Paint Your Wagon ( 1969 ) 4K Blu-ray
Studio: Kino Lorber
Release Date: Mar 26, 2024
Rating: PG-13
Film: 4/5
Plot: The story takes place in a mining camp in Gold Rush-era California. Gold prospector Ben Rumson ( Lee Marvin ) witness a wagon crash, with one settler killed and his brother Partner ( Clint Eastwood ) surviving with a broken arm and leg. While digging the grave, everyone notices there is gold in the dirt – leading to Ben staking a claim on the spot and the birth of No Name City. Hilarity and hijinx ensue ( along with some great musical numbers )!
My Thoughts: this movie has been a favorite of mine for decades. The fact that I like musicals, have mined gold ( and am back into it again ) and live in California’s Motherlode gold country all contributed to my love of this film. I recently ran into a gold prospector who’s wife told me she named their daughter “ Maria “ after the song in the movie – it’s that loved ( we don’t care what the critics think ). The fact that the film has Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, Jean Seberg, great character actors like Ray Walston, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, adds up to a lot of fun. There is even an intermission built in, which was a convinient bathroom break ( they knew what they were doing back then ). When I screened this disc a week ago, everyone absolutely loved it – even my – and she doesn’t like musicals!
Video: 4/5 – this is the best this 55 year old film has ever looked. This is a brand new HDR / Dolby Vision master from a 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative. Film grain is retained. Detail – especially in closeups, is excellent. There are some soft scenes, but they are few and far between, and could be the way they were filmed. Color and contrast are very good.
Audio: 4.5/5 – we watched with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 option ( there is also a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track ). An excellent sounding soundtrack. Dialog is clear and crisp, and the musical numbers have never sounded better.
Conclusion: hats off to Kino Lorber for a fantastic 4K remaster of Paint Your Wagon. I never thought I’d see this film on 4K, but I’m glad they remastered it so well. It's in my collection!
Reference Review System:
JVC DLA-RS4100 4K Laser Projector
( Calibrated by Kris Deering )
Stewart Filmscreen – 128” diagonal StudioTek 130 G3 2.35:1 screen
Stewart Filmscreen – 122” diagonal Cima Neve 16:9 screen
Panamorph Paladin DCR lens
Lumagen Radiance Pro Video Processor
Denon A1H receiver
Parasound Halo A 52+ amp – powering the left / center / right / wide speakers
Reavon X100 4K Blu Ray player
Zappiti NEO and NAS system
9.6.4 Speaker System - Martin Logan Motion 40’s ( 2 ), Motion SLM XL center speaker, Motion FX surrounds ( 4 ), Motion LX16 wide channel speakers ( 2 ) , Motion 4 heights ( 6 )
Two SVS SB4000 subs
Four SVS SB2000 subs
AC Infinity AIRCOM T8 component cooling fans ( 3 )
GIK Acoustic Panels
PFP M1500 – UPS
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