This Academy Award -winning adaptation of Edna Ferber’s novel traces the lives of two people who are in love with each other–but in love with life even more–as they struggle to bring civilization to the Western frontier in Cimarron!

1898. The Oklahoma Land Rush. As thousands of would-be settlers race across a barren desert to be the first to stake their claim to a plot of land, Yancey Cravat (Richard Dix) is cheated out of his property by Dixie Lee (Estelle Taylor). Without the farm they had hoped to start, Yancey and his wife, Sabra (Irene Dunne), take over the local newspaper after the editor is assassinated. But as the newspaper helps bring order to a lawless land, Yancey feels the wanderlust to find new frontiers and new adventures, and Sabra stays to build a publishing empire. Always in love, frequently apart and destined for greatness, Yancey and Sabra lead lives as tempestuous as the land they have chosen for their home in this epic Western classic.

For thoughts on Cimarron (1931), please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

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Video Quality

Cimarron (1931) makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to Warner Archive with a brand new 1080p master that may just go down as one of the strongest releases from the company this year when considering the jump in quality from any previous release of the film. The Original Camera Negative no longer exists, but this new master comes from a 4K restoration of the best preservation elements. While there may be extremely subtle signs of softness due to the source, this is unquestionably a night and day upgrade compared to what came before. Warner Archive has worked their magic with this one.

The black-and-white photography shines in high definition with the natural grain perfectly intact. Black levels are nice and deep with no instances of black crush or compression artifacts. The contrast holds firm, and there is absolutely nothing in the way of print damage to be found. This new transfer shows off a fantastic amount of depth and enhanced detail within this ambitious production. There is a stunning amount of detail present with welcome textures on the clothing and within the production design. Warner Archive keeps raising the bar higher with their restorations.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray release comes with a newly restored DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that brings this movie to life quite capably. Music is used sparingly, but whenever you do hear the score it maintains its fidelity. Dialogue comes through pretty clearly throughout the duration without much distortion. There does not appear to be much in the way of damage or age related wear and tear to the track outside of the occasional harsher inflection in some chaotic moments. This audio presentation holds up as well as the source will allow. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles available on the disc.

Special Features

Lady, Play Your Mandolin: A seven-minute vintage Merrie Melodies short is provided in HD in which Foxy really lights up a gathering at a Mexican cafe.

Red-Headed Baby: A nearly seven-minute vintage Merrie Melodies short is provided in HD in which a red-headed baby doll is menaced by a spider.

The Devil’s Cabaret: A nearly 17-minute live-action color short is provided in which Satan tries to figure out how to get more people away from the dominion of Heaven to bolster his dwindling numbers.

Final Thoughts

Cimarron (1931) may be a Best Picture winner, but it is not one that holds up as well as most others from this decade. The reasons to seek this one out are the technical achievements that seem almost impossible to pull off in retrospect, but somehow they made it happen. The narrative seems a bit uneven in its pacing, which is also a fault of the 1960 remake, but even that one handles the overall story in a more engaging manner. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring a 5-star A/V presentation and a nifty array of supplemental features. This release will mostly be for Oscar completists, but they are in for a great release if they pick it up.

Cimarron (1931) can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or through various other online retailers.

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

Disclaimer: Warner Archive 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.