There Was a Crooked Man... (1970)
Western • 2h 3m
Overview
Arizona Territorial Prison inmate Paris Pitman, Jr. is a schemer, a charmer, and quite popular among his fellow convicts — especially with $500,000 in stolen loot hidden away and a plan to escape and recover it. New warden Woodward Lopeman has other ideas about Pitman. Each man will have the tables turned on him.
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, Hume Cronyn, Warren Oates, Burgess Meredith, John Randolph, Lee Grant, Arthur O'Connell, Martin Gabel, Michael Blodgett, C.K. Yang, Alan Hale Jr., Victor French, Claudia McNeil, Bert Freed, Jeanne Cooper, Barbara Rhoades, Gene Evans, Pamela Hensley, J. Edward McKinley, Karl Lukas, Larry D. Mann, Ann Doran, Paul Prokop, Bart Burns, E.J. André, David Armstrong, Bob Bennett, Bill Borzage, Danny Borzage, Buff Brady, David Cadiente, Vincente Cadiente, Harry Caesar, Virginia Capers, James J. Casino, Donald Chaffin, Al Checco, Robert Cleaves, John Davey, Barbara Eaton, Duke Fishman, Byron Foulger, Bruce Garrick, Lars Hensen, Bob Herron, George Hickman, Harry Holcombe, Clyde Howdy, Michael Jeffers, Henry Kingi, Ron Kinwald, Monty Laird, Jacquelyn Landrum, John Lawrence, Norman Leavitt, Ian McLean, John McCook, Boyd 'Red' Morgan, Paul Newlan, Terry L. Nichols, Carol Nicholson, Gerry Okuneff, Renee Paul, Jack Perkins, Red Perkins, Bill Peterson, Mel Pittenger, Roberta Randall, Clark Ross, James Seay, Vincent St. Cyr, Ron Stein, Kelly Thordsen, George Tracy, Rick Traeger, Jesse Wayne, Napoleon Whiting, Guy Wilkerson, Ilona Wilson, Will Wyler
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Director: William Dieterle
Director: William Dieterle
Director: Jack Conway
HBO Max HD Streaming
Warner Archive Blu-ray in Oct
HBO Max HD Streaming
Director: Jack Conway
HBO Max HD Streaming
Warner Archive Blu-ray in Oct
HBO Max HD Streaming
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Director: László Kardos
Director: László Kardos
Director: George Sidney
Director: George Sidney
Director: Wesley Ruggles
Director: Wesley Ruggles
Director: Irving Reis
Director: Irving Reis
More Western on Blu-ray
Director: Howard Hughes
Kino Lorber Blu-ray 2K restoration
Director: Howard Hughes
Kino Lorber Blu-ray 2K restoration
Director: George Pal
Warner Archive Blu-ray 4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Warner Bros NTSC DVD
The old DVD's track has significantly better detail compared to BD, especially on the score. The BD has some extra detail on dialogue, but also exhibits strange artifacting (e.g. sample 3, 0:20) which suggests possible AI "enhancement" or some other form of aggressive filtering. In contrast, DVD appears to be completely unfiltered and sounds good throughout. Samples
As the BD is significantly rolled off, a lot of the detail (real or fabricated) is buried in the mix and not audible during normal playback.
Director: George Pal
Warner Archive Blu-ray 4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Warner Bros NTSC DVD
The old DVD's track has significantly better detail compared to BD, especially on the score. The BD has some extra detail on dialogue, but also exhibits strange artifacting (e.g. sample 3, 0:20) which suggests possible AI "enhancement" or some other form of aggressive filtering. In contrast, DVD appears to be completely unfiltered and sounds good throughout. Samples
As the BD is significantly rolled off, a lot of the detail (real or fabricated) is buried in the mix and not audible during normal playback.
Director: Martin Ritt
Director: Martin Ritt
Original TV Version: Japan LaserDisc, US OOP Bandai DVD for English dub
"Remix" Remaster: Italy Dynit Blu-ray, US Funimation/Crunchyroll Blu-ray for English dub
The "Remix" remaster has slightly different cuts for some episodes, and completely redone audio mixes. The original TV version of the English dub also has an entirely different audio mix from either the Japanese mix or the "Remix" remaster.
Original TV Version: Japan LaserDisc, US OOP Bandai DVD for English dub
"Remix" Remaster: Italy Dynit Blu-ray, US Funimation/Crunchyroll Blu-ray for English dub
The "Remix" remaster has slightly different cuts for some episodes, and completely redone audio mixes. The original TV version of the English dub also has an entirely different audio mix from either the Japanese mix or the "Remix" remaster.
Director: John Ford
1988/1990 WB Hi-Fi VHS, crystal clear, albeit with some distortion in louder areas
The 4K Blu-ray reuses the same poor mastering used on the 2006 WB Blu-ray, only with a completely unnecessary bass cut and extra noise reduction.
Even putting resolution aside, the Warner Archive 4K Blu-ray has the best video. The old Blu-ray master and earlier DVD both had massive issues with colour.
That said, picture on the 4K Blu-ray isn't perfect, with strange posterized magenta glints and some instances of DNR: https://bsky.app/profile/dagscott.bsky.social/post/3leahavqi7k2l
Director: John Ford
1988/1990 WB Hi-Fi VHS, crystal clear, albeit with some distortion in louder areas
The 4K Blu-ray reuses the same poor mastering used on the 2006 WB Blu-ray, only with a completely unnecessary bass cut and extra noise reduction.
Even putting resolution aside, the Warner Archive 4K Blu-ray has the best video. The old Blu-ray master and earlier DVD both had massive issues with colour.
That said, picture on the 4K Blu-ray isn't perfect, with strange posterized magenta glints and some instances of DNR: https://bsky.app/profile/dagscott.bsky.social/post/3leahavqi7k2l
Director: David Dobkin
Director: David Dobkin
Director: Tom Dey
Director: Tom Dey
Director: Howard Hawks
Director: Howard Hawks
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