Rancho Notorious (1952) [Blu-Ray]

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At Last! Fritz Lang's final Western, "Rancho Notorious".My main concern in buying a DVD is the quality of the transfer. And I only buy things of which I'm familiar and WANT to own.With this disc I was more than pleasantly surprised. For the first time since it appeared on tape here is a copy to delight in. Not perfect, as at times it is a little muzzy, but the odd colouring and confined sets with painted back-drops have a beauty that suits the subject matter and Lang's interpretation of what the old West looked like. In fact, if memory serves me correctly it looks even better than it did on its initial release in the cinema. But that was a long, long time ago.As a film it, like most of Lang's work, is an acquired taste. His characters are larger than life, they are highly emotional but well drawn, and he pushes on with his narrative. No longuers here - story, character development, action and romance -all completed in a fraction under one hundred minutes.But what fascinates about Lang's work, expecially his Rancho Notorious, is his visual composition; his sparse use of objects in rooms so that there is nothing to distract the viewer from his sole purpose to tell a story; his almost obsessive way of framing his characters in doorways so that they receive our full attention.This work, perhaps more so than many of his other American films, is a throw-back to the silent cinema of the Twenties. The emphasis is on the visual - camera movements, camera angles, composition (as stated above),and dialogue that is just slightly more informative than the captions that were once in use. And the jumps from one scene to the next often come as a surprise - give pause to grasp what has been happening and make us sit in awe at the confidence he had in his usage and understanding of the medium.And the acting? Arthur Kennedy, as he was in the Westerns of Anthony Mann, intense, believable and gripping. Marlene, as ever, is in perfect control, regardless of the fact that she and Lang fought like cats and dogs during the filming. She was the consummate performer and had certainly learnt her lessons well from JoeVerdict: Money well spent. A worthy addition to my DVD library.

George made this during the time he first got the part of Superman. The movie was released probably after "Mole Men", but before the TV series aired. A good minor part for George, sharp and crisp resolution in full color.

I expected any film starring Marlene Dietrich and directed by Fritz Lang to be a shoo-in for 5*.Alas, this turned out not to be the case. This is a Western with a serious revenge theme. Nothing wrong with that as an idea,Alas, the execution is pretty dire. The narrative develops in a manner which essentially beggars belief. The acting - Dietrich and Mel Ferrer excepted - is pretty ordinary and Arthur Kennedy as the cowboy seeking revenge gives the impression of a novice actor simply trying too hard.The cinematography captures both the action and the landscape well, but the Technicolor is over the top. Other reviewers have complained about the quality of transfer in Warner Archives films and I wonder if this is an example of that. Before I read other reviews, I just assumed that the excessive colour was simply the film industry's response to the competition from (b/w) television at the time.

Been wanting this movie for years, finally found it. Great movie and great price.

one of the best three westerns everSpur.filmed, along with Johnny Guitar, and The Naked Spur.Marlene Dietrich is excellent, as the owner of criminal's, on the lam, hideout.A compulsory purchase for anyone interested in America's wild west-1880s-1910's period.

Love old western movies. Had seen this one on Encore Western channel a few years ago and had to get it

I am very happy with this product