‘Forty Guns’ Western blazed trail of innovations

Never available on VHS, maverick auteur Sam Fuller’s 1957 Western Forty Guns at last gallops into the digital corral, courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment ($14.98). It’s our …

DVD pick of the week

The film stars Barbara Stanwyck as iron-willed ranch owner Jessica Drummond, a “Hard Ridin’ Woman (With a Whip),” according to a recurring on-screen song. Barry Sullivan, Gene Barry and Robert Dix play the Earp-like Bonnell brothers, traveling lawmen out to arrest one of Jessica’s titular 40 — count ‘em — 40 hired-gun hands. When Jessica and rugged Griff Bonnell (Mr. Sullivan) “meet tough,” sparks and fur fly with equal fury.

Director Fuller, recently represented on DVD by the restored World War II saga “The Big Red One: The Reconstruction,” pulls out all the celluloid stops here. Among his top innovations are a scene shot through the barrel of a gun (take that, James Bond) and close-ups so extreme you can virtually see only the whites of his characters’ eyes (take notes, Sergio Leone).

The movie concludes with a justly legendary shootout that brazenly overturns a longstanding Western-film convention. Despite its years, “Forty Guns” is must-see, not musty.

The label further mines the best of the West by introducing (for $14.98 each) the edgy Gregory Peck vehicle The Bravados (1958); Spencer Tracy in Broken Lance (1954); Joel McCrea as Buffalo Bill (1944); John Ford’s eastern Colonial Western Drums Along the Mohawk (1939); the Cisco Kid silent In Old Arizona (1928); and Warlock (1959), with Henry Fonda, Richard Widmark and Anthony Quinn.

Collector’s corner

Image Entertainment opens a veritable gold mine for movie buffs with its four-disc, 11-hour Treasures From American Film Archives: 50 Preserved Films ($69.95). Included are such reel rarities as an 1893 Thomas Edison short, John Huston’s 1945 combat documentary “The Battle of San Pietro” and the 1916 feature film “Snow White.”

Mackinac Media (www.mackinacmedia.com) rescues “The Forgotten Films of Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle” in a four-disc limited edition set, collecting 32 silent and sound films directed by and starring the tragedy-plagued comedian, along with a film historian’s commentary track, a 36-page color booklet and more.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment mines a more contemporary vein with bonus-packed new double-disc editions of a trio of action hits — The Day After Tomorrow, I, Robot and Man on Fire ($26.98 each).

The ‘A’ list

Warner Home Video leads a short list of recent theatrical films taking a bow on DVD this week with Martin Scorsese’s multi-Oscar-winner The Aviator ($29.98), starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes and Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn. The double-disc edition flies high with an audio commentary by Mr. Scorsese, an additional scene, and a hangar full of featurettes.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment focuses on another type of travel with its bonus-packed edition of the Ice Cube road-trip comedy Are We There Yet?

Wellspring Media issues Jonathan Caouette’s experimental indie Tarnation ($29.98), augmented by extras ranging from director’s commentary to extended scenes.

Tele-video

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