The Far Country (1954)

Although their collaborations aren't nearly as notable as Ford & Wayne or Scorsese & De Niro, the one-two punch of director Anthony Mann and Jimmy Stewart were a formidable team in the mid-50s. Paired up in a series of Westerns, starting off with Winchester '73, the duo brought out the best in each other, with Stewart particularly enjoying a more "intense" onscreen persona than his previous romantic comedies ever allowed.

The Far Country is their fourth mutual effort - and by far the most formulaic. Stewart stars as Jeff Webster, a cattleman whose last drive wound up with two men dead by his own gun. Wanted for murder, he escapes by steamer to Skagway, Alaska where the gold rush is in full force and the corrupt Judge Gannon (John McIntire) has a piece of every claim. Along with his sidekick (played by professional sidekick Walter Brennan), Jeff makes his way up to Dawson City where the community is under siege - physically and financially - by Gannon and his partner, Ronda Castle (Ruth Roman).

Shot in Canada rather than Alaska, the film features some striking scenery, although it's also the most set-bound of Mann's westerns. Jeff's character arc starts off in familiar anti-hero territory, but never achieves the level of shocking mental instability like The Naked Spur. Yet for all the things The Far Country is not, it's still a powerfully satisfying adventure story with an atypical background. John McIntire turns Gannon into a compulsively likable villain and every scene is filled with character actors who know their stuff. Stewart has some great lines but winds up being saddled as a "good guy" almost from the get-go, making The Far Country a bit more predictable than the classics that came before. But even the least essential Mann-Stewart collaboration is still essential.

Arrow Academy's two-disc Blu-ray features a 4K restoration with two presentations of the film in both the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio and 2.00:1. There's still a healthy amount of grain here, likely inherent in the mid-'50s film stock, but zero flaws to complain about. Extras include a commentary, 30-minute documentary on the Mann-Stewart collaborations, further Mann-related comments by critic Kim Newman, image gallery and limited edition booklet.