Winchester '73 (Criterion) 4K 01/25 Blu-ray (Rental)

Noirish shadows spread across the frontier in this landmark western, the first of the celebrated collaborations between director Anthony Mann and actor James Stewart that redefined the genre with their moral and psychological intensity. Beginning his midcareer transition into increasingly edgy roles, Stewart portrays an avenging sharpshooter whose stolen rifle becomes a harbinger of death as it is passed from one doomed hand to the next. Featuring a stellar cast that includes a touching Shelley Winters, a sensationally sleazy Dan Duryea, and a pre-stardom Rock Hudson, this elemental tale of violence begetting violence broke new ground with its evocation of the West as a no-man’s-land of antiheroes and villains. 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES New 4K digital restoration, undertaken by Universal Pictures in collaboration with The Film Foundation, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features Audio commentary featuring actor James Stewart and film historian Paul Lindenschmidt New interview with film programmer Adam Piron on the portrayal of Native Americans in the western genre Forces of Nature: Anthony Mann at Universal, a program on a key chapter in the director’s career Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of the film from 1951 Trailer English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing PLUS: An essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith