Furies (Criterion Collection) 04/21 Blu-ray (Rental)

Barbara Stanwyck and Walter Huston are at their fierce finest in this crackling western melodrama by master Hollywood craftsman Anthony Mann. In 1870s New Mexico Territory, megalomaniacal widowed ranch owner T. C. Jeffords (Huston, in his final role) butts heads with his firebrand of a daughter, Vance (Stanwyck), over her dowry, choice of husband, and, finally, ownership of the land itself. Sophisticated in its view of frontier settlement and ablaze with searing domestic drama, The Furies is an often-overlooked treasure of American filmmaking, boasting Oscar-nominated cinematography and vivid supporting turns from Judith Anderson, Wendell Corey, and Gilbert Roland. Blu-ray Special Edition Features • High-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack • Audio commentary from 2008 featuring film historian Jim Kitses • New program featuring critic Imogen Sara Smith • The Movies: “Action Speaks Louder Than Words,” a 1967 television interview with director Anthony Mann • Rare on-camera interview with actor Walter Huston, made for the movie-theater series Intimate Interviews in 1931 • Interview from 2008 with Nina Mann, the director’s daughter • Trailer • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing • PLUS: An essay by critic Robin Wood and a 1957 Cahiers du cinéma interview with Mann, as well as a new printing of the 1948 novel by Niven Busch on which the film is based