Woody Harrelson, Billy Crudup, Penelope Cruz, and Patricia Arquette lead an all-star cast in Stephen Frears Western Neo Noir The Hi-Lo Country. New to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.
The Film
The Hi-Lo Country feels like Cormac McCarthy’s Fire on the Plains mixed with Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana’s Brokeback Mountain. Not indicative of the quality of the film. A modern era western romance where the triangle isn’t a triangle at all, but between two men. The adaptation of the Max Evans novel, adapted by Walon Green, had been in development with Sam Peckinpah since the late 1960s.
Two friends, Big Boy (Woody Harrelson) and Pete (Billy Crudup), traverse the changing landscape in post-WW2 New Mexico. Ranch hands, hell raisers, and women chasers, the two rub against the corporatization of their trade and the love of their life (Patricia Arquette). Through the tragic and the heartfelt, Big Boy and Pete remain the best of friends, showing compassion and love they could never share with their family and women.
Director Stephen Frears makes a perfectly acceptable neo-Western drama out of this dusty cowboy tale. One does wonder what Peckinpah would have done with the material, as there is something beyond the text that isn’t translated on screen. The male camaraderie and machismo of those laconic figures of the west that Peckinpah burned onto screen (The Wild Bunch) that The Hi-Lo Country doesn’t have. There is something terse and hard that Frears’ film is missing throughout. Yes, the story does feel like McCarthy and McMurtry, but only in idea, never in execution, unfortunately.
The Transfers
The high-definition transfer is a beautiful version of the 1998 35mm shot film. The image is sharp without any defects or issues. The color reproduction, contrast levels, and black levels are all beautifully rendered to showcase cinematographer Oliver Stapleton photography of the vast arid lands of New Mexico. Kino Lorber continues to produce worthy Blu-rays for every film they release on the format.
The Extras
They include the following;
- NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Writer Julie Kirgo and Writer/Filmmaker Peter Hankoff
- Theatrical Trailer
The all-new Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Writer Julie Kirgo and Writer/Filmmaker Peter Hankoff begins with their credentials before diving into the film shot on location in northern New Mexico and how this is from a long line of non-Americans making Westerns. Some of the details include this is not a revisionist Western but is about the changing landscape of American Society; a discussion of the novelist Max Evans, including his personal history, his work and relationship with director Sam Peckinpah; a discussion of the career and work of screenwriter Walon Green, including his work in documentaries; a discussion of director Sam Peckinpah who developed this film for decades never fully realizing the project; a discussion of the film’s director Stephen Frears and the style he brings to the film here and throughout his career and his work in England (he’s British) and the work in America; a discussion of the various producers that include Martin Scorsese; a discussion of the production company Working Title; the career and work of star Woody Harrelson; the career and work of Penelope Cruz; a larger discussion of the sexual politics of the film; the career and work of Patricia Arquette; a larger discussion of the various cast and behind the scenes crew that made the picture; and much more.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for The Hi-Lo Country (2:53); Incident Proposal (2:15); Kingpin (1:28); After Dark, My Sweet (2:17); Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead (2:10); Bodies, Rest & Motion (2:03);
The Final Thought
Kino Lorber continues to provide the best editions for cult oddities like The Hi-Lo Country. Recommended!!
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Woody Harrelson, Billy Crudup, Penelope Cruz, and Patricia Arquette lead an all-star cast in Stephen Frears Western Neo Noir The Hi-Lo Country. New to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.
The Film
The Hi-Lo Country feels like Cormac McCarthy’s Fire on the Plains mixed with Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana’s Brokeback Mountain. Not indicative of the quality of the film. A modern era western romance where the triangle isn’t a triangle at all, but between two men. The adaptation of the Max Evans novel, adapted by Walon Green, had been in development with Sam Peckinpah since the late 1960s.
Two friends, Big Boy (Woody Harrelson) and Pete (Billy Crudup), traverse the changing landscape in post-WW2 New Mexico. Ranch hands, hell raisers, and women chasers, the two rub against the corporatization of their trade and the love of their life (Patricia Arquette). Through the tragic and the heartfelt, Big Boy and Pete remain the best of friends, showing compassion and love they could never share with their family and women.
Director Stephen Frears makes a perfectly acceptable neo-Western drama out of this dusty cowboy tale. One does wonder what Peckinpah would have done with the material, as there is something beyond the text that isn’t translated on screen. The male camaraderie and machismo of those laconic figures of the west that Peckinpah burned onto screen (The Wild Bunch) that The Hi-Lo Country doesn’t have. There is something terse and hard that Frears’ film is missing throughout. Yes, the story does feel like McCarthy and McMurtry, but only in idea, never in execution, unfortunately.
The Transfers
The high-definition transfer is a beautiful version of the 1998 35mm shot film. The image is sharp without any defects or issues. The color reproduction, contrast levels, and black levels are all beautifully rendered to showcase cinematographer Oliver Stapleton photography of the vast arid lands of New Mexico. Kino Lorber continues to produce worthy Blu-rays for every film they release on the format.
The Extras
They include the following;
The all-new Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Writer Julie Kirgo and Writer/Filmmaker Peter Hankoff begins with their credentials before diving into the film shot on location in northern New Mexico and how this is from a long line of non-Americans making Westerns. Some of the details include this is not a revisionist Western but is about the changing landscape of American Society; a discussion of the novelist Max Evans, including his personal history, his work and relationship with director Sam Peckinpah; a discussion of the career and work of screenwriter Walon Green, including his work in documentaries; a discussion of director Sam Peckinpah who developed this film for decades never fully realizing the project; a discussion of the film’s director Stephen Frears and the style he brings to the film here and throughout his career and his work in England (he’s British) and the work in America; a discussion of the various producers that include Martin Scorsese; a discussion of the production company Working Title; the career and work of star Woody Harrelson; the career and work of Penelope Cruz; a larger discussion of the sexual politics of the film; the career and work of Patricia Arquette; a larger discussion of the various cast and behind the scenes crew that made the picture; and much more.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for The Hi-Lo Country (2:53); Incident Proposal (2:15); Kingpin (1:28); After Dark, My Sweet (2:17); Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead (2:10); Bodies, Rest & Motion (2:03);
The Final Thought
Kino Lorber continues to provide the best editions for cult oddities like The Hi-Lo Country. Recommended!!
Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray Edition of The Hi-Lo Country is out March 10th.
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