Blu ray review: Pursued (1947)

Martin Scorsese is on hand to introduce Pursued on the Kino Lorber blu ray, which is beautifully mastered from 4K scans of the camera negative, a dupe negative, and a composite print, combining the best material from these sources.

Scorsese calls Pursued “the first western noir,” and that is an apt description of the fascinating Raoul Walsh film about a tormented man (Robert Mitchum) haunted by images of his entire family being killed when he was a small boy.  When the killers discover, years later, that he survived the ordeal, they set out to find and kill him too.  Meanwhile, he has fallen for the daughter (Teresa Wright) of the woman who took him in as a boy (Judith Anderson) much to the jealous chagrin of her brother.  There are a lot of layers to the characters, and details to the narrative, enhancing the rather basic premise. Walsh expertly blends the western genre and the noir subgenre creating a unique and fascinating film. Toss in cinematography by James Wong Howe, music by Max Steiner, and a supporting cast that includes Dean Jagger, Alan Hale, Harry Carey Jr, and John Rodney, and it is surprising that Pursued isn’t better known.

Kino’s blu ray features a commentary by one of the foremost film historians, Imogen Sara Smith, that is typically interesting and enlightening.

Post war American cinema was a time when the western film started to emerge once again, with films like Red River and Winchester 73 on the horizon. It was also a fertile period for film noir, its confused antiheroes relatable by battle weary moviegoers. The intention to combine these perspectives into a unified cinematic whole is what makes Pursued stand out as belonging to either or both genres. It is a film that demands to be in any collection that is a all comprehensive in including westerns or noir films.

The blu ray is available at this link:  PURSUED