41 reviews
Sales Rank: 5451

Format: Black & White, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 122
Aspect Ratio: 2.20:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.6

MPN: 2251930
UPC: 024543519300
EAN: 0024543519300
ASIN: B0014BJ1A4

Theatrical Release Date: November 1, 1930
Release Date: May 13, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
One of very few widescreen productions filmed at the dawn of the talkies, The Big Trail was dismissed by reviewers of the day, little seen, and soon shelved and forgotten--for more than half a century, as it turned out. For movie buffs, it became a sort of Holy Grail.After all, the esteemed Raoul Walsh had directed, the early 70mm angle was tantalizing, and wasn't this the movie that was intended to make a star of Duke Morrison, a 22-year-old former prop man whom Walsh had rechristened John Wayne for the occasion? For curiosity value alone, surely it rated a look.

Restored in the late 1980s and warmly embraced by film festival audiences, The Big Trail proved to be more than just a historical footnote. What were those 1930 reviewers thinking?! Wayne is fresh, exuberant, matinee-idol handsome, and irresistibly charming (only a little purple prose trips him up, and no one should have been asked to speak such early-talkie flapdoodle anyway). The scenario winds through epic settings from the banks of the Mississippi by way of the Grand Canyon to the snows of Oregon and the mountain vistas of Washington, marking both a wagon train's journey and the settling of a personal score between trail guide Wayne and Tyrone Power Sr. as a veritable ogre of a villain. (A villain off-camera, too: Legend holds that Walsh had the actor beaten nearly to death for attempting to force himself on leading lady Marguerite Churchill.) The Big Trail is now an authentic classic, and a swell movie. Probably always was. --Richard T. Jameson

Product Description
The movie that made John Wayne a star Raoul Walsh's The Big Trail comes to DVD for the first time in its original 70 mm Widescreen version. This 2-disc Special Edition featuers both the 70 mm widescreen and the alternative standard fullscreen version plus three new docs. System Requirements:Running Time: 212 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: WAR/CLASSICS Rating: NR UPC: 024543519300 Manufacturer No: 2251930

Customer Reviews: Read 36 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

Thanks to Fox for this Widescreen release July 15, 2008
Fox deserves much credit for releasing "The Big Trail" on DVD in its original 70mm widescreen format. The film is clearly best viewed in this format, as director Raoul Walsh composed every shot with seemingly hundreds of extras and animals milling about in the background to give a real sense of what it was like to be involved in the move westward.

The film itself is a truly big epic, and is of historical interest for a number reasons, not least of which is the first starring appearance of John Wayne. Raoul Walsh, whose career went back to the days of Griffith, does a magnificent job marshaling the extras and controlling the spaces within the widescreen frame.

Fox has provided the standard, 4:3 ration version on Disc 2. This is not a pan&scan or cropped version, but is quite literally a different film altogether, having been shot separately from the widescreen version to be shown in theatres not equipped with the wide screen projectors. It's worth owning, but can't match the grandeur of the widescreen version.

Also included (on disc one) is a commentary track with historian Richard Schickel, and a number of informative featurettes detailing the early careers of both Raoul Walsh and John Wayne, the development of the 70mm widescreen system used on this film, and finally, a "making of" documentary.

Well worth the cost, and coming in attractive packaging, this is a DVD set well worth owning.

4 out of 5 stars

The Big Trail July 5, 2008
This is the film that should have made a star of John Wayne - But did not.
Having watched it several times since I purchased it I really am at a loss
to see why. I have now seen both the standard screen version and the widescreen and, although the widescreen was not shown in many cinemas at the
time due to the need for special projectors (unlike Cinemascope where only
special Projector lens are required) the film itself does not lose a lot by
being shown as standard. It is an extremely good story with plenty of action
and great scenery and the acting well above the norm. for the time it was made. Tyrone Power (in his last film) is excellent as a baddie and John Wayne is a cracking hero-as good as he has ever been. I rate the film 8 out of 10, and not to be missed.

5 out of 5 stars

the big trail June 23, 2008
A great film from 1930, filmed in both 35mm and 70mm. The 70mm version has "footage" both left and right of what is seen in the 35mm version that is good (important) to see as the story progesses. This movie was about 7 or 8 years before John Wayne's roll in Stagecoach. Thus, this gives you the chance to see John Wayne's early developement as a western actor.

5 out of 5 stars

Jimksullivan June 13, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

The two disc version is Great and includes the wide screen version. The movie is very interesting from a historical perspective.

5 out of 5 stars

THE BIG TRAIL is astounding. June 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

The new disc of the widescreen version of THE BIG TRAIL is the surprise of the season.This only applies when one can see it on a big screen. I projected mine on a screen 6 ft. by 12 ft. for the full Grandeur effect. It is remarkable that this film was a box office failure because there is so much to recomend it. See it on a BIG SCREEN and you will know what I mean. John Wayne does very well. But my respect for director Raoul Wlash shot up 40 degrees after viewing this film. He did an amazing job.