In this brilliant, moving film directed by Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch), cowboy icons Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea find roles to match their leathery Western personas, playing aging lawmen hired to guard a gold shipment. They don’t have much: a horse each, a couple of dollars. And they have everything: their independence. But the frontier is disappearing – and so is space wide open enough for independent men.

With luck, the two will find space enough for this ride and one last payday. They will also find adventure, including the dramatic rescue of a mistreated bride (Mariette Hartley), gun-blazing shoot-outs and a life-changing betrayal. Both an exciting Western and a heart-lifting homage to the genre, Ride the High Country is a journey into film greatness.

For thoughts on Ride the High Country, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/46jRHslivTE?t=817]

Video Quality

Warner Archive presents Ride the High Country on Blu-Ray with a 1080p master transfer sourced from a 2K scan of an Interpositive. This release was from the first couple of years after the label started releasing their films on Blu-Ray, and it still ranks as a magnificent effort on all fronts. The restoration process was kind to this one as you take in this virtually flawless presentation. The level of detail and clarity is stunning with the perfect amount of natural film grain intact. The film features some robust dusty hues within the landscapes and other notable elements that pop off the screen with an immense vibrancy. Black levels are incredibly deep with an impressive stability throughout, and highlights are just as strong. There does not appear to be any jarring digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding or any other such issues. This release treats this title with respect.

Audio Quality

Warner Archive has delivered a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio presentation that holds up about as well as the source will allow. Dialogue is at the forefront of the film, and it comes through crisp and clear from beginning to end. The score from George Bassman complements the story well, but there are slight signs of strain in the upper registers which keeps the fidelity from being labeled as perfect. The track balances vocals with the environmental noises with magnificent clarity. Even in the action-packed moments such as exchanges of gunfire, there are no moments where the track ever appears as if it will fail to maintain its stability. Warner Archive has provided an admirable audio presentation that represents the source to the best of its ability. The disc also comes with optional English (SDH) subtitles.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Historians Nick Redman, Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons and David Weddle provide an archival commentary track in which they discuss the career of Sam Peckinpah, how this fits into his output, how this film comments on classic westerns, the careers of the performers, the visual aesthetic of the film and more that is well worth a listen for fans.

A Justified Life – Sam Peckinpah and the High Country: A 23-minute archival featurette is provided in which Peckinpah’s younger sister, Fern Lea Peter, discusses the family history of the Peckinpahs, the family’s relationship with the land, rifts between family members and more.

Theatrical Trailer: A nearly three-minute trailer is provided.

Final Thoughts

Ride the High Country is a really memorable effort from the great Sam Peckinpah. The film goes beyond the tired western tropes to get to material that is recontextualizing the past while still providing its stars a chance to play appropriately complex characters. It is not the most heralded film in the career of any of the talent involved, but it deserves greater appreciation in retrospect. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring a tremendous A/V presentation and a couple of insightful supplemental features. Even if you are only a casual fan of westerns, this one is worth your time. Recommended

Ride the High Country 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.