In this sweeping pioneer adventure, a courageous young scout (WAYNE) leads hundreds of settlers across treacherous cliffs, though brutal snowstorms, Indian attacks and buffalo stampedes to their destiny out West. Along the way, he loses his heart to a beautiful pioneer woman (MARGUERITE CHURCHILL) and never stops trying to win her love. TYRONE POWER co-stars in this visually spectacular epic.
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
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
A neglected classic returns in triumph:
THE BIG TRAIL was a notorious flop in its day, which (combined with the double turmoil of the Great Depression and talking pictures) postponed the Wide Screen Revolution for a generation. Because of the movie's long absence, two myths arose: (1) that the movie itself was lousy, and (2) that the leading man, John Wayne, was hopelessly bad, not ready for the Big Time. This stunning package disproves both myths. THE BIG TRAIL is a terrific movie, especially for an early talkie, with breathtaking cinematography... more info
Big Trail is a Big Winner:
I have seen The Big Trail in earlier versions. This restoration is by far the best. The sound is not up to current standards, but it was audio state-of-the-art for its time. The photography, however, is crisp and a stunning combination of an Ansel Adams landscape with a Frederick Remington painting in motion. Besides the film itself starring a YOUNG John Wayne on the 70mm Grandeur screen, the special features on the creation of John Wayne, on the Grandeur process, on the making of The Big Trail, and on... more info
Grand!:
Much better than the full frame format edition. The wide screen really brings the scenery into play. The quality of the transfer is superb also.
John Waynes first star movie:
Having seen "The Big Trail" on tape previously, it was great to see it remastered in it's original format of 70mm (one of the first wide screen movies) and for saying it was one of the very early sound movies - 1930 it was ahead of it's time. I thought for this movie you could see the potential was there for John Wayne in times to come.
The quality of the picture and the sound were greatly improved, the storyline was good with a great supporting cast and what's more with the 2 disc set you got it in... more info
