BD 124 Day of the Outlaw

[rapta]

Eureka Entertainment to release DAY OF THE OUTLAW, the last western made by Andre De Toth set in a snowed-in Wyoming town and starring Robert Ryan and Burl Ives, available for the first time in the UK and on Blu-ray in a Dual Format edition for the first time anywhere in the world on 7 December 2015.

As in George Stevens’ Shane, the place of action of Andre De Toth’s demented Western Day of the Outlaw is once again the state of Wyoming and the contested land of the homesteaders. Day of the Outlaw was one of Westerns at the twilight of the studio era in which anything might go, and director De Toth, the creator of two infamous idiosyncratic films — the groundbreaking 3D House of Wax and the naturalistic Sterling Hayden-starring noir Crime Wave — here firmly established his pedigree as one of the maverick directors such as Nicholas Ray for whom boundaries proved only elastic consequence.

The magnificent Robert Ryan portrays Blaise Starrett (surname itself an evocation of the family in the earlier Stevens film Shane) who comes between a landowner (Alan Marshal) and his wife (Tina Louise). But after a band of outlaws ride into town headed by Jack Bruhn (Burl Ives), Starrett must rise to the occasion and defend the hostage townsfolk while redeeming his own advances towards the landowner’s wife.

Filmed on a shoestring budget, Day of the Outlaw proved to be an enduring touchstone for the directors of the French New Wave; it came to exemplify De Toth’s resourcefulness around budgetary limitations and the (here often snow-strewn) difficulties of the shoot. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Andre De Toth’s Day of the Outlaw in a Dual Format edition for the first time in the UK.

SPECIAL FEATURES including:

· Glorious 1080p presentation of the film on the Blu-ray

· A video appreciation by filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier

· Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

· 24- PAGE BOOKLET containing a new essay, vintage writing on the film, the words of De Toth, rare archival imagery, and more!

CLIP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYtTRrdLiVM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Drucker]

Never seen a De Toth film, and certainly never heard of this one. What a pleasant surprise and discovery this should be!

[domino harvey]

This film is severely overrated by many on this forum, so I'm sure it will prove to be a popular release, but an easy pass for me

[swo17]

Never seen a De Toth film, and certainly never heard of this one. What a pleasant surprise and discovery this should be!

Here's a nice appreciation of the film by Cold Bishop. Also be sure to check out De Toth's key noirs, Crime Wave and Pitfall.

[willoneill]

Also check out House of Wax for cinema's most gratuitous ever paddle-ball shot. IN .... 3 .... D....!

[domino harvey]

Jesus Christ, I actually bothered to read the press copy and it's another "winner" from MOC

Day of the Outlaw was one of Westerns at the twilight of the studio era in which anything might go, and director De Toth, the creator of two infamous idiosyncratic films — the groundbreaking 3D House of Wax and the naturalistic Sterling Hayden-starring noir Crime Wave — here firmly established his pedigree as one of the maverick directors such as Nicholas Ray for whom boundaries proved only elastic consequence.

In what world are either of those two De Toth films "infamous" for being "idiosyncratic" (or indeed, even idiosyncratic)? And De Toth is the equal to Ray because he treated the same system-mandated Code boundaries all directors were dealing with as having "elastic consequence" (whatever the fuck that means)?

[PfR73]

Also check out the trailer for Albert Brooks' Real Life for cinema's most gratuitous ever paddle-ball shot. IN .... 3 .... D....!

Fixed.

[PfR73]

Jesus Christ, I actually bothered to read the press copy and it's another "winner" from MOC

Day of the Outlaw was one of Westerns at the twilight of the studio era in which anything might go, and director De Toth, the creator of two infamous idiosyncratic films — the groundbreaking 3D House of Wax and the naturalistic Sterling Hayden-starring noir Crime Wave — here firmly established his pedigree as one of the maverick directors such as Nicholas Ray for whom boundaries proved only elastic consequence.

In what world are either of those two De Toth films "infamous" for being "idiosyncratic" (or indeed, even idiosyncratic)? And De Toth is the equal to Ray because he treated the same system-mandated Code boundaries all directors were dealing with as having "elastic consequence" (whatever the fuck that means)?

You left out

the last western made by Andre De Toth set in a snowed-in Wyoming town

Which makes it sound like De Toth made multiple westerns set in either the same snowed-in Wyoming town or multiple snowed-in Wyoming towns. If only De Toth had been building a Marvel-esque Wyoming cinematic universe...

[tenia]

You left out

the last western made by Andre De Toth set in a snowed-in Wyoming town

Which makes it sound like De Toth made multiple westerns set in either the same snowed-in Wyoming town or multiple snowed-in Wyoming towns. If only De Toth had been building a Marvel-esque Wyoming cinematic universe...

That's only the fault of English-speaking people. Otherwise, there would have been a freaking comma between De Toth and Set in a snowed-in Wyoming.

the last western made by Andre De Toth, set in a snowed-in Wyoming town

[domino harvey]

I'm not sure where the Nouvelle Vague fandom claim comes from, though I'm not at home to check my archives to see if anyone from Cahiers, Young Turk or otherwise, ever cited that particular film (but I don't recall any such praise or note). I know Truffaut had some mild praise for De Toth circa-Crime Wave but I'm fairly certain he was never one of the chosen auteurs, especially not in the late 50s

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

Freaking commas aside, they shouldn't really co-exist in the same sentence. At best would be - Set in a snow-bound town in Wyoming it was the last western made by De Toth

[Finch]

Day of the Outlaw was one of Westerns

That probably meant to read "one of the Westerns" or "one of many Westerns".

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

I'm not sure where the Nouvelle Vague fandom claim comes from, though I'm not at home to check my archives to see if anyone from Cahiers, Young Turk or otherwise, ever cited that particular film (but I don't recall any such praise or note). I know Truffaut had some mild praise for De Toth circa-Crime Wave but I'm fairly certain he was never one of the chosen auteurs, especially not in the late 50s

The first article on De Toth was Tavernier's interview in CdC in 1968 which is presumably what will appear in the MoC package.

[domino harvey]

Which even being charitable occurs a good six years after the New Wave and from a then-writer who alternated with Cahiers' rival Positif and can not seriously be considered part of the Nouvelle Vague

[domino harvey]

I can now confirm that the New Wave claim is complete bullshit and I call on MoC to do the right thing here and erase all mention of this being a beloved or influential film for the Nouvelle Vague, as this has proven to be a mistaken attempt to siphon off some sales from curious lookie-loos



The brief capsule review elsewhere in the issue also states that the film suffers from material that would have proven more successful in the hands of "Anthony Mann or especially Nicolas Ray"-- the exact opposite of an endorsement of the film or MoC's ridiculous Ray comparison.

To be clear, this by itself doesn't mean the film is bad (though I think it is) or that what the Cahiers crew thinks necessarily reflects my own tastes (For starters, I certainly think the Reluctant Debutant, which received an even less friendly response, is a borderline great movie and one of Minnelli's most underrated pictures) or should be emulated by others. But it does conclusively prove that the ad copy for this film is a fabrication

[rapta]

What I'm taking away from this is that Rivette apparently thought it was 'okay', and Godard didn't like it - and if I'm going to be extra facetious, then judging by this image Rivette also gave Lang's Der Tiger von Eschnapur the same verdict. Does this mean that in Rivette's opinion, Toth's Day of the Outlaw is of comparable quality to Lang's Der Tiger von Eschnapur?

All joking aside, I personally don't necessarily look for Cahiers du cinéma or Nouvelle Vague approval in picking what I buy...but you're right to call Eureka out on it. It is pretty misleading (but let's just call it that: misleading). I guess you could complain to Eureka directly if it matters that much? I do take any blurb with a pinch of salt though...the BFI have been guilty of similar gaffs. Putting matters into perspective though, these gaffs don't stop me purchasing Eureka (or BFI) titles.

[zedz]

Jesus Christ, I actually bothered to read the press copy and it's another "winner" from MOC

Day of the Outlaw was one of Westerns at the twilight of the studio era in which anything might go, and director De Toth, the creator of two infamous idiosyncratic films — the groundbreaking 3D House of Wax and the naturalistic Sterling Hayden-starring noir Crime Wave — here firmly established his pedigree as one of the maverick directors such as Nicholas Ray for whom boundaries proved only elastic consequence.

In what world are either of those two De Toth films "infamous" for being "idiosyncratic" (or indeed, even idiosyncratic)? And De Toth is the equal to Ray because he treated the same system-mandated Code boundaries all directors were dealing with as having "elastic consequence" (whatever the fuck that means)?

Why does reading MoC PR copy feel so much like marking terrible undergrad essays?

Elastic Consequence is either an obscure Psych album or a short-lived post-punk band who released one single on Y Records in 1981.

[swo17]

gaffs

The word is giraffes.

[domino harvey]

[Rayon Vert]

This film is severely overrated by many on this forum, so I'm sure it will prove to be a popular release, but an easy pass for me

I'll pass on it too. It's hard-edged and I found the last third or so of the film to be a remarkable sequence. But it's tagged on to the end of an only slightly above-average western filled with stereotypical characters and situations, that also doesn’t spare us an iota of moral ugliness. (I love Crime Wave though.)

[How rude!]

I've never heard of, nor seen the film, but as I read the description, it sounds, in part, as an ínspiration' for the Hateful Eight. Has Tarantino mentioned this film in relation to his latest?

[Jonathan S]

FWIW, the British magazine Movie (which tended to follow Cahiers' preferences) ranked De Toth in the "Talented" section of their directors pantheon which appeared in the first issue (May 1962). To put it in perspective, that meant he was ranked above merely "Competent or ambitious" directors like Curtiz, Wilder and Wyler or such hated Britishers as Powell, Lean and Reed, but below "Very talented" ones like Ford, Fuller and Fregonese (never mind the two "Great" and twelve "Brilliant" auteurs)...

[Altair]

People complain about MoC not releasing enough adventurous releases, and then when they do put out a worldwide BD first, all they can do is carp about the movie and complain about the blurb which is not aimed at cineastes but rather to get sales from the curious in Fopp or other such places...

[domino harvey]

This is not an adventurous release. I would bet good money that Kino Lorber will be announcing it any day now

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

Also if it is aimed at the ' non-cineaste Fopp curious' and wanting to bend the truth somewhat why not borrow from How rude's notion and dub it the 'inspiration for Tarentino's Hateful Eight' rather than invoke the spurious NV link?