Hud Blu-ray Review

Presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and encoded in MPEG-4 AVC at 1080p, this Blu-ray appears to be sourced from an older, weak master supplied by Paramount. The image frequently looks soft and occasionally smeary, likely from filtering, with panoramic shots suffering most and close-ups often underwhelming. Overall delineation, clarity, and depth fall short of expectations for the format, with these shortcomings becoming more apparent on larger screens.

Grayscale performance is a relative bright spot: blacks are generally lush and stable, and mid-tones and highlights appear well balanced. However, the pervasive softness and flattening compromise shadow detail, with darker areas failing to reproduce fine gradations consistently. Image stability is solid, with only scattered nicks and blemishes and no major damage such as tears, warping, or intrusive splices. While older masters can sometimes yield strong results, this particular master is not up to the standard owed the film and would benefit from a fresh scan and restoration. The disc is Region-Free.

Hud’s Blu-ray arrives with two lossless options—English LPCM 2.0 and English DTS‑HD Master Audio 5.1—plus optional English SDH subtitles. The LPCM 2.0 track is clean and largely free of distracting age‑related artifacts, offering commendable dynamic intensity for an early‑1960s production. At elevated volumes, intermittent level unevenness and mild inconsistencies suggest an older master rather than a recent full remaster; a future 4K restoration with audio remastering would likely smooth these issues further. Dialogue is well anchored and intelligible, with a natural midrange and restrained hiss, while noise floors remain stable.

The DTS‑HD MA 5.1 mix is the more immersive and refined presentation. Surround activity is tastefully deployed, with ambient effects—environmental cues like insects and outdoor space—subtly steered to the rears to enhance scale without modernizing the soundscape. Front imaging is coherent, with careful distribution of effects and room tone, and bass is modest but appropriately supportive for the film’s vintage. Overall balance prioritizes clarity and spatial air over aggressive dynamics, maintaining period authenticity while benefiting from discrete channel placement. Optional English SDH subtitles are included; when enabled, they occupy both the image and the lower letterbox bar, splitting placement across the frame and the black bar below.

The extras are lean but substantive. A newly produced interview adds intimate context to Melvin Douglas’s legacy and Hud’s production, though its thematic framing may invite debate. A fresh critic commentary provides scene-specific analysis, production history, and character insight, enhancing appreciation of the film’s craft and tone.

Extras included in this disc:

• Interview with Illeana Douglas: New conversation on Melvin Douglas’s career and Hud; English, not subtitled; approximately 35 minutes.
• Audio Commentary: Newly recorded track by C. Courtney Joyner and Julie Kirgo covering themes, performances, production context, and visual strategy.

Martin Ritt’s Hud (1963) plays as a modern Western and generational character study set on a Texas ranch confronting a catastrophic livestock disease and a government-ordered cull. The narrative tracks the moral collision between principled patriarch Homer Bannon (Melvin Douglas), his destructive son Hud (Paul Newman), and grandson Lonnie (Brandon de Wilde), with Patricia Neal as the ranch’s clear-eyed housekeeper. Key beats—Homer’s stroke, Hud’s attempted assault, Lonnie’s disillusioned exit—underscore the film’s unsentimental view of legacy and loss. Adapted with changes from Larry McMurtry’s 1961 novel Horseman, Pass By, the film often feels strikingly original onscreen, both ahead of its time and notably boundary-pushing for the Production Code era.

Performance assessments converge around Douglas’s effortless authenticity as the moral fulcrum, contrasted with a deliberately stylized, visually magnetic Hud whose volatility can read as calculated. This tension feeds the film’s shifting tone: the character’s swagger and cynicism versus Homer’s grounded gravitas. James Wong Howe’s Oscar-winning black-and-white cinematography carves the plains into hard, luminous spaces that mirror the story’s ethical starkness, while Patricia Neal’s and Melvin Douglas’s Academy-recognized turns anchor its emotional credibility. Though Ritt’s career frequently engaged with political material, critical consensus here emphasizes Hud as a character-driven examination of values eroding under economic pressure, rather than a direct political tract about Texas or its future.

Hud culminates in a stark portrait of generational friction, anchored by the quietly monumental presence of Homer Bannon. The character’s unvarnished bond to the land grounds the drama, while the interplay among the three Bannons gives the film its enduring tension. Debate persists over whether the charismatic Hud eclipses the old-timer; here, the dynamic resolves in favor of the elder’s authenticity, with Melvyn Douglas embodying a vanishing ethos that frames Hud’s bravado as ultimately performative. The result is a study in contrasts—mythic allure versus lived integrity—that deepens the film’s resonance.

The Blu-ray presents a compelling yet compromised package. Sourced from an older and notably weak master provided by Paramount, the image shows its age and lacks the depth and refinement expected from modern restorations. Audio fares considerably better, with both LPCM 2.0 and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 included; the 5.1 mix discreetly disperses ambient cues into the surrounds, creating convincing environmental presence without gimmickry. Optional English subtitles are available, and the disc is Region-Free. Despite the dated video master, the strength of the performances and the elegant, unobtrusive sound design make this release a meaningful way to revisit the film’s thematic and character-driven power.