The Quiet Man (Signature Edition)

Released by: Olive Signature Series
Released on: October 25, 2016
Directed by: John Ford
Cast: John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, Victor McLaglen, Ward Bond, Mildred Natwick, Francis Ford, Arthur Shields
Year: 1952
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The Movie:

Pittsburgh resident Sean Thornton (John Wayne) has come to Ireland to purchase the small farm where he was born. There, he spies the feisty but seductive Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O'Hara) herding sheep. He seeks to court her, but her brother, Squire Will “Red” Danaher (Victor McLaglen), blocks his attempts. (Danaher is upset that Thornton outbid him for the farm.) The townspeople, who develop an instant liking to Thornton, plot to convince Danaher to offer his sister's hand in marriage, which includes lying to him about the intentions of the Widow Tillane (Mildred Natwick) to marry him. Soon Thornton and Mary Kate are married, but on their wedding night, Danaher learns that he's been duped and that the widow has no plans to become his betrothed. He denies Mary Kate her dowry, and in turn Mary Kate refuses to consummate her marriage. She demands that her husband defend her honor by claiming her birthright, but, because of an incident in his past, Thornton refuses, causing a seemingly insurmountable rift in their relationship.

The Quiet Man was a departure for actor John Wayne and director John Ford. The two men usually collaborated on Westerns or action films, but here they switched gears to romantic comedy. It wasn't easy: studios fought them all the way, including Republic, with whom Wayne had a contract. Ford had purchased the rights to Maurice Walsh's 1933 short story in 1936, but it took years of cajoling to get his dream project off the ground. The film was finally released in 1952 and met with both commercial and critical success. Republic had spent two million dollars on the project, and the gamble paid off. The Quiet Man quickly became the studio's highest-grossing picture ever and also the first to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. It lost the following year to The Greatest Show on Earth, but Ford won for Best Director, as did Winton C. Hoch and Archie Stout for Best Color Cinematography.

While The Quiet Man has a terrific and wry script, it never would have worked without suitable actors in the leading roles, and here's where the film really comes to life. Wayne has been accused of being stiff and of limited range, but he had deft comedic timing that never interfered with his realism. Fiery Maureen O'Hara was the perfect foil to his strong-willed but pacifist Thornton. The two were a match made in celluloid heaven, and without them, the film never would have worked on the same primal level. The sexual tension between Wayne and O'Hara is palpable, and the film's ardent refusal to shy away from it caused problems with some censors, including those in Ohio, who demanded that one scene be cut because it seemed to suggest a romp in the hay that didn't actually happen in the film.

The Quiet Man comes pretty close to perfection. If this reviewer has any complaints at all, it's that the conclusion goes on a bit too long and sinks a bit too deeply into silliness. Still, The Quiet Man is a great moment in the careers of all involved, especially Wayne, O'Hara, and Ford. It may be the pinnacle of their careers, and as such, it's worthy of multiple viewings and in-depth analyses.

Video/Audio/Extras:

The Quiet Man has been re-released in the United States as part of Olive's Signature Edition series with an MPEG-4 AVC encode in 1080p high definition. The film is presented in full frame in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37:1 and is locked to Region A. The image is generally strong, and Olive has opted for a 50GB disc as opposed to the 25GB disc of the previous release; this allows for more information at less compression, though the number of extras cause some slight compression issues. The image comes from the same 4k transfer used for Olive's previous release as well as Eureka's Masters of Cinema release in the U.K. (also reviewed by Rock! Shock! Pop!). As a result, all three releases are very similar in look, and in general the same accolades and criticisms can be said about all of them, though if they had to be placed in order from best to worst in terms of visual quality: Eureka's fares the best by a slight margin, followed by Olive's Signature Edition, and then Olive's original release. Regardless, between the Eureka and Olive editions, not much different can be said about them. Colors are lush, particularly the greenery of the Irish coast, small towns, and forests. There's so much green, in fact, that when other colors appear, they stand out against the verdant panorama. The Technicolor reds, blues, and yellows practically pop off the screen. Detail is very good, if slightly depressed compared to the Eureka release, and given that so much of the film takes place outside amidst trees and tall grasses, there's plenty to be had. Take, for instance, the scene in which a sexually frustrated Thornton traipses angrily along an Irish hillside; in the background you can see a small island with what appears to be a stone building, perhaps the remains of an ancient castle. In high definition, the detail is remarkable, and it only contributes to the overall look Ford was so obviously trying to achieve. The film has such an artistic sense of the picturesque that if you freeze almost any frame, you can see the influence of Norman Rockwell, which is fitting given the story's origin in The Saturday Evening Post. Grain is slightly more problematic here, with some very minor noise reduction evident in a few spots, but black and gray levels are nice, with solid depth. There's little crush and no dirt or debris. Skin tones are a touch warm, but overall the image looks good enough—and there are enough extras—that anyone with the previous Olive edition will want to upgrade.

Olive has utilized an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. As with Eureka's LPCM track, it's as clean as a whistle, with nary a problem to report. Victor Young's original score, which is mostly comprised of Irish songwriter Richard Farrelly's “Isle of Innesfree” and accentuated with “Rakes of Mallow” and “The Wild Colonial Boy,” sounds terrific. English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired are included. Fortunately, one area in which this release is a major improvement over the others is in its secondary track: an audio commentary by John Ford biographer Joseph McBride, author of Searching for John Ford and co-author of John Ford. Some of the anecdotes shared in those print books are repeated here, but this is a highly informative commentary from a knowledgeable film historian. While McBride focuses on Ford, he doesn't do so to the exclusion of all else; he reveals information about the Irish locations, other crew members, and the film's primary cast. One of the most interesting aspects is his discussion of why Irish residents disliked the film for so a long time, only recently warming to it. He points out why Wayne's walk seems strange in one scene, as well as where John's older brother, Francis, appears. He doesn't hesitate to delve into the relationship between the brothers and why John hated Francis so much. A great deal of the track is dedicated to Ford's Irish heritage. There are serious and humorous anecdotes, and the commentary lasts the duration of the film. It's a full commentary with no serious pauses (unless judiciously done for a purpose) or lapses; McBride doesn't waste a moment of it. Listening to it provides great insight and should enrich the viewers' understanding of the film.

The Quiet Man comes to Blu-ray with some terrific extras. While a few of these appear on the Eureka release, most do not, making this the superior edition. A video essay by film historian Tag Gallagher, author of the definitive tome about John Ford and his films, runs a little over seventeen minutes and features the historian discussing The Quiet Man in relation to other Ford productions. It verges on the pretentious and repetitive but should be of interest to fans for whom The Quiet Man is their favorite film. Far superior is “The Making of The Quiet Man,” which is hosted by Leonard Maltin and was included on the special edition DVD release. The documentary runs approximately half an hour in length and operates as the perfect accompaniment to the feature-length John Ford: Dreaming The Quiet Man (released on Blu-ray by Olive and which has also been reviewed by Rock! Shock! Pop!). There are plenty of archival photographs, interviews, and television and film excerpts, as well as new interviews with people who were on the set, including Michael Wayne, Toni Wayne LaCava, and Andrew McLaglen.

"A Tribute to Maureen O'Hara" features fellow actors Hayley Mills, Juliet Mills and Ally Sheedy paying homage to their late co-star. It runs slightly less than 10 minutes and features a number of stills of O'Hara, some from specific films, others publicity shots. "Free Republic: The Story of Herbert J. Yates and Republic Pictures" is a brief (approximately 5 minutes) essay hosted by historian Marc Wanamaker, author of Early Poverty Row Studios. Wanamaker smartly focuses his discussion on Yates' relationship with John Ford and their work on The Quiet Man. Rounding out the extras is "The Old Man: Peter Bogdanovich Remembers John Ford," which has the famous director discussing his own relationship with Ford. It runs slightly less than 13 minutes and features a number of interesting anecdotes, including how Bogdanovich met Ford. Only a small part of it covers The Quiet Man, but all of it is informative.

The Final Word:

John Ford's classic The Quiet Man was a departure for Western star John Wayne, a gamble that paid off both commercially and artistically. Wayne and O'Hara are in fine form, and Olive's new release provides a terrific visual and aural showcase for their acting talents. And, while the film has rarely looked better, it's topped off with some nice extras, particularly the Leonard Maltin-hosted “The Making of The Quiet Man” as well as an audio commentary by Joseph McBride. In short, this is the definitive release of a film that comes close to perfection.

Christopher Workman is a freelance writer, film critic, and co-author (with Troy Howarth) of the Tome of Terror horror film review series. Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the 1930s is currently available, while Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era is set to be published in late 2016.

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