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Title: Dodge City
Region: One
Genre: Western
Stars: Errol Flynn, Olivia De
Havilland, Ann Sheridan, Bruce Cabot, Frank McHugh, Alan Hale, Henry Travers,
Victor Jory, and William Lundigan
Writer:
Robert Buckner
Director:
Max Steiner
Feature
length: 100 minutes
Extras:
Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night At The Movies, Newsreel, Academy Award®
Winning Drama Short “Sons Of Liberty”, Cartoon – Dangerous Dan McFoo,
Theatrical Trailers, New Featurette “Dodge City: Go West, Errol Flynn”
Languages:
English and French Language Dubbed Monaural Sound
Subtitles:
English Closed Captions and English, French, and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Amaray Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 28
Sound:
Monaural Sound
Year of
Theatrical Release: 1939/DVD Release: 2005
Theatrical
Distributor: Warner Brothers Pictures, Inc.
Home
Video Distributor: Warner Home Video
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Chronologically,
the next film within Warner Home Video’s “Errol Flynn: The Signature
Collection” is “Dodge City.” Produced in 1939, “Dodge City” might seem
somewhat cliché given the amount of westerns that have been produced since it
premiered theatrically, but back in 1939 the elements were considered new and
the film along with “Stage Coach” helped to elevate the western genre above
the category of b-movie. A lot of sci-fi owes its roots in some part to the
western. The “Mad Max” trilogy is in part at least a variation on “The Man
With No Name” brought to life by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone’s “Dollars
Trilogy” and it is rather obvious that elements of the original “Star
Wars” film is very reminiscent of the western because in American culture the
image of the old west will forever be one of mythic proportions. Much the way
the dark ages in “The Adventures Of Robin Hood” looked far too colorful and
even clean than they probably really were, “Dodge City” has a colorful and
clean look about it mostly because the film was shot in Technicolor, a process
reserved only for what would be perceived as commercial and critical successes
back in the 1930s. Yet audiences trying to gain a temporary escape from the
Great Depression as well as the looming war in Europe were looking to be
entertained and not be reminded of any grim realities that may have existed
outside in the real world.
Swashbuckling
Star Errol Flynn along with frequent Co-Star Olivia De Havilland were able to
slip into the western genre effortlessly and “Dodge City” would prove to be
so popular that it served as the inspiration for Mel Brooks’ classic western
parody “Blazing Saddles.” Flynn portrays Wade Hatton, a former trail boss
who gets pinned with the badge of law enforcement in wild Dodge City where he
confronts lynch mobs, outlaws, and more. Flynn would go on to appear in seven
more westerns in his feature film career.
With
all of the computer wizardry that has enabled filmmakers to create colorful
vistas that were practically impossible decades ago, I am surprised that no one
has ever quite caught the magic of Technicolor. “Dodge City” has been
digitally remastered for this DVD debut and it looks simply glorious in the
original (1.33:1) approximate theatrical aspect ratio presentation with a clear
English Monaural Soundtrack. A French Language Dubbed Monaural Soundtrack as
well as English Closed Captions for the hearing impaired and English, French,
and Spanish Language Subtitles are also encoded onto the DVD as options too.
Like
the other feature film titles in this DVD set, an attempt to recreate what
audiences would have seen on the big screen back in 1939 is made here with
Leonard Maltin hosting “Warner Night At The Movies” (3:31), which features a
newsreel depicting the growing Nazi threat in Europe (1:55), an Academy Award®
winning short entitled “Sons Of Liberty” (23:32), which is presented in a
(1.33:1) aspect ratio and was shot and exhibited in Technicolor with Claude
Rains starring. Though the film is set during the American Revolution, it is
actually a rallying cry to raise patriotism and awareness of duty to preserve
freedom with the British soldiers doubling for the Nazis. A cartoon entitled
“Dangerous Dan McFoo” (2:52), and a trailer for the western “Oklahoma
Kid” (2:45), which stars James Cagney as the hero and Humphrey Bogart as the
villain is also presented in this feature. A new featurette entitled “Go West,
Errol Flynn “(10:08) and the theatrical trailer for “Dodge City” (3:15)
wraps up the extra value features on this DVD.
If you
look closely on the main menu you can see prairie dust moving along the bottom
of the screen in what are otherwise standard interactive still frames that are
easy to navigate.
“Dodge
City” is available separately or as a part of Warner Home Video’s “Errol
Flynn: The Signature Collection” DVD box set at retailers on and offline now.
©
Copyright 2005 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved
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