19 March 2008

Barbara Stanwyck and Walter Huston are at their fierce finest in master Hollywood craftsman Anthony Mann's crackling western melodrama The Furies. In 1870s New Mexico, megalomaniacal widowed ranch owner T. C. Jeffords (Huston, in his final film role) comes into conflict with his firebrand daughter, Vance (Stanwyck0, over her dowry, choice of husband, and ownership of the land itself. Both sophisticated in its view of frontier settlement and ablaze with searing domestic drama, The Furies is a hidden treasure of American filmmaking, boasting Oscar–nominated cinematography by Victor Milner (who was nominated a total of nine times for the award and won in 1934 for Cleopatra) and vivid supporting turns from Judith Anderson, Wendell Corey, and Gilbert Roland.

The Furies is soon to join an elite crowd by becoming part of the Criterion Collection when it is released on US DVD in June. DVD features include:

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer;
• Audio commentary featuring film historian Jim Kitses (Horizons West);
• A rare, 1931 on-camera interview with Walter Huston, made for the movie theater series Intimate Interviews;
• New video interview with Nina Mann, daughter of director Anthony Mann;
• Stills gallery of rare behind-the-scenes photos;
• Theatrical trailer;
• A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Robin Wood and a 1957 Cahiers du cinéma interview with Mann, as well as a new printing of Niven Busch's original novel;
• More!

The Furies will be released on US DVD by Criterion in June 2008 (exact date to be confirmed) at the SRP of $29.95.