Eastwood has always been an actor and director at odds with himself. Hang ‘Em High is both a revenge film and a treatise against revenge itself. Eastwood plays an ex-lawman who is lynched by a group of rogue ranch hands. When the lynching does succeed, fate has him conscripted into being a US Marshall to bring those and others to justice.
Part of what makes this western directed by Ted Post so interesting is how Eastwood’s Jed Cooper doesn’t want revenge but rather justice. Something that he finds more elusive the more he works with Justice of the Peace Fenton (played with swarmy righteous indignation by Pat Hingle). Hang ‘em High does pretend it has the answers to the questions it’s posing but does show how everything is imperfect in any system of justice. The violence, either sanctioned by the law or unsanctioned, has consequences, and it’s all ugly.
Even not under the direction of Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood understood his power as a star, and we see it here on full display. Yes, this is a late 60s Hollywood-produced Western, but one can feel the counterculture at its heels. It isn’t just how the film treats its subject matter but also casting the likes of Bruce Dern, Dennis Hopper, and LQ Jones that give it a more modern feel. Not everything works: the Rachel/Inger Stevens storyline, the studio-bound recycled sets and locations (it was produced by Universal, which was known for cost-cutting methods).
Minor defects aside, Hang ‘em High is a western worthy of its legendary star’s filmography. A matter of interest that Eastwood would go on to further dissect in his Masterpiece The Unforgiven.
The Transfers
The all-new HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is a flawless upgrade from the already excellent 2018 Blu-ray edition from Shout Factory. This 4K edition has kept the grain structure and deep contrast levels within the image shot by cinematographer Richard H. Kline without sacrificing the sharpness of the dynamic range of the colors of the image. Kino has produced another worthy 4K UHD upgrade to another catalog title.
The Extras
They include the following;
DISC 1 (4KUHD):
NEW Audio Commentary by Filmmaker/Historian Steve Mitchell
Audio Commentary by Film Historians Lem Dobbs and Nick Redman
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
NEW Audio Commentary by Filmmaker/Historian Steve Mitchell
Audio Commentary by Film Historians Lem Dobbs and Nick Redman
Theatrical Trailer
TV Spots
Radio Spots
The first of two Audio Commentary tracks is an all-new one by Filmmaker/Historian Steve Mitchell. After Mitchell does his introduction dives into where Eastwood was in his career and how the film compares to the Dollar Trilogy that was released right before this. Some of the details include the production locations and details; a discussion of the director Ted Post – both the directorial style and his career; the preproduction and development of the film – including the casting of Eastwood; Sergio Leone being offered this project as director and why he never was hired and Ted Post was hired instead; the tensions between writer/producer Arthur Freeman and Eastwood/Post on the rewriting to tailor Eastwood; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film – many of whom were famous TV/Character actors or soon-to-be-known stars; the various locations in and around California and New Mexico the production used; and much more. Mitchell’s commentary track provides a wealth of quotes from Eastwood interviews that give context to the making of this film and Eastwood’s career as a whole.
The second Audio Commentary track is an archival one by Film Historians Lem Dobbs and Nick Redman. The duo opens with their credentials before diving into where Eastwood was with his career (post-Rawhide and Dollars Trilogy). Some of the details include that director Ted Post was one of Eastwood’s favorite directors on Rawhide; this was being the Malpaso Production; a discussion of Eastwood’s career and his maturity into the superstar he would become; the film’s connections to True Grit; a discussion of the personal and professional history of actor Pat Hingle; some of the popular Western troupes used by this film; the heavy influence of the Italian Westerns had on this and other Hollywood Westerns; a larger discussion of Eastwood’s early career and personal life; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film and giving professional histories and their appearance here; and much more.
TV Spots (0:50) – two 25-second spots.
Radio Spots (1:04) – two 30-second radio spots play over the film’s poster.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Hang ‘em High (2:32); A Fistful of Dollars (2:27); For a Few Dollars More (2:30); The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (3:23); Coogan’s Bluff (2:12); Paint Your Wagon (1:06); Two Mules for Sister Sara (2:36); The Beguiled (2:43); Joe Kidd (2:23); High Plains Drifter(2:31);
The Final Thought
Kino Lorber has provided collectors with another winning 4K UHD upgrade to a great Clint Eastwood title. Recommended.
Clint Eastwood finds that revenge isn’t a straight line even when you’re on the right side of the law in Hang ‘Em High. New to 4K UHD, loaded with special features from Kino Lorber.
The Film
Eastwood has always been an actor and director at odds with himself. Hang ‘Em High is both a revenge film and a treatise against revenge itself. Eastwood plays an ex-lawman who is lynched by a group of rogue ranch hands. When the lynching does succeed, fate has him conscripted into being a US Marshall to bring those and others to justice.
Part of what makes this western directed by Ted Post so interesting is how Eastwood’s Jed Cooper doesn’t want revenge but rather justice. Something that he finds more elusive the more he works with Justice of the Peace Fenton (played with swarmy righteous indignation by Pat Hingle). Hang ‘em High does pretend it has the answers to the questions it’s posing but does show how everything is imperfect in any system of justice. The violence, either sanctioned by the law or unsanctioned, has consequences, and it’s all ugly.
Even not under the direction of Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood understood his power as a star, and we see it here on full display. Yes, this is a late 60s Hollywood-produced Western, but one can feel the counterculture at its heels. It isn’t just how the film treats its subject matter but also casting the likes of Bruce Dern, Dennis Hopper, and LQ Jones that give it a more modern feel. Not everything works: the Rachel/Inger Stevens storyline, the studio-bound recycled sets and locations (it was produced by Universal, which was known for cost-cutting methods).
Minor defects aside, Hang ‘em High is a western worthy of its legendary star’s filmography. A matter of interest that Eastwood would go on to further dissect in his Masterpiece The Unforgiven.
The Transfers
The all-new HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is a flawless upgrade from the already excellent 2018 Blu-ray edition from Shout Factory. This 4K edition has kept the grain structure and deep contrast levels within the image shot by cinematographer Richard H. Kline without sacrificing the sharpness of the dynamic range of the colors of the image. Kino has produced another worthy 4K UHD upgrade to another catalog title.
The Extras
They include the following;
DISC 1 (4KUHD):
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
The first of two Audio Commentary tracks is an all-new one by Filmmaker/Historian Steve Mitchell. After Mitchell does his introduction dives into where Eastwood was in his career and how the film compares to the Dollar Trilogy that was released right before this. Some of the details include the production locations and details; a discussion of the director Ted Post – both the directorial style and his career; the preproduction and development of the film – including the casting of Eastwood; Sergio Leone being offered this project as director and why he never was hired and Ted Post was hired instead; the tensions between writer/producer Arthur Freeman and Eastwood/Post on the rewriting to tailor Eastwood; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film – many of whom were famous TV/Character actors or soon-to-be-known stars; the various locations in and around California and New Mexico the production used; and much more. Mitchell’s commentary track provides a wealth of quotes from Eastwood interviews that give context to the making of this film and Eastwood’s career as a whole.
The second Audio Commentary track is an archival one by Film Historians Lem Dobbs and Nick Redman. The duo opens with their credentials before diving into where Eastwood was with his career (post-Rawhide and Dollars Trilogy). Some of the details include that director Ted Post was one of Eastwood’s favorite directors on Rawhide; this was being the Malpaso Production; a discussion of Eastwood’s career and his maturity into the superstar he would become; the film’s connections to True Grit; a discussion of the personal and professional history of actor Pat Hingle; some of the popular Western troupes used by this film; the heavy influence of the Italian Westerns had on this and other Hollywood Westerns; a larger discussion of Eastwood’s early career and personal life; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film and giving professional histories and their appearance here; and much more.
TV Spots (0:50) – two 25-second spots.
Radio Spots (1:04) – two 30-second radio spots play over the film’s poster.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Hang ‘em High (2:32); A Fistful of Dollars (2:27); For a Few Dollars More (2:30); The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (3:23); Coogan’s Bluff (2:12); Paint Your Wagon (1:06); Two Mules for Sister Sara (2:36); The Beguiled (2:43); Joe Kidd (2:23); High Plains Drifter (2:31);
The Final Thought
Kino Lorber has provided collectors with another winning 4K UHD upgrade to a great Clint Eastwood title. Recommended.
Kino Lorber’s 4K UHD Edition of Hang ‘Em High is out now.
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