DVD Reviews

True Grit (1969) – Blu-ray Review

By Patrick Luce Dec 21, 2010, 13:43 GMT

In 1970, John Wayne won an Academy Award(R) for his larger-than-life performance as the drunken, uncouth and totally fearless one-eyed U.S. Marshall, Rooster Cogburn. The cantankerous Rooster is hired by a headstrong young girl (Kim Darby) to find the man who murdered her father and fled with the family savings. When Cogburn\'s employer insists on accompanying the old gunfighter, sparks fly. And the situation goes from troubled to disastrous when ...more

John Wayne’s Oscar-winning performance in True Grit gets a Blu-ray upgrade in time for the arrival of the Coen Brothers’ big screen remake of the western. While it might not be completely faithful to Charles Portis’ novel, there is no denying the powerhouse performance from its drunken, one-eyed fat man Rooster Cogburn.

Directed by Henry Hathaway (who handled Wayne in 1965's The Sons of Katie Elder) with a screenplay from Marguerite Roberts, True Grit also featured a brilliant performance from Kim Darby (one of the few women to put Wayne in his place on screen), Glenn Campbell, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, Jeremy Slate, Jeff Corey, and Strother Martin.

The film follows 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Darby) as she heads out on a quest for justice following the murder of her father by the outlaw Tom Chaney (Corey). She hires the one-eyed and often drunk U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn to help her track down Chaney – who has taken up with fellow outlaw Ned Pepper (Duvall). The two are joined by Texas Ranger La Boeuf (Campbell) and head into the Indian Territory to find the killers.

The film opens with Ross and Cogburn getting know each other as Ross hires Cogburn (who has a reputation for being just barely on the right side of the law and a tad more drunk than sober) for $100 to hunt down Chaney. La Boeuf joins the hunt due to his hope of taking Chaney back to Texas to impress a girl, please a senator, and make a better name for himself.

The scenes do an excellent job showing that Wayne’s Rooster might have bitten off more than he can chew with the high-strung Ross. In a man’s world, Ross has no problem putting men in their place and making sure they do what she wants - or they will face the wraith of her lawyer J. Noble Daggett.

The film moves at a predictable pace with Cogburn and company tracking Chaney into the territory. While on the hunt, they come across a cabin where two of Pepper’s men are waiting on the outlaw. Cogburn questions the two men (one of which is a young Dennis Hopper) in his own style and they both end up dead before too many questions are answered.

Later, Mattie runs across Chaney, and shows she is not going to back down an inch – surprising him with her father’s pistol. Pepper takes Mattie hostage and uses her for bait to draw out Cogburn into the film’s epic gunfight.

True Grit isn’t the Duke’s best western, but it is one entertaining performance from the man who became the icon of the western genre. He is overweight, showing his age and well past the prime of his acting career. Still, Wayne was larger than life in the role, and delivered one of his best western characters.

Part of the credit for Wayne’s performance has to go to the incredible job Darby does with the Mattie Ross character. The girl is a spitfire from the very start of the film. If Wayne’s Rooster Cogburn is larger than life, Mattie is the one who can cut him down to size. The two actors have incredible chemistry - even if it seems they are in two different movies thanks to Darby’s proper line delivery compared to Wayne’s normal drawl.

Campbell also does a good job in True Grit, but the film is more of a showcase for Darby and Wayne. He matters to the plot, but the entertainment comes from watching Darby and Wayne square off in their verbal duels.

On Blu-ray’s 1080p high definition, the film looks solid with lots of detail brought out in the costuming (you can see a touch of the screen that was used on Wayne’s eye-patch so the actor could see) and production. It also comes loaded with special features that explore the impact of the film and its place in Wayne’s filmography.

I really enjoyed the feature “Working with the Duke” where they interviewed Darby, Campbell and other True Grit cast and crew. The actors discuss how Wayne was larger than life on and off camera and his place in the western genre. There is also a look at historical lawmen and outlaws in the west.

While True Grit might not be the most faithful adaptation of the Charles Portis’ novel or the best John Wayne western, it is an entertaining film from start to finish.

Wayne earned his Oscar and brought one of his best characters to life. His exchanges with Darby make the movie worth watching and his final showdown with pistols blasting is as iconic as the actor’s legacy.

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