The Brave One

"The Brave One" - 'A Touch of Greatness', so proclaims the movieposters of that era, a statement that I fully agree with.The movie was made on location in Mexico and released in 1956.It was beautifully filmed in the harsh, clear, Mexican sun.The movie introduces us to the likeable and talented young starMichel Ray but in fact he had previously appeared in the 1954British film "The Divided Heart".Prolific composer Victor Young wrote the exciting music scorefor this movie, his last before his untimely death in 1956.He had composed the music for many other other movies including"Shane" and "Around the World in 80 Days" for which he won anAcademy Award."The Brave One" won an Academy Award in 1956 for Best Screenplayand the movie credits name Robert Rich as the writer of thescreenplay. As it turned out there was no such person as RobertRich, in fact Dalton Trumbo wrote the screenplay and Robert Richwas an alias. Dalton Trumbo was living in Mexico after he hadleft Hollywood following the communist purge in the 1950's.He never appeared at the Academy Awards presentation and onlyreceived his oscar many years after the event. He died shortlythereafter.The story is about a young peasant boy Leonardo (Michel Ray)and his love and devotion to his pet bull Gitano (Gypsy) whichhe raised from a calf. Being a fighting bull it is destined forthe bullring when it is four years old but Leonardo cannotaccept this as his pet's fate. The boy never gives up in hisdesperate bid to save the bull but to no avail.The bullfight scenes are harsh and cruel but in the end Gitanosurvives by displaying unusual courage. The crowd who areimpressed by Gitano demand an 'undulto' (reprieve) for theanimal thus saving it from the ritual death in the bullring.Here at last is "The Brave One" digitally restored to itsformer glory and presented with a pristine transfer on theVCI label. The picture quality is stunning and the sound forthe first time is robust and clear.This important movie, restored to its original splendour,is a special event in all stages of restoration includingsound (taken from a 4 track stereo cinemascope release print)and cinemascope photography in handsome technicolor.This is definitely a family movie full of warmth andsensitivity and one to be enjoyed by all ages.Great entertainment.

Fixin' ta throw it in the Player, now. Thanks.

Being a life long audiophile and classical music lover, I was ready, at the age of 16, in 1957, to be deeply impressed when I saw "The Brave One" first run, in CinemaScope, with four channel magnetic sound, at the Norwest theater in Detroit. This King Brothers film, about a boy who falls in love with a bull, was billed as "The motion picture from the human heart for the human heart." The Dalton Trumbo story, combined with an awesome Victor Young score, and supported by a magnificent performance by Michel Ray with a fine supporting cast and direction, has stood the test of time. In spite of it's cost of a days pay at the time, I ran out and purchased the LP sound track album (Decca DL8344) because I was filled with mad lust to hear the music. I still have this album, and I have seen it listed for sale to collectors for $300. This should indicate the eloquent and vibrant quality of the music. Over the years I have purchased this film on VHS, LASERDISK, and now this wonderful DVD. In my opinion, this is the greatest movie ever made about the love of a small boy for an animal. I consider it to be virtually impossible to watch this film without ending up with tears in your eyes and a lump in your throat. I have screened it for many friends, some of whom are fans of this genre, and they all agree with me that the King Brothers gave us the King. This new DVD has outstanding image quality, and the best sound of all the versions that I have heard. The beautiful integration of music and title images sends chills down ones back right from the first foot of film, as the sound of the xylophone sparks the lightning bolts shooting out from the radio tower spelling out "RKO RADIO PICTURES." This wonderful old logo was designed and photographed by Linwood Dunn, the head of the RKO special effects department, whom I was fortunate enough to meet one day and discuss his work. No film shows off this wonderful logo as well as "The Brave One." Michel Ray quit acting and got a fine education in business. He went on to Wall Street and made millions. Eventually, he married the daughter of Freddy Heineken, the Dutch brewer. The happy couple are worth billions, and recently were major investors in the the new James Bond film "Casino Royale" starring Daniel Craig as James Bond.

This is terrible quality on widescreen so overall very hard to watch!Only buy if you're desperate to watch the movie at any cost!

Very good

Well worth the time but not for all viewers to be sure. At once amateurish and Hollywood slick, this is a very unusual document of something humans should be ashamed of.

es ist ein schoener film in welchen auch der stierkampf sehr genau gezeigt und erklaert wird! auch fuer kinder geignet weil happy end!

I still enjoyed this movie with my family. The video and audio quality was very good for its age. The kids all liked it.