The Big Country: 60th Anniversary Edition

The world can be a difficult and dangerous place to navigate at times, and it's often easy to lose one's way out there amongst all the confusion and persistent conflict. Faced with a vast expanse of corruption, greed, and aggression, the only tool one has to stay on the right path becomes a steady moral compass. And for James McKay, the noble protagonist of William Wyler's The Big Country, that proves to be more than enough. A western epic about feuding families and opposing ideologies, the film is a thoughtful and sweeping blend of classic Hollywood spectacle and subtle genre subversion -- presenting a cowboy hero who would rather keep his gun holstered than hastily pull the trigger.

The story follows James McKay (Gregory Peck), a New England sailor who heads out to the American West to live with his new fiancee, Patricia Terrill (Carroll Baker). Though an easygoing man with a modest demeanor, James instantly clashes with the local Hannassey brothers, a group of troublemaking ranchers. When a bitter decades-spanning feud over land between the Terrill family and the Hannasseys heats up, James unwittingly gets caught up in the middle. With both groups thirsty for blood, he attempts to find a peaceful solution, placing himself right in the crosshairs of both sides.

Throughout the film, James is a genuine fish out of water, a sea captain who finds himself thrust into a completely foreign land. And it isn't just the dry terrain and rugged atmosphere that's alien to the character, it's the actual behavior of the angry, childish people around him. Perfectly tailored for the role, Peck imbues the sailor with an effortless air of moral fortitude and inner strength. Humble almost to a fault and rational in the face of increasing hostility, it soon becomes clear that whatever position James takes is likely the right one. 

This is a man who goes out of his way to avoid a fight, not because of cowardice, but because he doesn't need to prove anything to anyone but himself. And when he does finally spring into action, his call to arms is made all the more powerful and intimidating since it's clear that he's finally found a true cause worth fighting for. The character's peaceful intentions become the thematic core of the film, and the manner in which his efforts are constantly dashed by violent methods creates much of the narrative's drama. All these discordant philosophies are given ample voice by an exceptional ensemble, bolstering Peck's performance with great supporting turns by Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Burl Ives, Charles Bickford, and Charlton Heston.

Remaining faithful to Golden Age Hollywood bravado, director William Wyler fills the runtime with many striking wide shots of vast Old West landscapes, creating a seemingly limitless Technirama scope. Many action sequences also feature tried-and-true western sensibilities, including an early set-piece that involves some over-the-top trick horseback riding, adding some playful spectacle to the proceedings. With that said, Wyler does break away from tradition in some rather powerful ways, using key techniques to subvert genre expectations. 

A moonlit brawl between Peck and Heston's characters is especially effective in this regard, furthering the story's examination of violence through an exhausting and atypically awkward fight scene. While the film as a whole features a fittingly rousing score, most of this particular sequence is actually silent, save for the thump of angry fists smacking against flesh and bone. As the sailor and cowboy battle, Wyler cuts to many wide shots, emphasizing how small and insignificant their breathless squabble really is. Similarly, the movie's climax features a brilliantly staged duel that actually plays directly against western conventions, offering a very different kind of shootout. 

Though its epic runtime might prove a bit much for some viewers, this slow buildup is ultimately paramount to the movie's success, and Wyler manages to maintain a steady pace with no unnecessary padding. As childish bickering between families takes a deadly turn, and greed and hypocrisy lead to bloodshed, it becomes clear that some people simply don't have the tools to effectively navigate the twists and turns of this "big country" that we live in. Through James McKay, Gregory Peck crafts a memorable and inspirational onscreen hero, one who somehow ends up simultaneously clashing against and embodying everything a mythic cowboy is supposed to be.

At one point during the film, everyone assumes that James has become lost out in the wilderness, that a man of his temperament and bearing could not possibly know where he's going during the dead of night in the Old West. Even when he rejoins the naysayers, they refuse to believe that he actually knew where he was and chalk up their reunion to luck. Of course, the reason he was able to find his way could not be any simpler. He just made a map, took a compass, and followed it -- something every man could stand to do.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray

Kino presents The Big Country on a BD-50 Blu-ray disc housed in a keepcase. After some logos and warnings, the disc transitions to a standard menu. The packaging indicates that the release is region A coded. The film was previously released on Blu-ray by MGM back in 2011.