The dynamic screen presence of Steve McQueen (Hell is for Heroes, The Great Escape, The Hunter) is in full force in one of the iconic star’s best and most memorable westerns—Nevada Smith. Born in the 1890s to a Native American mother and a white father during the California gold rush, Nevada Smith (McQueen) has his life turned upside down after he finds that his parents have been murdered by vicious killers. He becomes a lone gunslinger, blinded by his compulsion for revenge, and will stop at nothing to show the killers his own brand of justice. Produced and directed by western great Henry Hathaway (Rawhide, True Grit, Shoot Out), Nevada Smith surrounds McQueen with breathtaking landscapes (courtesy of cinematographer Lucien Ballard, The Wild Bunch) and standout supporting actors like Karl Malden, Brian Keith, Arthur Kennedy, Suzanne Pleshette, Raf Vallone, Janet Margolin, Howard Da Silva, Pat Hingle, Paul Fix, Gene Evans and Martin Landau.

For thoughts on Nevada Smith, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/EXMMI2aDpio?t=1654]

Video Quality

Kino Classics presents Nevada Smith with a fantastic new 1080p transfer sourced from a 4K scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative. The detail and clarity that is unlocked here is amazing with the perfect amount of natural film grain intact and resolved without issue. The film appears to be lacking any signs of dirt and damage for a very enjoyable viewing experience that captures the landscapes along the journey favorably. This one does not suffer from any pesky digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding or any other such nuisances. The film features some rich, natural colors within the landscapes complemented with some earthy costumes that capture the nuances of the hues. Black levels are deep with a robust stability throughout. Kino Classics has knocked it out of the park with this one.

Audio Quality

The film has been given a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio presentation that presents this soundscape really well. There are very few moments when the track shows any anomalies such as popping or dropouts. Dialogue comes through clearly throughout without being overwhelmed by any competing elements. The Alfred Newman score maintains an enviable fidelity with no big swings in stability. The track balances vocals with the environmental sounds with fabulous clarity. Kino Classics has provided an welcome audio presentation that presents the film as well as you would hope. The disc also comes with optional English (SDH) subtitles.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Author/Screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner, Producer Mark Jordan Legan and Film Historian Henry Parke provide a very informative commentary track in which they discuss the background details of this film, the shaky nature of Steve McQueen trying to play such a young character, the background of the performers, the thematic details of the story and more. This is a very enlightening track that is well worth a listen.

TV Spots: There is a minute-and-a-half collection of TV spots provided.

Radio Spot: A 34-second radio spot is provided.

Trailers: The 37-second theatrical teaser trailer for Nevada Smith is provided here. There are also trailers provided for Hell Is For Heroes, The Great Escape, The Thomas Crown Affair, The Hunter, The Shepherd of the Hills, Rawhide and Shoot Out.

Final Thoughts

Nevada Smith is one of the more overlooked Steve McQueen movies, but hopefully with this new release that will change. There are definite issues you have to overlook such as the age difference between star Steve McQueen and the character he is playing, not to mention the issue of his “mixed race” lineage that does not ring true with McQueen playing the role. Beyond that, though, this journey offers excitement and an impressive array of characters that allow this world to feel fleshed-out and lived-in. A few narrative detours are not completely satisfying, but by and large this is a good project from McQueen and company. This new Blu-Ray release from Kino Classics offers up a top notch A/V presentation and a nice selection of special features. This is a good film for fans of the ensemble or westerns in general. Recommended

Nevada Smith is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

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

Disclaimer: Kino Classics 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.