Vera Cruz (1954)

[T.H.]

Ditto!

I feel confident saying it's the best incest western ever made.

[dave jenkins]

Looks like I won't be getting the new blu:

The KL Studio Classics Blu-ray of Vera Cruz is a brand new 2K master. The picture is very steady. I compared it to the old 2011 MGM Blu-ray for color, contrast, grain and framing. Both have pleasing color and both are sometimes rather grainy. The new 2021 disc has harsher contrast. Dark areas have less detail and some scenes look a tad softer. But random bits of dirt here and there are now gone ? the image is much cleaner.

Kino?s new scan presumably uses newer technology and better coloring software. But it appears that the same printing elements were scanned, as some of the same audiovisual flaws appear. A real improvement would need to start in the film vault and require the making of new duping film elements for the scanner.

https://trailersfromhell.com/vera-cruz-2/

[dave jenkins]

Looks like I won't be getting the new blu:https://trailersfromhell.com/vera-cruz-2/

On the other hand:

Kino have transferred Robert Aldrich's Vera Cruz to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "Brand New 2K Master". While it has a slightly superior bitrate, that is not the issue here - the MGM is from a significantly weaker source. The 10-year old transfer is pale, green and cropped on the left and bottom edges as compared to the new Kino 1080P. This is one of the largest discrepancies in Blu-ray visuals from a major studio to a boutique label that I can recall seeing. The Technicolor is very vibrant now and the film has very thick textures throughout. A highly dramatic and impacting upgrade thanks to Kino.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film10/blu-ray_review_159/vera_cruz_blu-ray.htm

[T.H.]

I watched the Kino bluray, and I'd recommend it unless you think there will be a UHD release in the near future, which I doubt. The only real issue is the source material is clearly terrible, so the transfer is inconsistent and my copy had some serious audio issues in a couple scenes in the first half -- where it sounded like the background/ambient audio track would skip. It was weird, but didn't last for very long. It could have been a disc defect though. Overall, I'd agree with dvdbeaver's assessment.

As for the movie, it's a movie of moments. And when it's great, it's really great. The influence on Fistful, FaFDM and The Wild Bunch is pretty staggering. B+

[dave jenkins]

Thanks, T.H. I'm still on the fence on this release. I have the older one and don't watch it much, in part because it looks so bad. I'm sure this new Kino is an upgrade--I'm just not sure how much of one. Decisions, decisions . . .