Butcher's Crossing Blu-ray Review
Score: 61
from 2 reviewers
Review Date:
Butcher's Crossing offers strong AV presentation and stunning cinematography, but lacks emotional depth and coherence, making it a mixed viewing experience.
Disc Release Date
DTS-HD MA
Video: 80
The Blu-ray's 1080p/AVC transfer delivers stunning visuals with sharp detail and vibrant colors, capturing the breathtaking landscapes and meticulous costuming. While some minimal edge enhancement is noted, the overall presentation is lifelike and immersive, enhancing the cinematic experience.
Audio: 80
Butcher's Crossing delivers a nuanced DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, effectively creating an immersive soundscape with clear dialogue, subtle directional ambience, and robust LFE support during rifle blasts and galloping sequences, capturing the contemplative essence akin to Terrence Malick's works.
Extra: 0
The Blu-ray extras for 'Butcher's Crossing' are notably absent, offering no special features to enhance the viewing experience.
Movie: 51
Butcher’s Crossing, an ambitious adaptation of John Williams’ novel, features Nicolas Cage in a restrained role as a frontier hunter, but it's Jeremy Bobb who shines amid a slow-burn narrative that lacks depth. The film struggles with pacing, leaving its thematic exploration of greed and sanity shallow, though its intent to mix history and psychological elements remains captivating for some.
Video: 80
The Blu-ray presentation of "Butcher's Crossing" stands out with its Sony 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer, delivering an exquisite visual experience. It showcases razor-sharp edge definition and refined textures, highlighting details in costuming and the weariness etched into characters' faces. The faint yet consistent grain provides a filmic appearance without introducing unwanted noise or artifacts. The color palette is notably dynamic, offering sunstruck and desaturated yet lifelike tones, complemented by rich shades of campfire orange and deep, refined blacks. Seasonal changes are beautifully captured, enhancing the visuals with autumn's yellows, winter's stark whites and blues, and spring's vibrant greens.
Shot on location in Montana, the film successfully leverages its scenic backdrop to provide wide-open vistas and majestic mountains, that, although not quite resembling Colorado's yellow aspens, offer breathtaking landscapes. The meticulous attention to costuming, set design, and makeup is prominent, resulting in a vivid display of bold and well-balanced colors with healthy skin tones. While some may notice a slight edge enhancement contributing to a "crunchy" look in parts, this effect is minimal and doesn't detract significantly from the overall quality of the viewing experience.
Ultimately, "Butcher's Crossing" on Blu-ray delivers an engaging visual narrative that artfully merges detailed imagery with nature's grandiosity, wrapped in a technically proficient presentation.
Audio: 80
The Blu-ray audio presentation of "Butcher's Crossing" employs a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, which delivers a compelling auditory experience aligned with the film's contemplative nature. The dialogue is crystal clear and natural, seamlessly grounded in the expansive wilderness settings depicted on screen. The track expertly captures the ambience of wide spaces and dense forests, creating an immersive atmosphere crucial for the film’s storytelling. Specific sound effects such as rifle blasts, roaring fires, and galloping horses are enriched by a robust low-frequency extension (LFE), filling the scene with palpable authenticity. The surround channels are ingeniously utilized to convey directionally accurate sounds, enhancing the full immersion into the film's environment.
Moreover, the audio mix successfully illustrates the scale of the film's setting. The surround channels are effectively utilized to envelop the listener with natural sounds, such as rolling winds through grasses and trees, reinforcing the expansive and serene landscape. Low-end effects, like the powerful rumbling of buffalo hooves, are satisfyingly deep, shaking up the subwoofers with authority. Despite the absence of boisterous or overly chaotic sound elements typical in action-packed films, this nuanced direct-to-market sound design stands out for its subtlety and precision. Overall, the audio track supports the film’s immersive qualities effectively, setting a fine standard for similar contemplative cinematic works.
Extras:
The Blu-ray release of "Butcher's Crossing" unfortunately falls short in the extras department, offering no additional content of note for enthusiasts or collectors. This absence may disappoint viewers looking to delve deeper into the film's intricacies or production background. Despite the film itself having the potential to benefit from insightful supplementary materials, the disc provides a bare-bones experience. For cinephiles who place importance on understanding behind-the-scenes elements, interviews, or director's commentary, this release may not meet their expectations. The lack of special features is a notable omission in an era where detailed bonus content can significantly enhance the viewing experience and appreciation for a film's craft.
Extras included in this disc:
- None: The disc does not include any bonus content or special features.
Movie: 51
"Butcher's Crossing" delivers a distinct Western narrative, albeit with an uneven execution. Nicolas Cage headlines as Miller, a seasoned frontiersman leading a group of buffalo hunters in search of fortune. The film, adapted from John Williams' 1960 novel, explores themes of greed and man's struggle against nature. Despite Cage's reputation for delivering offbeat performances, he surprisingly adopts a more subdued role here, which feels misaligned with the fervor needed to elevate his character. Jeremy Bobb, as the intense skinner Schneider, proves to be the unexpected star, injecting energy and presence into the film's otherwise methodical pace.
The directorial vision by Gabe Polsky, in collaboration with co-writer Liam Satre-Meloy, aims to intertwine historical and psychological elements. However, the rushed storytelling leaves little room for these themes to mature. Moments of survival and emotional depth are fleeting, dulling the impact of John Williams' originally vivid narrative. Polsky's adaptation struggles with pacing; significant events like resource scarcity or the harsh winter fail to resonate fully, making character arcs feel somewhat perfunctory and unexplored.
From a technical perspective, "Butcher's Crossing" is presented with too-clean digital photography that lacks the gritty, atmospheric quality one might expect from its Western roots. While David Gallego's cinematography attempts to capture striking vistas, they fall short of truly elevating the film's aesthetic. The 105-minute runtime does not allow sufficient development of its profound themes or characters, resulting in an experience that feels hurried. For audiences drawn to Westerns or Cage’s body of work, the film presents an interesting yet flawed exploration, ultimately landing as a moderate diversion rather than a compelling standout in either genre or Cage’s varied career portfolio.
Total: 61
"Butcher's Crossing" aspires to weave a tapestry reminiscent of cinematic classics like "Dances with Wolves" and "True Grit," invoking Terrence Malick's visionary storytelling. While the film is rich in thematic potential, exploring the complex interplay between man and nature, it falters in execution, often wandering into the territory of sluggish pacing and lackluster engagement. Nicolas Cage, usually a standout performer, offers a subdued presence that does little to elevate the narrative. The film occasionally hints at the depth and intensity of more successful Western dramas but struggles to maintain a consistent emotional core.
Visually, the Blu-ray release by Sony stands out with an exceptional audio-visual presentation, capturing the stark beauty and grandeur of its natural landscapes with clarity. Cinematographer David Gallego’s work shines, capturing the wilderness with an eye that pays homage to Malick's style. Despite this technical prowess, the absence of any special features may disappoint enthusiasts looking for deeper insights into the film’s making or thematic exploration.
In summary, while "Butcher's Crossing" presents an intriguing premise and stunning visuals that merit some consideration, it ultimately fails to connect on an emotional level or invigorate with its narrative. It remains a visually appealing piece that might attract viewers interested in its thematic ambitions but may not offer enough substance for those seeking a more compelling experience. This Blu-ray release is worth exploring for its visual fidelity alone, though expectations should be tempered regarding the film's storytelling depth.
Blu-ray.com review by Kenneth BrownRead review here
Video: 90
Detail is exacting, with razor sharp edge definition, refined textures, and plenty of crisp stubble, crows' feet and hand-stitched fabrics to make every bison butcher look suitably worn and weathered....
Audio: 90
This is, after all, a much more contemplative film striving to fall in step, visually and aurally, with the works of Terrence Malick....
Extras: 0
...
Movie: 50
Take this passage for instance: "It came to him that he had turned away from the buffalo not because of a womanish nausea at blood and stench and spilling gut; it came to him that he had sickened and turned...
Total: 60
To its credit, it doesn't fall prey to imitation too often, though it's clear the work of Terrence Malick is on everyone's minds (cinematographer David Gallego's most of all)....
High-Def DigestRead review here
Video: 80
They may not quite double for the yellow aspens of Colorado, but it’s a beautiful piece all the same....
Audio: 80
Rolling winds through grasses, trees, the various sounds of nature fill up the surround channels nicely....
Extras: 0
...
Movie: 60
While Polsky’s film certainly keeps to the basics of the story and touches on the main themes, it’s also too quick to move along without really digging in and grabbing the material by the throat....
Total: 60
All of the elements are there for a great story about man’s relationship with nature and the folly of greed, but it just doesn’t quite come together for this one....
Director: Gabe Polsky
Actors: Nicolas Cage, Fred Hechinger, Jeremy Bobb
PlotA young Harvard dropout named Will Andrews becomes disillusioned with his sheltered life and yearns for raw experiences. He heads to the frontier, searching for purpose and authenticity. In Kansas, he encounters Miller, a tough buffalo hunter whom he sees as the embodiment of the untamed spirit he seeks. Mesmerized by the stories of the adventures and fortunes in the wilderness, Will invests in Miller's next expedition.
The ragtag group, including Cook and Charley Hoge, is assembled for an arduous trek deep into the unexplored Colorado ranges known as Butcher’s Crossing where miller claims there's a vast herd ripe for hunting. As they journey further into the wilderness, Will is both fascinated and unnerved by the harsh reality of the frontier life, contrasting sharply with his romanticized notions. He witnesses the brutal realities of survival and the destructive obsession with wealth and control over nature. Tensions rise as Miller becomes increasingly fixated on his goal, pushing the boundaries of sanity and testing the limits of everyone's resolve. As conflicts intensify, Will finds himself questioning his own values and the true cost of freedom and ambition amidst the wilderness's unforgiving vastness.
Writers: Gabe Polsky, Liam Satre-Meloy, John Williams
Release Date: 26 Oct 2023
Runtime: 105 min
Rating: R
Country: United States
Language: English