Search - The Undefeated on DVD

MPAA Rating: G Content Advisory: Suitable for Children Movie Release: 1969 DVD Release: 05/20/2003 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Edition: Dual Layered Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Studio: 20th Century Fox Members Wishing: 2 Genres: Western, Traditional Western

This routine western finds Union Colonel John Henry Thomas (John Wayne) and company attacking Confederate soldiers lead by Colonel James Langdon (Rock Hudson). After a crushing defeat, Langdon torches his plantation rather than have it fall into enemy hands. A group of Southerners accept the invitation of Emperor Maximilian to join them, and Langdon heads off with a wagon train of settlers to a new land. Thomas with his adopted Indian son Blue Boy (Roman Gabriel) bring a herd of 3,000 horses across the Rio Grand for sale. The two factions meet at a Fourth of July party and relive the war through a drunken brawl. When Mexican General Rojas (Tony Aguilar) holds the Southerners hostage, Thomas orders the herd to stampede into the General's camp as ransom payment for their former enemies. Merlin Olsen plays the blacksmith Little George. Both Gabriel and Olsen were pro-football all-stars for the Los Angeles Rams. Olsen continued his acting and sports announcing after his gridiron days were over. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

John Wayne - Col. John Henry Thomas
Rock Hudson - Col. James Langdon
Antonio Aguilar - Gen. Rojas
Roman Gabriel - Blue Boy
Marian McCargo - Ann

Andrew V. McLaglen's The Undefeated (1969), starring John Wayne, was released on laserdisc in letterboxed form in the early 1990's, in an edition that looked very good -- the 2003 Fox DVD isn't a huge jump up in quality, though it does cost about half as much as the laser ever did. It was photographed by William H. Clothier, who also shot Chisum (directed by McLaglen and starring Wayne) within the same year -- the two movies were released on DVD about a week apart in 2003, and look about the same; both are in Panavision and letterboxed to a 2.35-to-1 aspect ratio. The DVD looks about as this reviewer remembers The Undefeated from two theatrical screenings in 1969, though Chisum may have a slight edge on disc in the sharpness of its transfer. Fox has done reasonably well by The Undefeated, with 28 chapters covering its 119 minutes, which encompass enough plot twists to make more than one viewing a necessity. The original trailer appears in its English, Spanish, and Portuguese versions, and is accompanied by the trailers for North to Alaska and The Comancheros -- there are also optional French and Spanish audio tracks for the movie and English captions and Spanish subtitles as well, all accessible in a triple-layer menu that's easy to maneuver around. One does wish that Fox had gotten McLaglen to provide a commentary track here the way that Warner Home Video did with Chisum, but the whole package is still a good value as a mid-price DVD. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide