ReelBars

Ben Johnson

5 Ben Johnson films on 4K Blu-ray, ranked S to D by transfer quality. 1 S-Tier pick including The Last Picture Show.

IMDb
The Last Picture Show

The Last Picture Show(1971)

8.0/10

dir. Peter Bogdanovich

S-Tier

Sony S-Tier 4K. Bogdanovich's black-and-white masterpiece preserves the grain structure and depth of field that made the cinematography famous in 1971. The pool hall scenes and the empty street shots look staggering on a good display.

Sony Pictures · 4K Box Set (Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 3)
Red Dawn

Red Dawn(1984)

6.3/10

dir. John Milius

A-Tier

Shout! Studios put John Milius's 1984 Cold War survival fantasy on 4K in 2022 with a strong A-Tier transfer. Best Buy got an exclusive Steelbook the same year and collectors who bought the standard Shout pressing first felt the usual burn. The old DVD was famously soft, so this is the first time the Colorado mountains and the school-bus invasion footage have looked sharp. The cast runs deep past Swayze and Sheen, with Powers Boothe, Lea Thompson, and a brief Harry Dean Stanton appearance most people forget about.

Shout! Studios · Collector's Edition
Shane

Shane(1953)

7.3/10

dir. George Stevens

A-Tier

Kino Lorber's 4K scored a perfect 5.0, which almost never happens. Two commentary tracks and a loaded special features package. Excitement was genuine from western fans who consider this one of the greatest ever made. The transfer should be gorgeous given the Technicolor source material and Stevens' meticulous visual style.

Kino Lorber · 4K + Blu-ray
Hang 'em High

Hang 'em High(1968)

6.8/10

dir. Ted Post

Announced

Marshall Jed Cooper survives a hanging, vowing revenge on the lynch mob that left him dangling. To carry out his oath for vengeance, he returns to his former job as a lawman. Before long, he's caught up with the nine men on his hit list and starts dispensing his own brand of Wild West justice.

Kino Lorber · 4K Ultra HD
The Sugarland Express

The Sugarland Express(1974)

6.7/10

dir. Steven Spielberg

Married small-time crooks Lou-Jean and Clovis Poplin lose their baby to the state of Texas and resolve to do whatever it takes to get him back. Lou-Jean gets Clovis out of jail, and the two steal their son from his foster home, in addition to taking a highway patrolman hostage. As a massive dragnet starts to pursue them across Texas, the couple become unlikely folk heroes and even start to bond with the captive policeman.