Review: True Grit (2010) Blu-ray

STUDIO: Paramount | DIRECTOR: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen | CAST: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Hailee Steinfeld, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper
RELEASE DATE: 6/7/11 | PRICE: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $29.99, DVD $19.99
BONUSES: featurettes; BD/DVD adds featurettes, digital copy
SPECS: PG-13 | 110 min. | Western | 1.85:1 widescreen | DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1/Dolby Digital 5.1 | English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles
RATINGS (out of 5): Movie | Audio | Video | Overall

: Hailee Steinfeld and Jeff Bridges hit the vengeance trail in True Grit.

True Grit, the Coen Brothers’ (A Serious Man) film version of the 1968 Charles Portis novel that previously yielded the 1969 movie starring John Wayne (The Comancheros), is a first rate affair.

Smartly written, strongly acted and expertly produced, the movie’s strength lies in its straight-forwardness. By having faith in the original story, their own adaptation and their collaborators’ creative talents, the Coens deliver a confident but restrained version of a familiar American tale — the quest for vengeance that also offers a chance for personal growth and redemption.

True Grit’s journey finds 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld, in her feature film debut), craggy U.S. marshal-for hire “Rooster” Cogburn (Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart) and stalwart Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon, The Informant) trekking across Oklahoma to track down Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), the dirty dealer who killed Mattie’s father and is now riding with toughie Lucky Ned Pepper (Barry Pepper, TV’s The Kennedys) and his gang.

The high-definition display of the film is one of the finest I’ve seen this year. The work of veteran cinematographer Roger Deakins is, as usual, exceptional, and here it receives a simply luscious presentation. (He has been the Coens’ DP for 20 years now.) The sun-streaked daytime exteriors shimmer, the nocturnal scenes radiate a royal blue, and the overall sepia-toned color schemes are particularly evocative during the interior scenes, as can be seen in Cogburn’s run-down lodgings early on in the film. All the rich details that can be gleaned — from the scars on Bridges’ leather saddle to the jagged surface of Barry Pepper’s repulsive teeth to the smoke curling its way out of Damon’s pipe — only add to the film’s strong period recreation.

The audio quality is also outstanding, with the Coens’ salty dialog receiving the crispest of renderings and not getting lost in Carter Burwell’s score. The action scenes are also marvelous, particularly the climactic gunfight between Cogburn and a quartet of baddies. The rumble of galloping horses and the shots that ring out from a collection of rifles and pistols are loud and distinct, but not at the price of having to re-adjust the volume. Immersive, not overbearing.

As for bonus features, there are a half-dozen short featurettes that cover all the basics: the period costumes, the cast, the weaponry, the location work, the role of Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld audition footage is included) and the cinematography. All are fine but, like most bonuses on Coen Brothers discs, they seem a bit perfunctory.

The best of the batch is the half-hour Charles Portis: The Greatest Writer You’ve Never Heard Of…, a look at the man behind the original source material. Exclusive to the Blu-ray, the piece features a bunch of talking heads ranging from Nora Ephron (You’ve Got Mail) to musician Dwight Yoakam praising Portis and his work, focusing mostly on True Grit. There’s even a clip of the still-living Arkansas-based writer during a rare public appearance.