Search - The Gary Cooper Gift Set on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Movie Release: 2007 DVD Release: 05/22/2007 Format: DVD - Black and White,Color,Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Dual Layered Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 4 Number of Discs: 4 Run Time: 6 hrs 11 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 2

The acquisition of MGM/UA's distribution by 20th Century-Fox has led to some interestinf box sets of movies, of which this Gary Cooper collection -- the title may say "MGM Movie Legends," but the truth is that it's only the MGM name that they're exploiting here -- the movies in this package mostly come from the Samuel Goldwyn library, which MGM/UA owns, plius one title out of the United Artists catalog, Vera Cruz, which has been out befor by itself. The most interesting title here -- The Winning of Barbara Worth -- it is a silent, and is the work of Henry King, who was still making great westerns 30 years later, and because it appears to be the only one of Goldwyn's silents that is extant in any form. It gets first-cabin treatment, including a razor-sharp transfer of materials that seem to be in exceptionally good condition -- indeed, this movie looks to be sharper, brighter, and crisper by several decades than its 1926 origins would lead one to expect it to be. The tinting is very carefully balanced, so that the desert sequences are a wonder to behold and the scene involving a dust storm is as harrowing as anything seen in the way of a natural disaster in movies over the next 40 years or so; it's best to see this on the big screen, but just seeing it is a memorable experience. One would have hoped for an orchestral score, but the organ accompaniment that is here is lively and inventive, if not quite as diverse in its timbres as one might hope. The 28 chapters are more than sufficient for the plot breakdown of the movie, and just watching the shot of the lone white horse against the desert, and Cooper's heroics, one heartily wishes that there were more pictures like this to see on DVD -- though this one will keep western fans busy for quite some time.

Robert Aldrich's Vera Cruz seems to be identical to the edition that was in release from MGM/UA proper circa 2001 -- as to the others, H.C. Potter's screwball comedy The Cowboy And The Lady has gotten a clean and sharp film-to-video transfer and looks better than this reviewer remembers it being from television showings in the ealry 1960's. The Henry Hathaway-diirected action/adventure drama The Real Glory looks even better, and the condition of both movies is a tribute to the way that the Goldwyn company maintained its sound library -- one only wishes that they had been as thorough with their silents. The Winning of Barbara Worth, The Cowboy And The Lady, and The Real Glory are transferred full-screen (1.33-to-1), while Vera Cruz is letterboxed at 2.35-to-1.

Each disc opens to a simple single-layer menu that includes a "play" option and access to individual chapters. There are no special features, although it could be argued that The Winning of Barbara Worth is, in itself, one big special feature. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide