Search - Buffalo Bill on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Child Classic Movie Release: 1944 DVD Release: 05/24/2005 Format: DVD - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 30 mins Studio: 20th Century Fox Members Wishing: 0 Genres: Western, Biopic [feature], Traditional Western

No slouch himself at rearranging the facts to make a good story, Colonel William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody would probably have enjoyed this Technicolor version of his life and times. Well played by Joel McCrea, Cody is first seen as an army Indian scout, pursuing peaceful coexistence despite the animosity of Chief Yellow Hand (Anthony Quinn) and the obstruction of anti-Indian politicians. He also takes time out to court the lovely Louisa (Maureen O'Hara), the well-bred Eastern girl who will become his wife despite her initial (and quite justified) distaste for the West. Under the tutelage of impresario Ned Buntline (Thomas Mitchell), Cody follows up his military career with a more spectacular one as a larger-than-life super-showman, touring throughout the world with his spectacular Wild West show. In later years, Buffalo Bill director William Wellman would wince at the liberties taken with Cody's life -- especially the film's now notorious closing line, "God bless you, Buffalo Bill!" But Wellman allowed that, in terms of sheer entertainment, it was smarter to emulate Cody by perpetuating the legend rather than debunking the Buffalo Bill image with cold, hard facts. Or, as John Ford put it in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Joel McCrea - Buffalo Bill
Maureen O'Hara - Louise Cody
Linda Darnell - Dawn Starlight
Thomas Mitchell - Ned Buntline
Anthony Quinn - Yellow Hand

William Wellman's Buffalo Bill (1944) looks fair most of the time and spectacular in some shots in the Fox DVD release, but falls short of the luster of the best-looking of Fox's color movies of the period. The Technicolor materials (mastered full-screen, 1.33:1) have been reasonably well preserved, though there is some inconsistency in their depth and intensity from shot to shot -- the result is a sometimes diverting but mostly routine piece of history-inspired fiction. If Fox is going to delve into this part of its library, then it should offer us films such as Jesse James and The Return of Frank James, serious, well-made dramas, rather than this wartime curiosity. On a technical level the disc is just fine, opening automatically on a simple, easy-to-use menu in a basic, no-frills package. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide