Anthony Mann's Bend Of The River (1952) was his second film starring James Stewart, following Winchester '73 by a year. It tries hard to emulate that earlier movie, and mostly succeeds despite such distractions as Technicolor and a somewhat too opulent score by Hans J. Salter, and perhaps the multi-layered, knowing irony that laced the script of the earlier movie. On a technical level, however, it is well nigh impossible to complain about this DVD, which has been impeccably mastered. Indeed, this is a better looking presentation of the movie than one can get anywhere today except perhaps the Universal Studios screening room. The mastering is so clear, that the scenes between Stewart and co-star Arthur Kennedy starting at three and a half minutes in look almost like a beautifully lit broadcast of a live performance, and might be the best Technicolor that this reviewer has ever seen used in a western. The movie has been given a generous 20 chapter markers, all of which refer to a key plot point. The original trailer ignores the psychological side of the plot as well as the characters' complexities, in favor of the action. The only other extras are French, Spanish, and English subtitles and captions, accessible through a two-layer menu that opens automatically on start-up, with the "Play" command in the default position.

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