Academy Award® winner Nicolas Cage (1996, Best Actor, Leaving Las Vegas) stars in a gritty story about buffalo hunters in the Old West. Will Andrews (Fred Hechinger) has left Harvard to find adventure. He teams up with Miller (Cage), a mysterious frontiersman offering an unprecedented number of buffalo pelts in a secluded valley. Their crew must survive an arduous journey where the harsh elements will test everyone’s resolve, leaving their sanity on a knife’s edge.

For in-depth thoughts on Butcher’s Crossing, please see my colleague Phil Walsh’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

Butcher’s Crossing arrives on Blu-Ray with a 1080p presentation in its original 2.00:1 aspect ratio that looks sumptuous in high definition. Color saturation is fantastic with the rich color palette popping off the screen as suited for this environment. Gorgeous shots of sprawling landscapes render flawlessly in all scenarios. Skin tones are natural overall with exposed skin showing off particular details such as grime, bruises, and scars. The clarity throughout is exceptional with subtle textures in the environment and costumes coming through perfectly. Black levels have a grand amount of depth and do not fall victim to digital noise even in the darker scenes. The cinematography is one of the standout elements of the film, and this disc handles things perfectly. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has delivered a more than capable HD presentation.

Audio Quality

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is a top-notch representation of this material. The soundscape is not always the most forceful with the subdued Western expanses, but when the movie springs to life it really makes itself known. This story features the sounds of wind cutting across the plains, horses galloping, gunfire, and more emanating from various directions. The movie conjures the environmental sounds effectively, and the track maintains exceptional detail even when the conflict comes to a head. Dialogue comes through clearly as it balances well with the score and the sound effects. The low end wakes up when it needs to for some nice texture. This track handles everything without issue. There are English SDH and French subtitles provided.

Special Features

There are no special features provided on this disc.

Final Thoughts

Butcher’s Crossing has some promising elements that make for a classic Western tale of greed and humanity, but the pacing does not allow the story to flourish with any type of nuance to land the emotional impact. The central story is intriguing, but it often seems sidelined to give more time to Nicolas Cage, which admittedly is understandable when you have him in your film. The performances are solid across the board, but the execution does not do the film any favors. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has provided a Blu-Ray disc that sports a fantastic A/V presentation but no supplements for those who do decide to check it out. The film is not a complete failure, but it does not fully reach its potential.

Butcher’s Crossing is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.