The legacy of John Wayne is a slew of western films of mixed quality, yet for the most part we indiscriminately label them all as classics. Director Michael Curtiz’s The Comancheros doesn’t deserve a place in the hall of western greatness, but that’s not to say it doesn’t provide an enjoyable 100 minutes of gunslinging and fisticuffs. However it’s ultimately brought down by a silly story and enough anachronisms to sufficiently distract the viewer out of the film’s reality.
Paul Regret (Stuart Whitman) learns about one minute too late that the man he killed in a duel is the son of a judge, but he still doesn’t know which woman’s affections led the man to challenge him in the first place. With a bounty on his head, Regret goes on the run only to be tracked down by Texas Ranger Jake Cutter (Wayne). Despite a daring escape, their paths cross again and the two band together to survive in a rough and tumble wilderness where the wild and lawless Comancheros rule.
Save for a few moments of slight color distortion, the restoration Fox has given us is quite brilliant and the film looks the best it ever has. The remastering coupled with the large collection of extras make this a Blu-ray worth purchasing for any John Wayne film.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The disc comes in booklet packaging with 24 full-color pages talking about production and the cast and crew. On the disc itself, there’s a lot to be admired: an audio commentary with Whitman, Nehemiah Persoff (Graile), Michael Ansara (Amelung), and Patrick Wayne (Tobe), the historical featurette “The Comancheros and the Battle for the American Southwest”, a two-part documentary about the films John Wayne with Fox, an audio-only conversation with Stuart Whitman, a comic book gallery of The Comancheros, and a clip of Claude King and Tillman Franks receiving an award for The Comancheros.
"The Comancheros - 50th Anniversary Edition" is on sale May 17, 2011 and is not rated. Action, Western. Directed by Michael Curtiz. Written by James Edward Grant and Clair Huffaker. Starring John Wayne, Stuart Whitman.
