This DVD of The Big Country will inevitably be a disappointment to anyone who saw the mid-1990's laserdisc release. The movie was one of a handful of classic westerns to get deluxe treatment on laser, including the presence of a narrative track on which Jerome Moross's epic score was discussed, interviews with Gregory Peck, Burl Ives, Charlton Heston, and Jean Simmons, a behind-the-scenes featurette, a still archive, and one channel containing the Moross's music as an unmixed music track. Those extras are all gone, and they are missed, along with a lot of the depth of color in the laser transfer -- the DVD transfer is completely different, the color far more muted throughout (but especially in the main title sequence and the adjacent transition scene). Admittedly, to have put all of those extras on the DVD would have made it necessary to do this as either a two-sided or a double-disc release (at $20 or $24 list), which might have scared off the viewer in search of an inexpensive title. In its defense, the image (letterboxed at the same 2.35-to-1 anamorphic aspect ratio) is cleaner and has none of the slight variations in tone that were inherent in most laser playback, but otherwise seems duller. Only in the final 30 minutes does the color and the crispness come up to the standard that one would expect from a DVD presentation of this movie. The sound is clean but unspectacular, and the 16 chapters for a 166 minute movie seems scarcely adequate. The disc opens automatically on a simple menu, and the only significant extra is the trailer (also letterboxed) and a selection of French and Spanish subtitles.
This is one of the great classic Westerns. It shows the change one man can bring to an entire area and how the West was won through better choices and fulfilling one's dreams. The theme sets upon a bitter age-old feud between two men who drag their families down with a battle over pride, greed and stupidity. Yet Gregory Peck and Jean Simmons shine as the two people who choose to make a positive future through hard decisions and sheer courage. It's the American Dream at its roots and entertainment at its finest. The music is also outstanding. If you want a great classic Western with a feel good ending that inspires forward thinking and pursuing one's dreams, this is the movie to watch.
What's great about it: IN a great land the greatness of a man comes from his choices and decisions for right over wrong.