The Quiet Man on DVD

John Wayne and John Ford team up again in this charming comedy about an ex-fighter battling demons from his past who moves “back home” to Ireland where he hopes to have a quiet life.

Wayne is Sean Thornton, a big man but a peaceable one; he’s also a fish out of water as he returns to the place where he was born, but hasn’t seen for many a year. He finds his true love in the fiery Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O’Hara), the spinster next door still living with her family led by a brutish oaf of a brother, Squire 'Red' Will Danaher (Victor McLaglen) - a man who takes an instant dislike to the big Yank.

But Sean’s determined to marry Mary Kate, and she doesn’t mind that one bit - though Sean’s unfamiliarity with (and lack of interest in) the Irish customs threatens to be their undoing.

All ends well, of course, but not until after a knockdown brawl separates the real men from the wannabes.

It’s a wonderful story, one of Wayne’s and Ford’s best, and everyone is in top form. There’s terrific chemistry between Wayne and O’Hara and the supporting cast, including Mildred Natwick as the object of Will’s affection, Barry Fitzgerald as the local book-and-matchmaker, and Ward Bond as the narrator and area priest.

The movie was a labor of love on the part of director Ford, and it shows. He also shot the film mostly on location in the Emerald Isle, and the places in which he chose to shoot are gorgeous.

Unfortunately, the locations and the use of Technicolor are pretty well wasted on this special edition DVD because it’s plagued by one of the worst pictures we’ve seen on a DVD. Instead of having been lovingly restored to its original glory, the picture is grainy, smeary, and overall unacceptable. It’s a shame, because we’re willing to bet a good restoration and/or remastering would result in a wonderful viewing experience.

Yet they did restore the audio. It’s offered with “original restored audio” and “enhanced original restored audio” and both are more than acceptable considering the film’s age. So what happened with the video?

Oh, we should mention that this movie is presented in “narrowscreen” (as opposed to widescreen), its original theatrical aspect ratio of 4x3 (1.33:1). This is fine, but it means that owners of 16x9 widescreen TV’s will have to stretch and/or zoom it to fill the rectangular shape, and this compromises the picture quality even more.

You do get a bunch of great extras, though, including a pair of documentaries on the film’s gestation and production (“The Making of the Quet Man” with Leonard Maltin” and “The Joy of Ireland” with Maureen O’Hara) featuring interviews with surviving cast and crew as well as their heirs. There’s also a charming running commentary track featuring Maureen O'Hara with some interesting and very amusing memories.

You also get a “Remembering the Quiet Man,” montage that’s kind of like a trailer - and you also get the trailer (and some other trailers), cast and crew info and production notes.

In all, a wonderful movie, with great extras on the disc, but because of the lousy picture it’s a substandard DVD. Too bad!

The Quiet Man, Collector’s Edition, from Artisan Home Video
129 min. “narrowscreen” 4x4 (not 16x9 TV compatible), Dolby Digital
Starring John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond
Produced by John Ford and Merian C. Cooper
Written by Frank S. Nugent, Directed by John Ford

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