MovieChat Forums > Santa Fe Trail (1940) Discussion > Best DVD of this movie?

Best DVD of this movie?

posted 20 years ago by mark_daniel
11 replies | jump to latest

The 1940 production of Santa Fe Trail is a classic western starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, and Ronald Reagan; how can I not want to add it to my DVD collection?

The problem is that there at least 5 different DVD releases of this film. How do I know which one is the best one to purchase?

Here are links to the 5 versions that I have found at Amazon :

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6305636508/usacyber

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00003ETQF/usacyber

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00006L915/usacyber

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004WL4Y/usacyber

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00009MEHV/usacyber

The Amazon descriptions and details leave a lot to be desired. Can anyone advise on the quality of these releases? Is it a case of the higher the price, the better the quality? Or are they all the same?

What aspect ratio was this movie originally released? How do I know if the DVD has the full feature or if it has been edited?

Please help!

[–] mark_daniel 20 years ago

Well I found out something about the last item on the list (The Great American Western : Volume 9).

Considering the ultra low price and the number of films included, it is certainly not surprising to find out that the production quality is less than ideal. However, I was amazed to discover that Platinum Disc Corporation chooses to stick their logo in the lower right hand corner throughout all of the films on their Great American Western DVD series. How lame is that? I find the practice of doing that on TV to be very annoying, but at least the TV stations usually only put the logo there periodically rather than keeping it in your face during the whole show.

I have definitely marked that one off my list. So now I am down to 4 to choose from.

[–] gteatr 19 years ago

Classic? What is it that appeals to you about this movie? The way they stick characters who wouldn't know each other in places they wouldn't be to protect things that don't exist from people who aren't there?

The one-sidedness that showed abolitionists as violent (some were, though not John Brown yet at the time the film starts -- he was a Pacifist when he got to Kansas and turned to violence as a response to the violence already endemic there) but ignored the string of violence, vote fraud, broken promises, and attempted ethnic cleansing on the other?

The way the movie crams years of events into a short space and invents relationhips both personal and causal that didn't and couldn't exist?

But to answer one question you had the movie was filmed before cinemascope was invented -- the 4:3 aspect ratio of standard televisions was the usual for movies of that period.

I've seen copies in the $6.00 bargain bin and been tempted to get it for MySTing purposes, but so far I've managed to save my money. It's not worth $6.00 on its own merits, that's for sure.

[–] jjamele 18 years ago

Agreed. First, its utter nonsense to have this group of future generals as friends- just as one example, George Custer was 23 when the Civil War started, considerably younger than the other characters.

Second, if you ARE going to have Custer in this film, why is he being played by Ronald Reagan? Of all the stars in the film, the only one who looks less like Custer than Reagan is Olivia.

Third, there are two very offensive scenes in this film. One occurs early on, when Flynn's character tells the abolitionist- Rader- that "many Southerners understand slavery is an evil, and it will eventually be abolished, in time and in our own way" or words to that effect. That's nice- let's just sit tight and wait a few more generations and slavery will just fade away. Tough you-know-what for the current slaves, of course. The second scene occurs late in the film, when the slaves with Brown get all nostalgic for the "good life" back on the plantation- one of them says "I jus' want to get back to Texas and set till Kingdom Come." Yeah, because thats what slaves did- they just "set" around. Good life. Please.

I didnt even mention the preposterous storming-the-fort scene, featuring a long calvary charge across what looks to be a flat plain-- in Western Virginia? Not likely!

[–] Yippy-Ki-Yay_MF 17 years ago

...Its a movie.

One shouldn't expect to get historical accuracy from a movie (particularly one made by hollywood).

Wadsworth: At the start of the evening, I was in the hall. I know because I was there.

[–] kvnbhovis 9 years ago

Give me a break. It's not a documentary, it's a Hollywood film. Did you see The Imitation Game? Most of it is fiction as well. Frankly, both of the negative comments on this thread disgust me with their political correctness. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. If you want to reply, have at it but frankly I don't give a damn.

[–] Django6924 16 years ago

I'll bet there were comments like yours in Periclean Athens about The Iliad.

It's a work of fiction that happens to use the names of historical figures and portrays certain actual events. The question isn't whether it's historically accurate, but whether it entertains--which is what it set out to do.

I found it a success on that level, and I thought that Massey's portrayal of John Brown had its own ring of truth.

[–] crispnz 9 years ago

It's a movie, for entertainment, enjoy the actors, if you want a documentary buy one, I enjoyed the movie.

[–] daer-5 17 years ago

If the Flynn box sets continue to sell, they'll probably remaster this title.

[–] Yippy-Ki-Yay_MF 17 years ago

Well... that would be cool. (Especially because that's probably a good possibility.) I want a better copy of this movie (something a little cleaner, you know).

Bruce Willis killed Osama bin Laden.

[–] capnralls 9 years ago

For this film On Demand with satisfaction return, check out this link:
http://www.jwaynefan.com/NPsantafetrail.html

John Wayne lives at http://www.jwaynefan.com

[–] sarge-19 7 years ago

It's at 1.37:1 ratio.