly embraced by film festival audiences, The Big Trail proved to be more than just a historical footnote. What were those 1930 reviewers thinking?! Wayne is fresh, exuberant, matinee-idol handsome, and irresistibly charming (only a little purple prose trips him up, and no one should have been asked to speak such early-talkie flapdoodle anyway). The scenario winds through epic settings from the banks of the Mississippi by way of the Grand Canyon to the snows of Oregon and the mountain vistas of Washington, marking both a wagon train's journey and the settling of a personal score between trail guide Wayne and Tyrone Power Sr. as a veritable ogre of a villain. (A villain off-camera, too: Legend holds that Walsh had the actor beaten nearly to death for attempting to force himself on leading lady Marguerite Churchill.) The Big Trail is now an authentic classic, and a swell movie. Probably always was. --Richard T. Jameson

Product Description
In this sweeping pioneer adventure, a courageous young scout (WAYNE) leads hundreds of settlers across treacherous cliffs, though brutal snowstorms, Indian attacks and buffalo stampedes to their destiny out West. Along the way, he loses his heart to a beautiful pioneer woman (MARGUERITE CHURCHILL) and never stops trying to win her love. TYRONE POWER co-stars in this visually spectacular epic.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars STUNNING 1930 70MM WIDESCREEN EPIC TRANSFORMS 22 YEAR OLD DUKE MORRISON INTO "JOHN WAYNE" , February 28, 2008

By	Robin Simmons (Palm Springs area, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Finally a DVD transfer of the "Holy Grail" of early widescreen epics.

This 1930 film directed by Raoul Walsh was intended to make 22 year old Duke Morrison a star.

And indeed it did.

While John Wayne became a star, this striking ahead-of-its-time 70mm widescreen film was dismissed, forgotten and virtually lost. In the 1980s it was rediscovered and restored but previous DVD releases were only the alternate 4x3 format since most theaters at that time (early 30s) were unable to show a widescreen format properly. And most TVs were "square" as well.

Fox publicity says it accurately and simply: "In this sweeping pioneer adventure, a courageous young scout (Wayne) leads hundreds of settlers across treacherous cliffs, through brutal snowstorms, Indian attacks and buffalo stampedes to their destiny out West. Along the way, he loses his heart to a beautiful pioneer woman (Marguerite Churchill) and never stops trying to win her love. Tyrone Power co-stars in this visually spectacular epic."

Digitally restored and re-mastered from the original 70mm elements, an alternative full-frame edit is also included in the DVD package.

Extensive extras include:

* Wonderfully detailed commentary with film historian/author Richard Schickel on the 70mm widescreen presentation
* The Creation of John Wayne
* Raoul Walsh: A Man in His Time
* The Big Vision: The Grandeur Process
* The Making of The Big Trail
* Galleries
* Publicity
*Original Posters
*Pressbook Gallery
* Trailers

Not bad at all. It took a while, but Fox is treating this film like it deserves!

This film has been shown on TCM in its true aspect ratio. Every time I see it when channel surfing, I get sidetracked and stick around. The BW cinematography is beautiful and the story is engaging.

On a lot of levels, it was way ahead of its time in scope and ambition and visual sweep. It is certainly worth seeing not just as an anomaly of early filmmaking but for the pure entertainment value. Duke Morrison's performance is confident and charismatic and it is fun to see him become "John Wayne" in front of your eyes.

Highly recommended.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the NEW (2008) widescreen edition is finally here!!!, May 16, 2008

By	Richardson "Clarence" (Sunny California USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This is an epic movie for so many reasons....not the least of which is that it is the first major starring vehicle for John Wayne and he is very good and startlingly young and handsome to boot. Legendary director Raoul Walsh made an asbsolute spectacular film and THIS edition is the first release of the 70mm WIDESCREEN version!!! I won't go into the story or the history...there are very servicable featurettes on the DISC that give great detail and help the enjoyment of the picture. The second disc contains the lesser 1:33 version. The restoration is pretty darned good for a 1930 movie and I couldn't be MORE pleased to finally have this "important" movie in this format and aspect ratio!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Please, Fox, give us your best!, September 9, 2006

By	Robert B. Cushman "R B Cushman" (Cedar Crest, NM United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Big Trail (Full Screen Edition) (DVD)

"The Big Trail" and "The Quiet Man" are clearly the two best of John Wayne's films. Fox has relegated "The Big Trail" to the trash heap . . . considering "old" to be worthless. Should the folks at Fox figure out the "pure gold" that they have, they would put this classic on DVD in its entire original format, with the ENTIRE CLOSING MUSIC, without dropping a single frame of the original. I, for one, would purchase a few of a complete DVD, should Fox "figure it out" and step up to their responsibilities. Fox, that film is not improving with age. It's time you get busy and save this masterpiece before it's too late. If you wish, you could even add a second DVD as a bonus (at extra price) giving a history of the making of the movie . . . whatever. Thousands of us will pay the price. You have a diamond in your hands, and are treating it like a "rhinestone".