“The Shooting/Ride in the Whirlwind” is a wonderful release from the Criterion Collection as you get both films together. This is the best looking version of both films to date and if you are looking for two artistic western films that are unique, fresh and entertaining, “The Shooting/Ride in the Whirlwind – The Criterion Collection” is highly recommended!
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TITLE: The Shooting/Ride in the Whirlwind – The Criterion Collection #734-735
YEAR OF RELEASE: The Shooting (1966), Ride in the Whirlwind (1966)
DURATION: The Shooting (81 Minutes) / Ride in the Whirlwind (82 Minutes)
DVD INFORMATION: Color, Monoraul, 1:85:1 Aspect Ratio
COMPANY: The Criterion Collection
RELEASED: November 11, 2014
The Shooting
Directed by Monte Hellman
Written by Carole Eastman
Produced by Monte Hellman, Jack Nicholson
Associate Producer: John Herman Shaner
Executive Producer: Roger Corman
Cinematography by Gregory Sandor
Edited by Monte Hellman
Art Direction by Wally Moon
Ride in the Whirlwind
Directed by Monte Hellman
Written by Jack Nicholson
Produced by Monte Hellman, Jack Nicholson
Associate Producer: John Herman Shaner
Executive Producer: Roger Corman
Music by Robert Drasnin
Cinematography by Gregory Sandor
Edited by Monte Hellman
Art Direction by James Campbell
“The Shooting” Starring:
Will Hutchins as Coley Boyard
Millie Perkins as Woman
Jack Nicholson as Billy Spear
Warren Oates as Willet Gashade
“Ride in the Whirlwind” Starring:
Cameron Mitchell as Vern
Millie Perkins as Abigail
Jack Nicholson as Wes
Katherine Squire as Catherine
George Mitchell as Evan
Rupert Crosse as Indian Joe
Harry Dean Stanton as Blind Dick
John Hackett as Winslow
Tom Filer as Otis
B.J. Merholz as Edgar
In the midsixties, the maverick American director Monte Hellman conceived of two westerns at the same time. Dreamlike and gritty by turns, these films would prove their maker’s adeptness at brilliantly deconstructing genre. Shot back-to-back for famed producer Roger Corman, they feature overlapping casts and crews, including Jack Nicholson in two of his meatiest early roles. The Shooting, about a motley assortment of loners following a mysterious wanted man through a desolate frontier, and Ride in the Whirlwind, about a group of cowhands pursued by vigilantes for crimes they did not commit, are rigorous, artful, and wholly unconventional journeys to the Old West.
Before filmmaker Monte Hellman directed his popular 1971 road movie “Two-Lane Blacktop”, Hellman would collaborate with producer Roger Corman for two westerns and reuniting with actor Jack Nicholson (who worked with Hellman on “Back Door to Hell” and “Flight to Fury”).
After Hellman and Nicholson’s cinema collaboration, both co-wrote a screenplay called “Epitaph” and presented it to Roger Corman in hopes of him producing it, but he was not interested in the screenplay, but he did ask the two if they would make a western instead.
And because “Back Door to Hell” and “Flight to Fury” were shot back-to-back in the Philippines, Corman asked both men if they can do the same by filming “The Shooting” and “Ride in the Whirlwind” back-to-back in Utah. And that the film would be under the condition that they would get a budget of $75,000, a production crew of seven people and if they went over budget, they would have to finance any additional costs from their own pockets.
So, as the two began working on both films, with Nicholson working on “Ride in the Whirlwhind”, both men asked their friend Carole Eastman to write “The Shooting”. Because the two films were shot with a low-budget, using natural light for both films, the duo were able to complete both films in six weeks.
While the film screened with excellent reviews for both films, unfortunately no U.S. distributor was interested, shown i the art film circuit and the right to both films were sold directly to television.
And now, nearly 50-years later, since both films were screened at the Montreal World Film Festival, “The Shooter” and “Ride in the Whirlwind” will be released on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
“The Shooting” begins with former bounty hunter Willet Gashade (portrayed by Warren Oates) returning to a small mining camp to find his friend Coley (portrayed by Will Hutchins) scared and shooting at anyone, including Willet.
After Coley realizes that Willet has returned, he explains to him that their partner Leland Drum (portrayed by B.J. Merholz) was shot to death by someone. He believes it may have been committed as revenge for the accidental trampling death of a little boy, which may have been done by Willet’s brother, Coin. And now Coin left the mining camp before Leland’s death.
The following day, a young and rude woman comes to visit Willet and Coley and she requests that Willet Gashade become her guide, which he agrees to do so. Meanwhile, a man in black named Billy Spear (portrayed by Jack Nicholson) has followed them, but where is the woman taking Willet and Coley? And who is that mysterious man in black that has been following them?
In “Ride in the Whirlwind”, a cowboy trio which consists of Vern (portrayed by Cameron Mitchell), Wes (portrayed by Jack Nicholson) and Otis (portrayed by Tom Filer) stop to rest at a remote hideout used by a gang of outlaws led by Blind Dick (portrayed by Harry Dean Stanton).
But because the three men were in the same hideout as the criminals, they are branded as outlaws themselves and the vigilante hanging party goes after them and a police shootout ensues. Vern and Wes end up escaping and reaching a farm which is owned by Abigail’s (portrayed by Millie Perkins) parents. But can they escape from the vigilante hanging party?Or be captured and killed by them?
VIDEO:
“The Shooting/Ride in the Whirlwind”are presented in color and in 1:85:1 aspect ratio. According to the Criterion Collection, “The Shooting” and “Ride in the Whirlwind” was supervised by Monte Hellman. These new digital transfers were created in 4K resolution on a scanity film scanner from the original camera negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS and Pixel Farm’s PFClean while Digital Vision’s Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain and noise management.
For the most part, the picture quality is very good for both film considering they were both created back in 1966. 50-years-later, the beauty and detail of “The Shooting” and “Ride in the Whirlwind” is showcased through this DVD. But if you do want the best in picture quality, I highly recommend checking out the Blu-ray version of this Criterion release.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“The Shooting/Ride in the Whirlwind is presented in English monaural. According to Criterion, the original soundtracks were remastered at 24-bit from the 35 mm magnetic tracks. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. AudioCube’s integrated workstation and iZotope RX 3.
Overall, dialogue is clear and understandable. Subtitles are in English.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“The Shooting/Ride in the Whirlwind – The Criterion Collection #734-735” comes with the following special features:
DISC 1:
- The Shooting Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by Monte Hellman and film historians Bill Krohn and Blake Lucas.
- Ride in the Whirlwind Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by Monte Hellman and film historians Bill Krohn and Blake Lucas.
DISC 2:
- House of Corman – (6:00) An interview between director Monte Hellman and producer Roger Corman.
- The Diaries of Millie Perkins – (16:03) Interview between Monte Hellman and actress Millie Perkins.
- Whips and Jingles – (15:16) An interview between Jake Perlin and “The Shooting” actor Will Hutchins.
- Blind Harry – (2:58) An interview between Monte Hellman and Harry Dean Stanton.
- The True Death of Leland Drum – (16:58) An interview between Monte Hellman and actors B.J. Merholz and John Hackett.
- Heart of Lightness – (18:43) An interview with Monte Hellman and assistant director Gary Kurtz.
- The Last Cowboy – (17:05) An interview with Monte Hellman and Calvin Johnson and revisiting the area where they shot the westerns.
- An American Original – (13:57) A 2014 video appreciation of actor Warren Oates written and narrated by film critic Kim Morgan.
EXTRAS:
The Shooting/Ride in the Whirlwind – The Criterion Collection #734-735″ comes with a poster sized insert featuring the essay “We Can Bring a Good Bit of Rope” by Michael Atkinson.
During the 1960’s, western films were very popular. American westerns had its fair share of resurgence from the silent era and again during the 1960’s, to the Spaghetti westerns of the 1960s and 1970s.
And while there were a good number of sub-genres within the western cinema genre, there were two films that separated itself from the commercial genre and became arthouse westerns and that were Monte Hellman’s 1966 films “The Shooting” and “Ride in the Whirlwind”.
And while the film will be remembered as another collaboration between Monte Hellman and Jack Nicholson, the collaboration with producer Roger Corman will also be remembered.
For those not familiar with Roger Corman’s work, as a producer and director, he was known for his low-budget horror and counterculture films of the ’60s. He is also known for founding the independent productions studio New World Pictures which became the U.S. distributor for foreign films by Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosawa, Federico Fellini and more.
He was a rebel of Hollywood and the westerns he produced and Monte Hellman was going to direct would continue the trend of not following Hollywood big budget films. If anything, these were two low-budget films that would receive rave reviews by film critics and instead of receiving film distribution, these two films would be seen on television.
While both films have been released on DVD back in 2000, it wasn’t until 2014 when they would receive 4K digital transfers courtesy of the Criterion Collection.
And what best to celebrate the Hellman/Nicholson/Corman collaboration than to release both westerns together.
For “The Shooting”, the film is a simple storyline, shot outdoors with no major sets. Focusing on four individuals - A bounty hunter, his not-so-smart friend, a woman and a mysterious man. We are taken on the path of watching these men hired by a woman for some reason and that big reveal is made in the end.
But unlike westerns, the way the film was edited, the films were created with a feeling of gloom and uncertainty.
The same that can be said about “Ride in the Whirlwind” as three men looking for shelter, end up staying with criminals and immediately are branded by a hanging posse as collaborating with the criminals. These men, falsely accused, try to find a way to survive, not knowing what their future lies ahead of them now that they are wanted as criminals.
Of the two, “The Shooting” is a much better film, because you never know what to expect and what is behind each person’s motivation. With “Ride in the Whirlwind”, you pretty much can figure out what is going to happen, no surprises, it’s a straightforward film.
As for the Criterion Collection release of these two films, of course, if you want the best picture quality, you will want to opt for the Blu-ray version. But if you are purchasing the DVD releases of “The Shooting/Ride in the Whirlwind”, I can tell you that these pictures look much better than its 2000 counterpart. The 4K digital transfer brings out the colors of the film and makes the film look not so aged, nor is their any blurriness. If anything, Criterion presents both films with better picture quality with grain intact.
The lossless soundtrack is also clear without any significant hiss, crackle or anything negative. And last, you get a good number of special features including audio commentary (note: the audio commentary is the 2014 versions with Hellman and two film historians, not the 2000 audio commentary) as Monte Hellman reunites with many who worked on the two films, with the exception of Jack Nicholson.
Overall, “The Shooting/Ride in the Whirlwind” is a wonderful release from the Criterion Collection as you get both films together. This is the best looking version of both films to date and if you are looking for two artistic western films that are unique, fresh and entertaining, “The Shooting/Ride in the Whirlwind – The Criterion Collection” is highly recommended!
