High Noon Blu-ray Review
Signature Edition
Score: 80
from 3 reviewers
Review Date:
"A stunning 4K restoration, high-quality audio, and comprehensive extras make Olive Films' Signature Edition of 'High Noon' the definitive home video release."
Disc Release Date
DTS-HD MA
Video: 85
High Noon receives a stunning 1080p Blu-ray transfer from Olive Films, sourced from a new 4K master. The MPEG-4 AVC encoding enhances sharpness and detail, with exceptional contrast and shadow delineation. The black-and-white cinematography is preserved beautifully, free of artifacts and imperfections, making this an essential upgrade.
Audio: 75
The High Noon Blu-ray's English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (Mono) track provides crystal-clear, crisp dialogue and a well-balanced mix free of distortion, hiss, or dropouts. Noteworthy sonic elements like gunfire and train whistles are impressively rendered, while Dimitri Tiomkin's score exhibits superior fidelity and depth.
Extra: 70
The Olive Signature Edition of 'High Noon' delivers an expansive and sophisticated suite of extras, including featurettes on the film's editing nuances, Stanley Kramer's production role, and the impact of McCarthyism on its creation, paired with rare archival materials and a text-format essay by Nick James.
Movie: 97
High Noon's enduring legacy as a gripping, real-time Western expertly blends timeless themes of moral duty, individualism, and political allegory with technical brilliance in cinematography and score. Gary Cooper’s Oscar-winning performance anchors a taut, suspenseful narrative that remains as potent and relevant today as its release in 1952.
Video: 85
High Noon receives an exceptional video presentation on Blu-ray from Olive Films, boasting a recent 4K master that provides a significant enhancement over previous editions. Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1 and encoded with MPEG-4 AVC, the 1080p transfer excels in clarity and depth without losing the film's organic texture. The pristine source material ensures that there are no age-related issues such as warps, cuts, or debris, making it look better than ever. The high-quality scanning process reveals a more resolved grain structure, enhancing natural sharpness and balance. Shadow delineation is notably improved, rescuing many darker scenes from previous light crushing issues.
Cinematographer Floyd Crosby's decision to shoot without filters shines through in this release, preserving the authentic intensity of the natural light. Contrast is exceptional, with rich black levels and well-defined whites creating a finely varied gray scale that boosts detail visibility. Close-ups are particularly striking; the glistening sweat, facial stubble, and minute facial expressions of Gary Cooper are rendered with impressive clarity. The spatial depth is commendable, providing a rich and three-dimensional feel to sweeping camera movements. Olive Films has ensured that this transfer isn’t marred by digital noise or artifacts, maintaining a clean image where the subtle presence of grain is beautifully incorporated.
Overall, High Noon's Blu-ray release from Olive Films stands out as a must-have for enthusiasts, setting a high standard for future classic film restorations. The visual upgrades offer significant improvements in fluidity, density, and balance, portraying the film's stark locations and the intensity ingrained in its visuals more vividly. This release truly does justice to the film's heritage while preserving it for future audiences.
Audio: 75
The Blu-ray release of "High Noon" features a single audio track: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (Mono), supplemented by optional English SDH subtitles. The presentation is technically impeccable. Dialogue remains crystal clear, sharp, and free from background noise or anomalies. The dynamic range is impressive, managing highs and lows with expert precision and without distortion. There's an evident balance in the mid/high registers, producing a clear and clean audio experience without any dropouts, pops, cracks, or digital distortions.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track complements the pristine video quality, providing clear and crisp sound that bolsters the film's atmosphere. The sound design articulately captures sonic details such as gunfire, horse hooves, and train whistles, which significantly enhance the viewing experience. Dimitri Tiomkin's score, including the iconic "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'," performed by Tex Ritter, resonates richly throughout the film. This superior fidelity infuses the music with depth and dynamically fills the room. The absence of age-related hiss and crackles ensures the mix remains engaging while maintaining a faithful representation of the original audio.
The audio track demonstrates considerable efforts in sound balancing and minimal analog hiss, contributing to its refined presentation. Foley effects are especially well-handled, sounding fresh and integrating seamlessly with the film's narrative elements. Furthermore, the dialogue reproduction is consistently clean, audible, and crisp, enhancing comprehension and overall enjoyment of the film. This expertly crafted audio track works harmoniously with the high-quality video transfer, providing a cohesive and immersive viewing experience for this classic film.
Extras: 70
The Olive Signature Edition Blu-ray of "High Noon" significantly enriches the supplementary content from prior releases, offering a diverse array of featurettes and essays that delve into the film's intricate production history and socio-political context. While the Leonard Maltin-hosted making-of featurette is missing, this edition succeeds in presenting newly comprehensive material with a level of sophistication akin to Criterion Collection offerings. The highlight is the analysis of editing techniques by Mark Goldblatt and insightful discussions about Stanley Kramer’s career. Inclusive archival materials and narratives from historians and industry veterans further expand understanding, ensuring a robust viewing experience despite the absence of an audio commentary.
Extras included in this disc:
- Trailer: Original trailer for High Noon.
- A Ticking Clock: Editor Mark Goldblatt discusses the narrative structure and role of clocks.
- A Stanley Kramer Production: Michael Schlesinger on Stanley Kramer's career and socio-political impact.
- Imitation of Life: The Blacklist History of High Noon: Larry Ceplair and Walter Bernstein on High Noon's production and McCarthyism.
- Oscars and Ulcers: The Production History of High Noon: Visual essay with rare promotional materials, narrated by Anton Yelchin.
- Uncitizened Kane: Nick James' essay presented in text format, also found in the accompanying booklet.
- Booklet: Includes Nick James' essay "Uncitizened Kane".
Movie: 97
Fred Zinnemann's "High Noon" stands as an enduring masterpiece that transcends its Western genre roots, delivering impactful social and personal themes wrapped in a tense, real-time narrative. Gary Cooper's portrayal of Sheriff Will Kane, who faces impending doom from a vengeful gang led by Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald), is nuanced and award-winning. His character's quiet determination and visible vulnerability inject gravitas into the film's ticking-clock scenario, further amplified by the timeless cinematography that integrates numerous visual cues to underscore the narrative's progression toward the high-noon showdown.
The film's tightly constructed script and understated direction guide audiences through an escalating tension that culminates in a moral and existential exploration. Its allegorical elements have invited varied political interpretations over the years, ranging from critiques of McCarthyism to reflections on Cold War anxieties. The deliberate decision to shoot in near real-time elevates the suspense, while Dimitri Tiomkin’s score masterfully accentuates the drama. Cooper's performance, despite his age discrepancy with the character, embodies the weariness and resolve fitting for a lawman on the brink of his final stand.
Supporting performances by Grace Kelly, Katy Jurado, and Lloyd Bridges further enrich the story, each adding layers to the film’s examination of courage, communal cowardice, and individual responsibility. "High Noon" does not rely on grandiose dialogue but on evocative imagery and implicit messages, making it resonate beyond its immediate narrative. This layered storytelling, combined with its artistic cinematography and compelling performances, solidifies "High Noon" as a timeless classic that maintains its relevance and potency, continually engaging new generations of viewers with its moral complexity and technical brilliance.
Total: 80
Fred Zinnemann's "High Noon" receives a transformative treatment in Olive Films' new Signature Edition Blu-Ray. This reissue is sourced from an exceptionally well-executed 4K master that breathes new life into this iconic western. The enhanced visual clarity and detail afford viewers an immersive experience, showcasing the film's superb cinematography in a way that feels vibrant and contemporary. Furthermore, the high-quality lossless audio elevates the auditory experience, with clear and crisp sound that complements the onscreen action perfectly.
The Signature Edition also shines in its approach to supplemental material, enriching the viewer's understanding of the film’s historical and cultural context. These thoughtfully curated extras delve into various aspects of "High Noon," providing an educational perspective that hardcore cinephiles and casual viewers alike will appreciate. As a whole, this package not only revisits the groundbreaking aspects of the film’s screenplay, direction, and editing but also highlights the enduring themes of alienation and courage against societal complacency.
In conclusion, there have been some drastically different interpretations of the political overtones in Fred Zinnemann's High Noon, but I personally find them largely irrelevant now. The film is rightfully placed amongst the all-time greatest classics of the western genre because of its technical qualities, which are quite simply brilliant. Olive Films' new Signature Edition of High Noon is sourced from an excellent recent 4K master and will likely remain the film's definitive presentation on the home video market. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Blu-ray.com review by Dr. Svet AtanasovRead review here
Video: 100
The new master is wonderful and now the film looks very beautiful in high-definition, though I have to mention that the key improvements here are not quite as drastic as the ones witnessed on the new release...
Audio: 100
Some specific balance/attenuating work must have been performed as well because in the mid/high registers balance is very good and there isn't even a whiff of background hiss....
Extras: 80
A Ticking Clock - in this new featurette, editor Mark Goldblatt (The Terminator) discusses the unique narrative structure of High Noon and its editing (with some excellent comments about the presence important...
Movie: 100
There is another popular interpretation which suggests that the odd conflict between Kaine and the town's residents actually reflected the division between people like Foreman and other communists who...
Total: 100
The film is rightfully placed amongst the all-time greatest classics of the western genre because of its technical qualities, which are quite simply brilliant....
High-Def DigestRead review here
Video: 100
'High Noon' is an iconic American motion picture, and Olive at last gives it the attention it deserves with a crystal clear, eye-popping 4K restoration that both respects the film's heritage and preserves...
Audio: 80
Sonic accents, such as gunfire, fisticuffs, horse hooves, train whistles, and rickety wagon wheels crunching along dirt roads make notable impressions, while Dimitri Tiomkin's subtle yet stirring music...
Extras: 60
He also dissects the controversial dissolution of the partnership between Kramer and screenwriter/producer Carl Foreman due to the Communist witch hunt that swept through Hollywood at the time of production,...
Movie: 100
Cooper's soft-spoken nature, slight awkwardness, and lazy gait also fit the character like a glove, adding a relatable hesitancy to his work that engenders both sympathy and respect....
Total: 80
A strong supporting cast adds essential flavor and nuance to this taut, suspenseful tale, but it's still the screenplay, direction, editing, and underlying themes of alienation and taking a stand against...
Why So Blu?Read review here
Video: 90
Depth: Some excellent spacing and distancing between characters, objects and the environment....
Audio: 80
Sound effects sounds nice and fresh, while the music is tucked away nicely in the mix being present but never overbearing or too much....
Extras: 80
The Terminator editor discusses the tightness of the editing to increase tension as well as the use of clocks in the film....
Movie: 100
While its a quick movie and its plot revolves being in a hurry, there are a lot of layers, character depth good scenes of dramatic chops chewing the scenery that one might not expect and a less film forget....
Total: 90
Where Olive has stepped their game up is the extras, which take the material very serious and provide a very curated educational look at all things revolving around High Noon....
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Actors: Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Thomas Mitchell
PlotIn a small town in the Old West, Will Kane, the town marshal, is newly married and about to leave office for a peaceful life with his young bride, Amy. Their plans are abruptly interrupted when Kane learns that Frank Miller, a murderous outlaw he once sent to prison, has been pardoned and is arriving on the noon train to seek revenge. Despite Kane's efforts to start a new life, the looming threat forces him to confront his sense of duty and personal code of honor.
Kane decides to stand and fight but finds himself increasingly isolated; the townspeople he has protected for years are unwilling to stand with him against Miller and his gang. As the clock ticks closer to noon, the tension escalates. Kane's desperation grows as he tries to rally support, facing moral dilemmas and questioning the loyalties of those he considered allies. His young wife, a pacifist, faces her own crisis of conscience and must decide where her loyalties lie. The marshal must confront the challenges alone, preparing for a confrontation that will determine not just his own fate, but the future of the town.
Writers: Carl Foreman, John W. Cunningham
Release Date: 30 Jul 1952
Runtime: 85 min
Rating: PG
Country: United States
Language: English, Spanish