Henry Moon (Jack Nicholson, Chinatown) is a cut-rate outlaw in post-Civil War Texas, convicted of bank robbery and property theft. Moon is sentenced to death by hanging in the town of Longhorn, a town that maintains an ordinance allowing for any condemned man to be freed from the gallows via marriage. Julia Tate (Mary Steenburgen, Clifford), a quiet virginal young woman with a secret gold mine, saves Moon from the gallows in an attempt to exploit him for free labor. With Moon intent on consummating his marriage to a virgin bride and Tate seeking to mine her hidden fortune, the two embark on an equally combative, comedic, relationship in the Old West.
The sophomore feature directorial effort from Jack Nicholson, following his counterculture comedy Drive, He Said in 1971, GOIN’ SOUTH is a commonly overlooked entry in Nicholson’s repertoire as an actor and filmmaker. Featuring gorgeous photography from noted cinematographer Néstor Almendros (Days of Heaven) and a talented comedic cast including John Belushi (Animal House), Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), Danny DeVito (Wise Guys) and Ed Begley Jr. (Blue Collar), Cinématographe is proud to present Jack Nicholson’s wild western comedy on Blu-ray and UHD for the first time in the world from a brand new 4K restoration of its original camera negative!
For thoughts on Goin’ South, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
[youtube https://youtu.be/66A22AvMBjM?si=xtr1joIxFlH6wHeE&t=358]
Video Quality
Cinématographe presents Goin’ South with a tremendous 2160p/HDR transfer in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio sourced from a 4K restoration of the Original Camera Negative. This film has been absent in HD with no previous Blu-Ray release, so it feels good to have this jump directly to 4K UHD. From the opening moments of Henry racing across the plains, the implementation of HDR for increased color output greatly benefits the dusty locales. While typically not a candy-colored spectacle, this process allows the hues to achieve a level of precision never before witnessed. Every earthy shade is dialed into exactly the intended pigment. Director of Photography Néstor Almendros achieves some jaw-dropping compositions within his framing which spring to life with this disc.
Black levels are concrete with nothing in the way of crush present, and highlights are firm with no blooming at play. The film grain appears gorgeous and consistently natural without any hint of unwanted manipulation as everything resolves perfectly. Even bright, open skies avoid any spiking, swarming, or other stray encoding issues. There is a world of fine detail on display for the first time on home entertainment. The texture present in the outfits and within the landscapes is in rarified air. When it comes to encoding, there do not seem to be any digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding, or any other such nuisances. There is barely a fleeting moment when print damage or stray specks muddy up this restoration. At worst, there seems to be a very brief shot where the source was less than ideal which causes a couple of seconds of lesser quality. Overall, this presentation from Cinématographe continues the label’s 5-star output.
Audio Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray of the film comes with the original DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mono track which offers a standout presentation for this one. Dialogue comes through clearly without being drowned out by the sound effects or the score. This element establishes the perfect atmosphere for this outing that never stumbles. Everything is presented with a first-rate fidelity that never shows signs of duress. This presentation is absent of any hiss or other age-related wear-and-tear. The sprawling, desolate environment is brought to life with a din of sound that flows through to provide some nifty ambient details. All of the various sounds in the mix seem carefully executed so that nothing ever feels askew or unnatural. Some thrilling moments liven up the speakers without devolving into a sonic swirl, as every noise is delineated with precision. Cinématographe has crushed it with this latest release. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided.
Special Features
The Limited Edition version of Goin’ South comes beautifully packaged in a hard outer slipcase that opens up to a MediaBook that includes a bound booklet featuring new essays by Jack Nicholson biographer Marc Eliot and film critic Chris Shields plus select archival photo reproductions. These essays delve into the film from multiple angles and provide a great analysis in a thoughtfully written style. The on-disc special features are as follows:
Disc One (4K UHD)
- Audio Commentary: Film critic Simon Abrams provides a great commentary track in which he discusses the production of the film, where Jack Nicholson was in his directing career, how he used feedback from his debut when approaching this film, the actor’s thoughts on sexuality on screen, the thematic underpinnings, details about the shooting locations, the cinematography of the film, the background of the performers, how this fits into the work of the creatives, and much more that puts things into context.
Disc Two (Blu-Ray)
- Audio Commentary: Film critic Simon Abrams
- Nestor Almendros – A Man With A Camera Video Essay by Samm Deighan: A great 17-minute visual essay is provided in which the insightful film historian discusses the career of cinematographer Néstor Almendros, his work with European masters, his unique eye for composition, the inspirations for the look of Goin’ South, and much more.
- Jack of Three Trades – In Focus On Nicholson The Director Video Essay by Daniel Kremer: A fantastic 23-minute visual essay is provided in which the film historian dives into the career of Jack Nicholson behind the camera accompanied by a new interview with director Henry Jaglom. The piece explores how Nicholson developed as a director and how the culture influenced his output.
Final Thoughts
Goin’ South is a unique Western outing that attempts to balance comedy, drama, and romance in nearly equal measure. The film is often successful on the first two fronts, yet the romance aspect feels a bit forced, especially with some of the unfortunate developments that play out. Nevertheless, Mary Steenburgen makes you care about this element the most with her radiant screen debut that elevates the writing considerably. Nicholson delivers his signature style of performance in a way that makes sense for the character. The movie is good, but it admittedly has issues that keep it back from being considered great. Regardless, this is worth seeking out if you are a fan of the talent. Cinématographe has delivered a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring a stellar A/V presentation and a nice assortment of special features. This line remains one of the most exciting developments of the early year. Recommended
Goin’ South is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD + Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Cinématographe has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.

Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.