A raucous western comedy starring screen legends Clint Eastwood (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, High Plains Drifter) and Lee Marvin (Cat Ballou, Monte Walsh), Paint Your Wagon is punctuated by a classic score by the great Lerner and Loewe (My Fair Lady, Gigi), including “They Call the Wind Maria,” “I Talk to the Trees” and “Wand’rin’ Star.” The story of a gold-mining boomtown full of brawny men centers on the work-and-play partnership of prospectors Ben and Pardner (mischievous Marvin and earnest Eastwood). They share everything—the gold, the laughs, the songs…even their wife (spirited Jean Seberg, Breathless, Macho Callahan)! It’s the musical goldmine of ’69, directed by Joshua Logan (South Pacific, Camelot), shot by William A. Fraker (Bullitt, Tombstone) and adapted for the screen by Paddy Chayefsky (Marty, Network)!

For thoughts on Paint Your Wagon, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/ThQZmup1JxI?si=67YUbmlHaaOQLZw6&t=2347]

Video Quality

Kino Classics presents Paint Your Wagon with a resplendent 2160p/Dolby Vision transfer sourced from a 4K scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative. Not only is the film debuting on 4K UHD, but this also marks the first time the film is available on Blu-Ray. This new release includes a Blu-Ray disc that is derived from the same master, and it looks terrific even before being elevated by the 4K UHD disc. For anyone who has been patiently waiting for an HD release of this one, you are going to be quite pleased by the quality all around.

Dolby Vision brings out a tremendous amount of depth to the color palette within the gorgeous mountain scenery. The plot of the film necessitates that there are mostly men throughout the narrative, and these working men wear outfits that are not visually dazzling, but some women show up with fetching dresses and other bits of production design elements. Where the film shines is in the rich vegetation in the valley and along the river. Everything looks nuanced from the sloppy brown mud to the flourishing trees. Black levels are impressive with nothing knocking down shadow detail or causing crushed blacks. Highlights are firm with no notion of blooming, and the stability of the overall picture is consistent from beginning to end. The encode runs at a consistently high bitrate which helps with cleaning up any issues you might worry would show up on this disc, especially considering the length.

Detail and clarity thrive with a favorable amount of natural film grain intact and sufficiently resolved. We did not spot very much in the way of unwanted digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding, or any other such nuisances. At worst, there might be a very minor amount of digital smoothing. This presentation captures the intended aesthetic of the feature with the added resolution making numerous elements seem more crisp and deftly realized. The texture on display in the period outfits and within the landscapes is a revelation, and you will be amazed by the rugged facial details present in stunning clarity. This transfer has done away with nearly all rogue specks which allows this film to truly shine. Kino Classics has struck gold with this release.

Audio Quality

The 4K UHD Blu-Ray disc comes with both a DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio track in English that handles this material particularly well. We are unsure if the stereo track is a downmix of the 5.1 track, but both efforts sound good from what we observed. Those who want more from their speakers will find that the 5.1 track expands things in understandable ways without sounding ostentatious. The environmental sounds such as the running river and the din of the saloon are a significant part of the experience, and every element is rendered clearly with the competing elements. The film does not involve too much gunfire, but there are plenty of raucous moments, including the unforgettable finale, that keep things from becoming a sonic mess. Each sound effect is crisp and is easy to understand.

The most significant part of the experience is the music, and every note flows through with wonderful fidelity. None of the vocals or instrumentation ever sound weak. This track handles every sonic element with care and precision throughout the experience. You do not come across any moment when the music consumes competing sounds, as it maintains a perfect balance so that information comes through clearly. There are not any egregious instances of age-related wear and tear as elements flow through without issue. This is what you want from an epic musical.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Lee Marvin Biographer Dwayne Epstein, Film Historian Henry Parke, and Screenwriter/Author C. Courtney Joyner deliver a new informative commentary track in which they discuss where this film fits into the career of the performers, the direction of Joshua Logan, how this stacks up to other musical adaptations, the tone of the feature, how the movie subverts genre conventions, the background performers, the film’s reputation, and more.

Trailers: There is a minute-long trailer provided for Paint Your Wagon. There are also trailers provided for Sergeant Ryker, Prime Cut, Monte Walsh, Two Mules For Sister Sara, High Plains Drifter, Escape From Alcatraz, Flower Drum Song, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Change of Habit.

Final Thoughts

Paint Your Wagon is seemingly known more as a punchline these days than as the daring, hilarious musical epic that it is. The film was not a huge financial success when it debuted, although that is mostly due to the cost of making the film rather than the interest of the public. Yes, the performers may not always be the best singers in the world and the inclination to dance is nearly zero, but there is more to it than that. The songs are quite catchy and the film has a very progressive sensibility that you would not expect from an effort starring Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin. Also, god bless Jean Seberg for anchoring this tale with some tangible emotion. To describe the plot beats would sound like you are telling a tall tale, but the unhinged, free-wheeling nature of the journey completely works for this viewer. Kino Classics has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring a joyous A/V presentation and a great commentary track. Fans of the film will be happy to finally have this in great quality. Recommended

Paint Your Wagon is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and Blu-ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD 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.