ANALYSIS: Jubal (Glenn Ford) is a drifter that is taken in by Shep (Ernest Borgnine). Shep is a cattleman. He trusts Jubal
and Jubal sees Shep as a friend. Shpe's wife, Mae, tries to seduce Jubal and yet Jubal turns away her advances because Shep
is his friend. Pinky (Rod Steiger), one of the people who works for Shep, had an affair with mae and hates Jubal. Jubal's
only friend is Reb (Charles Bronson), a drifter, when bad luck befalls Jubal like with every other place he has been.
JUBAL is a beautifully shot Western. The Western is so-so to begin with, but the relationships between characters helps
make JUBAL come alive by the middle point of the movie. Glenn Ford is good in the movie, but Charles Bronson is
a stand out as Reb. A nice way to pass 100 minutes than watching some of the stuff that is on TV now.
VIDEO/AUDIO: JUBAL is presented in 2.55:1 Anamorphic Widescreen. Colors are good. The Fim print used could have been cleaned
up more. DVD is less forgiving to the material used than VHS. The image changes in color tone a few seconds before the movie
transitions to the next scene. Little colors flecks show up during the movie (damage on the source print probably). A couple
of scenes early on in the movie have a strobing/shimmering effect in the background (might be something to do with the DVD
transfer when it was being made).
Audio is in English 2.0 Dolby Digital Mono with the option of English or Japanese subtitles. Dialogue and music come through
clearly. A reviewer at DVD Talk mentioned that JUBAL had a stereoscopic soundtrack which makes me wonder why SPHE didn't have
a English 2.0 Stereo track on the DVD instead of a 2.0 Mono.
EXTRAS: Only a trailer for various Columbia Westerns (and Desperado and Once Upon A Time In Mexico) on DVD.
FINAL ANALYSIS: JUBAL isn't a bad Western. It would have been good to have a stereo track and the trailer for the movie.
For Glenn Ford and Western fans.
this DVD Review is (c)3-31-2005 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to lord_pragmagticc@hotmail.com and look for additional content at http://www.livejournal.com/users/enterlinemedia
