Silverado - 40th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

By the 1980s, the Western was a dying breed. Once, it was Hollywood's go-to genre for film and television. Moving through the classic and the revisionist periods, the genre simply wasn’t the box office powerhouse it once was. Great films were still being made within the genre, and more would still come down the pipeline, but it wasn’t the in-demand showcase of star power it once was. After proving himself as a terrific writer and director in his own right, Lawrence Kasdan and his brother Mark aimed to reinvigorate the genre by going back to its roots in epic fashion with Silverado. 

Now, my old colleague Drew Taylor already wrote a great review of the film, so I’ll repost his views here soon. Largely, we share similar thoughts and feelings about what works and what doesn’t. In my opinion, Silverado feels like a cinematic love child of Howard Hawks and John Ford. It’s evoking grand, iconic imagery of the mythical Old West while populating the terrain with archetypal characters to mosey down that well-traveled, dusty trail.

If it has a fault, there are too many side characters and plots that all try to be knitted into this tapestry. I’m still confused as hell about Rosanna Arquette’s character, among others. But, faults aside, the film has a terrific sense of adventure. Scott Glenn, Danny Glover, Kevin Kline, and Kevin Costner are a fantastic foursome of gunslinging heroes. Linda Hunt, Jeff Goldblum, John Cleese, and Lynn Whitfield add some spice and dramatic flavor of their own to the titular town. Brian Dennehy, Jeff Fahey, and Ray Baker are our iconic heavies. Genre fans should keep a lookout for old stalwarts, including Ted White, Sheb Wooley, and James Gammon, among others. Silverado is not a perfect Western, but a damn fine piece of entertainment. 

Check out Drew Taylor’s Review: 

The western always seems to be on the verge of a comeback every few years, usually spurred on by a director who was shaped by the genre in their youth. Most recently this was on the verge of happening back in 2007, when a whole host of westerns, both literally and "spiritually" turned out to be the best films of the year. But even the mighty line-up of '3:10 to Yuma,' 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,' 'There Will Be Blood' and 'No Country for Old Men' couldn't stir the western genre up from its cinematic purgatory. (Just ask Ed Harris, whose woefully underrated western 'Appaloosa' was released the following year.)

In 1985, Lawrence Kasdan, screenwriter of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' 'The Empire Strikes Back,' and 'Return of the Jedi,' and writer-director of thriller 'Body Heat' and the drama 'The Big Chill,' traded on all the goodwill he had in Hollywood to attempt a western revival. That attempt was 'Silverado,' a spunky and fun comic western in the classical tradition.

The film opens with Emmett (Scott Glenn), fending off several assassins while hiding inside a small shack. After taking off on his horse, Emmett runs into Paden (Kevin Kline), a man who has been left objectless in the middle of the desert, double-crossed and left for dead by his partners. The two make haste for the titular town of Silverado, stopping in the town of Turley to bust Emmett's brother Jake (Kevin Costner) out of prison and out of the clutches of a snooty English sheriff (John Cleese, stealing every scene). The trio finally escapes Turley, along with a new friend, sharpshooter Mal (Danny Glover).

The foursome, once they reach the town of Silverado, go their separate ways, and are knocked down a peg or two by various forces. (Hey, that's the narrative rule - get your hero up into a tree, throw rocks at him for two hours, and get him out of the tree as smoothly as possible.) But eventually our heroes are reunited and band together to rid the town of its tyrannical sheriff (professional scenery chewer Brian Dennehy).

There isn't a whole lot of plot weighing down 'Silverado,' which is sort of refreshing. With a cast as universally superb as the one assembled here, Kasdan has chosen to make a shaggy, character-based western, which is content to hit the familiar western beats, but only if there's an equally powerful character moment to go along with it. Everybody is just great. I haven't even mentioned Linda Hunt as a Silverado barmaid, Jeff Goldblum as a morally ambiguous card shark, and Jeff Fahey as a goon. Costner (who played the corpse in 'The Big Chill'), in particular, gives a livewire performance the likes of which haven't been seen from the actor before or since.

As a writer of brilliant genre screenplays, Kasdan is clearly having a ball with 'Silverado.' Far removed from the grim, humorless, post-'Unforgiven' westerns of more recent years, it's a bubbly, wonderful entertainment. If you haven't seen 'Silverado' in a number of years (as I hadn't), then now is a perfect time to revisit it. It's a whole lot of fun. Is it flawless? No. It's 127 running time seems like it could be shaved by at least twenty minutes, and even at its bloated length there seems to be a number of subplots that were left either dangling (like the purpose of Patricia Arquette's character) or entirely on the cutting room floor. Still, for a popcorn movie this long, it rides along swiftly, with an abundance of thrills, chills, and spills (as they say). And at PG-13, it's fun the whole family can enjoy, violent but not excessively so. While 'Silverado' didn't rejuvenate the western any more than the crop of 2007 films did, it still remains a wonderfully fun, timeless western.

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray 
Silverado dusts itself off for a bright, shiny new 4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital SteelBook release from Sony. The 4K is pressed on a BD100 disc, and a Region Free BD50 is reserved for the 1080p and bonus features, which is just a repress of the previous disc and has not been updated with a new transfer or audio. The discs are housed in a damned handsome SteelBook case replicating the original theatrical poster artwork. 

Fresh off a reportedly new restoration effort from Sony, this 2160p Dolby Vision 2.39:1 transfer shakes off the old 1080p dust. Right from the start of shaggy-haired Scott Glenn in that tiny remote cabin, the fine details in facial features, clothing, production design, and the New Mexico scenery are on display. This was always a handsome feature with a nice history on disc, but this new edition is like seeing the film with fresh eyes. The textures in the clothing, the world-worn buildings, and locations are all on display with a clarity I haven’t seen before. Film grain maintains a healthy, naturally cinematic appearance without appearing too intrusive or disruptive.

The Dolby Vision grading may seem a bit subtle, but it makes tremendous use of natural lighting. Those golden sunsets, the dusty trail, and the bright primaries find plenty of time to shine. Skin tones are naturally healthy and human. Black levels are spot on, with excellent shadow detail. Again, there is plenty of flickering firelight, lanterns, and candles to create the appropriately rustic mood without ever dipping into crush. Front to back, it's a terrific image that complements John Bailey’s cinematography beautifully. 

Upgrading the audio, Sony gives the film a rip-roaring Atmos mix, a new updated DTS-HD MA 5.1 track, and a DTS-HD MA 2.0 track for good measure. Starting with the Atmos, I must give credit where due; it’s an impressive piece of sound design, providing reason and purpose for the channel placement of certain audio elements. Around the base, there’s plenty of activity moving through the Front/Center channels through the sides and rears. Obviously, the more active and engaging the scene, the more pronounced that spread. Plenty of galloping horses sweeping through the scenery and channels to go around! Height channels don’t see a lot of distinct activity, but in the right locations, there’s some smart touches. LFE gives some nice rumble for those hoof falls and impacts. A solid piece of work. 

Now, the other track I spent time with was the new DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix; the previous Blu-ray was Dolby TrueHD 5.1. At times, the two tracks sounded neck-and-neck, but after replaying some key sequences, I felt the DTS had a more pronounced presence. The channel spread might be very similar, but this one lands with a little more immediacy for dialogue, the Bruce Broughton score, and the sound effects. 

I only sampled the 2.0 track a bit here and there. I had such a great time with the Atmos mix from the start that I didn’t feel compelled to see what I was missing elsewhere. The 2.0 track might be a bit tighter-sounding, but it manages itself well for those big shootout scenes. I’d definitely put the Atmos at the top of the listening pile, but I don’t think anyone would complain about the other audio options.

Where this release is a bit of a whiff is in the bonus features. Nothing new was conceived for this 40th Anniversary, which is a damned shame since most of the cast is still with us (and one of them still making westerns), it’s a bummer we didn’t get any kind of cast/crew retrospective or new interviews to enjoy. The older extras are all on the repurposed Blu-ray. They’re fine for what they are, but so many years removed, I didn’t find rewatching them all that compelling. That said, the Historians' commentary track is still very entertaining and informative if you’ve never gone through it. 

4K UHD 

• Theatriacl Trailer 

Blu-ray

• Along the Silverado Trail: A Western Historian’s Commentary
• A Return to Silverado with Kevin Costner (SD 21:01)
• The Making of Silverado (SD 37:01)

Probably not the greatest Western ever made, but Lawrence Kasdan’s Silverado remains a damned entertaining adventure four decades later. Sure, it might be a tad long with a few too many dangling character plot threads, but in this dusty trail of a great cast playing big characters in a classic adventure of the Old West, it’s a flick worth saddling up for. The film celebrates its Ruby milestone in style with a beauty of a 4K UHD release. The new Dolby Vision transfer is splendid while the new Atmos mix kicks alongside legacy audio options, complete with terrific SteelBook packaging. The only downside is the anemic bonus features - but if you haven’t given that commentary a go, do so. All in, if you’re a longtime fan of the film, you’ll be happy to add this to the collection. Highly Recommended