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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"The Plainsman" represents the directorial prowess of Cecil B. DeMille at its most inaccurate and un-factual. It sets up parallel plots for no less stellar an entourage than Wild Bill Hickok (Gary Cooper), Buffalo Bill Cody (James Ellison), Calamity Jane (Jean Arthur), George Armstrong Custer and Abraham Lincoln -- even though in reality Lincoln was already dead at the time the story supposedly takes place. Every once in a while DeMille floats dangerously close toward the truth, but just as easily veers away into unabashed spectacle and showmanship. The film is an attempt to buttress Custer's last stand with a heap of fiction that is only loosely based on the lives of people who were already the product of manufactured stuffs and legends.
Considering the vintage of the film, this is a moderately appealing transfer, with often clean whites and extremely solid blacks. There's a considerable amount of film grain in some scenes and an absence of it elsewhere. All in all, the image quality is somewhat inconsistent -- just a bit better than middle of the road. Age related artifacts are kept to a minimum and digital anomalies do not distract. The audio is mono but nicely balanced.
As pseudo-history painted on celluloid, this western is compelling and fun. Just take its characters and story with a grain of salt -- in some cases -- a whole box seems more appropriate. As to extras? Forget it. It's Universal! |
