Actors: John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Stefanie Powers, Patrick Wayne, Yvonne De Carlo
Directors: Andrew V. McLaglen
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Paramount
DVD Release Date: May 20, 2014
Run Time: 127 minutes
Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars
Since “McLintock!” was available on public domain for a while, it’s past with home video release has been a little rocky. The film was loosely based on Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” and is still quite funny today. Olive Films actually released this film on Blu-ray last year with a very solid release but it had zero special features…unlike this release. The film starred John Wayne alongside Maureen O’Hara, Yvonne De Carlo, and Wayne’s son Patrick Wayne. Who doesn’t recall the famous “spanking” scene with Patrick Wayne going to town on Stephanie Powers over his knees. If you love this film, it is worth the upgrade from the Olive release and if you don’t own it’s a no brainer.
Official Premise: John Wayne stars as George Washington McLintock, a proud, defiant cattle baron whose daughter is due home from college. But G.W.’s happy reunion is tempered by the arrival of his headstrong wife (O’Hara), who recently left him. Verbal fireworks explode, slapstick pratfalls bloom…and the Wayne-O’Hara “reconciliation” culminates with the notorious “spanking” scene and the biggest mudhole brawl this side of the Mississippi in this wild, raucous and hilarious Western comedy!
This release is being billed as the Authentic Collector’s Edition taken original film elements. The 1080p transfer is absolutely stunning for this 50+ year old film. This was scanned in 4K for the first time and looks even better than the Olive Films transfer, which was pretty damn impressive. Paramount has been really giving a lot of love really to Wayne’s films after their release of “Hondo” as well. It also features a Dolby TrueHD 5.1, which is decent but I don’t think it over powers Olive’s DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track, which is slightly more sharp. But still there is much more to this release than just a few special features to make it worth the purchase for sure.
Speaking of the special features, they start off with an introduction by Leonard Maltin. There is also a jam packed audio commentaries with Leonard Maltin, Frank Thompson, Maureen O’Hara, Stefanie Powers, Michael Pate, Michael Wayne and Andrew McLaglen. There is a lot going on here but there is some great insight into the production and it’s legacy. There is a behind-the-scenes look in to the film with “The Making of McLintock!”. “The Corset: Don’t Leave Home Without One!” is an extras for the ladies on the film’s costumes. There is a quick but cool “2-Minute Fight School”. Lastly there is a Photo Gallery and Theatrical Trailer included.