Synopsis
John Wayne and Stewart Granger strike it rich in Alaska during the gold rush. Wayne travelsdown to Seattle to fetch Granger’s fiancee, but discovers she has already married another man.Wayne, who has no use for romance himself (you can see where this is heading), convincesnightclub performer Capucine to return to Alaska with him as a potential wife for Granger. Thetone is light and rollicking, with the mood set by a barnstormer of a bar fight in the openingscene. Great fun…./p>
Audio
The 4.0 surround sound is big and expansive. The Johnny Horton title song sounds terrific,and very good work has been done on the sound FX as well. The sense of environment is quitesolid. The result isn’t perfect, however. There is the annoying phenomenon of surround dialogue,and there is noticeable buzz and distortion associated with the voices. Still, the film is from 1960,and sounds pretty decent, all things considered.
Video
A nice, sharp, 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The colours are very strong, as are theflesh tones and the blacks. There are essentially no edge enhancement halos too, and grain andpixellation aren’t problems. North to Alaska has been a staple of late-night TV for so long, thatseeing in its full widescreen glory is reason to stand up and cheer.
Special Features
Nothing much here: the theatrical trailer, along with those for The Comancheros and TheUndefeated, plus a Movietone News clip (running 50 seconds) about the movie’s New Yorkpremiere. The menu is basic.
Closing Thoughts
Bare bones disc, but solid presentation, and knockabout fun in the film itself.
Special Features List
- Trailers
- Movietone Newsreel
02/09/2007 @ 9:38 pm
Yes it was made a long time ago. But this movie shows John Wayne really acting…passion, comedic timing, and of course gunslinging. It really was kind of cool.