Search

Description

The first Western epic! A great caravan of covered wagons, filled with hearty pioneers and their families and possessions, are waiting for the Spring jump off at Westport Landing, now Kansas City. The time is 1848, and the destination is far-off Oregon, in The Covered Wagon (1923), the first big-budget Western epic. Where countless pilgrims fell, a love triangle flourishes, as Molly Wingate (Lois Wilson) must choose between the brutish Sam (Alan Hale) and the dashing Will (J. Warren Kerrigan). Complicating her decision are the perils of the trail: a mile-wide river, prairie fire, heavy snowfall, a buffalo stampede, crippling hunger, and Native American attacks. Boasting a cast of thousands and an unparalleled commitment to authenticity, The Covered Wagon was an enormous box-office success in 1923 and became one of the major milestones in the history of the Western. Special Features: -Audio commentary by Film Historian Toby Roan -Booklet essay by film scholar Matt Hauske -The Pie-Covered Wagon: a 1932 one-reel spoof starring Shirley Temple -Wurlitzer organ score by Gaylord Carter -Reversible Blu-ray Art

Description

Newly Remastered in HD from a 2K scan from 35mm film elements preserved by the Library of Congress. Old Ironsides is a grand adventure on the high seas directed with flair by James Cruze (The Covered Wagon). It is 1798, and the young U.S. government is desperate to drive the Barbary pirates out of the Mediterranean, so they build and launch the USS Constitution into the fight. A farm boy (Charles Farrell) wants to join the battle, but a hard-living and fast-talking boatswain (Wallace Beery) liquors the boy up until he boards the merchant ship Esther. It doesn’t hurt that the ship owner’s pretty daughter (Esther Ralston) will also be on board. This ragtag group embarks on a thrillingly unexpected journey that lands them in the middle of the pirate war, with little hope of escape. Though praised by critics upon its release as “a glorious story of a glorious achievement” (Photoplay), it sunk at the box office. But in this new restoration provided by the Library of Congress, it is time to view the film anew as a thrilling and technically astonishing achievement. Special Features: -Audio Commentary by Film Historian Toby Roan -Booklet Essay by Film Historian Peter Labuza -Featuring the New York premiere score by J.S. Zamecnik and Hugo Riesenfeld, adapted for piano by Rodney Sauer