{"id":29238,"date":"2024-12-20T20:19:09","date_gmt":"2024-12-21T04:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=29238"},"modified":"2025-08-10T07:21:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T14:21:09","slug":"review-ncfom-4k-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2024\/12\/review-ncfom-4k-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"No Country for Old Men: The Criterion Collection 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"No Country for Old Men<\/em><\/strong> is certainly a solid western-drama that features tremendous performances by Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem, the latter especially making for a quiet but nevertheless menacing villain. That said, this probably being my third viewing, it\u2019s not one that entirely gripped me.<\/p>\n

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No Country for Old Men
\n<\/span>\u2014 The Criterion Collection \u2014
\n(2007)<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Genre(s): <\/strong>Western, Drama<\/span>
\nThe Criterion Collection | R \u2013 122 min. \u2013 $49.95 | December 10, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 12\/20\/2024 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\n<\/strong>I may earn a commission when purchasing through the links below and appreciate your support!<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Directed by: <\/strong>Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Cormic McCarthy (novel); Joel Coen & Ethan Coen (screenplay)
\nCast: <\/strong>Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Kelly McDonald<\/span><\/p>\n
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DISC INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Features: <\/strong>Interviews, Featurettes
\nSlip Cover: <\/strong>No
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>No
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>2<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audio (4K\/BD): <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
\nVideo (4K): <\/strong>2160p\/Widescreen 2.39
\nVideo (BD): <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 2.39
\nDynamic Range: <\/strong>HDR10, Dolby Vision
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH
\nCodecs: <\/strong>HEVC \/ H.265 (4K), MPEG-4 AVC (BD)
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A, B, C<\/span><\/p>\n
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The Criterion Collection provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe opinions I share are my own.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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THE MOVIE \u2014 3\u00be\/5<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Note: <\/strong>This has been copied from my 2008 Blu-ray review with minor edits. However, my opinion of the movie remains pretty much in line with what I wrote then.<\/p>\n

No Country for Old Men<\/em><\/strong> has garnered many awards, with the Best Picture Oscar the crown jewel. It\u2019s a critical darling praised by both movie critics and movie fans alike. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective), I\u2019m not one of them. After hearing so much about this movie and after it went on to win 4 Oscars, I was looking forward to seeing this.<\/p>\n

Upon writing this, it has been three hours since I saw it and rather than trying to contemplate what happened in the movie, instead I am trying to figure out why it has been praised so much. Differences of opinions happen all the time, none so much when it comes to movies, yet at the same time I like to take a step back and at least try to understand what others saw and loved about it. More on that later…<\/p>\n

For me, there were only a number of things that really worked. One is an excellent performance by Javier Bardem, playing a unique psychopath who isn\u2019t someone who is bouncing off the walls with bursts of enthusiasm for killing but instead, when he is at his quietist, is absolutely frightening, but also intriguing at the same time. While I\u2019m unsure he deserved the Oscar Best Supporting Actor, in a year when so few movies have impressed, I can\u2019t name someone else to take his place. One also should not forget two other fine performances by Tommy Lee Jones as a grizzled small-town sheriff (haven\u2019t seen that before) and Josh Brolin, an actor that continues to impress. Brolin shows you get into a movie with at least a glimmer of merit; the acting talent will also rise.<\/p>\n

The other thing going in No Country<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s favor is the patient direction by the Coen Brothers. Now, I\u2019m not going to sit here and kiss ass saying they\u2019re a couple of the best directors working today, in fact I think they\u2019re overrated, but what they did was tell a story in a unique and unusual style both in writing and direction. They adapted their screenplay based upon the Cormac McCarthy novel.<\/p>\n

The Coen Brothers are not like some directors stuck in one genre; you look at their career and they tend to go from one genre to another with ease. Beginning in 1984 with Blood Simple<\/em> to critically acclaimed Fargo<\/em> in \u201996 to a quirky comedy with The Big Lebowski<\/em> following that up with a musical (O Brother, Where Art Thou?<\/em>). They have a certain pizzazz in their style. They\u2019re movies tend to be extremely violent and bloody but that doesn\u2019t get in the way in telling a story, and such is the case here, no matter my feelings on the film. As much as I didn\u2019t completely \u201cget\u201d why No Country for Old Men<\/em><\/strong> is such a critical and audience darling, I do see a progress with the Coen Brothers and the talent they have. They don\u2019t bow down to conventions and have not sold out when, in Hollywood, doing so would be so easy and lucrative.<\/p>\n

McCarthy\u2019s work was previously brought to the big screen in 2001 with All the Pretty Horses<\/em>, a movie I, at the time, enjoyed. Can\u2019t speak to how it\u2019s held up over the past 7 years (haven\u2019t seen it since), but I also recall it wasn\u2019t well reviewed either (oh the irony).<\/p>\n

There are several points of contention, though. First, the story itself is set up with Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) coming upon a murder scene of a drug deal gone wrong. He finds $2 million in cash, decided to take it and is then hunted down by not only the drug dealers but also by a psychopathic serial killer named Chigurh (Javier Bardem). This in itself causes other things to spring into action. You have the town sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) trying to wrap his head around someone like Chigurh and his murderous ways but at the same time watching a society he does not understand.<\/p>\n

The first 45 minutes are filled with tense, but quiet, scenes that made me comprehend how it could be so loved, even if I only \u201cliked\u201d it. But as the film wore on coming toward the two hour mark, it lost so much steam that it became tedious and boring. Yes, I know it\u2019s a character study but when you have characters that aren\u2019t fascinating, not to mention new ones being introduced throughout \u2013 none more obvious than the sheriff\u2019s wheelchair bound father \u2013 I failed to even connect with it on any level. For example, you have a character like Llewelyn who sees the riches before him just sitting in a saddle. He also knows how much trouble he could be in if he\u2019s found out (drug dealers\/psycho killer\/police), so he\u2019s not a completely stupid man but at the same time, he decides to go back to the scene of the crime. It is dumb and irrational. The reason for his return is noble enough, but risking his own life and that of his girlfriend made little sense. One of the biggest complaints from those who disliked this film is its abrupt ending, and indeed it is abrupt. Between this and \u201cThe Sopranos\u201d, the whole ambiguous finales have gotten on my nerves. Again, I realize this is a character study first kind of movie, but when you don\u2019t really care for these characters, you can only sit back and watch.<\/p>\n

I know this review will not sway someone who loved to merely like it now, but I do hope to prepare those who had the same kind of hope as I to brace for disappointment. As to the whole issue of seeing why others love this movie so much, I can understand some of it. Between some beautiful open land direction by the Coen Brothers and three good performances, it is understandable. Is it Best Picture worthy? That I cannot see. Coming from someone who was, for the most part, underwhelmed for the year 2007 in movies, I guess it was inevitable.<\/p>\n

No Country for Old Men<\/em><\/strong> co-stars Woody Harrelson and Kelly MacDonald. Long-time Coen Brothers contributors\u2019 composer Carter Burwell provides the old Western-type score while DP Roger Deakins gives a sweeping landscape of a harsh and brittle land.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 4\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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This two-disc set is housed in a clear HD keep case and comes with a booklet.<\/p>\n

Joel and Ethan Coen with Meagan Abbott (40:27)<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 In this new interview with the Coen Bros and author Abbott discussing how No Country for Old Men<\/em> came to be.<\/p>\n

Roger Deakins and David Dilberto (33:45)<\/u><\/strong> is another new interview conducted by Meagan Abbott with DP Deakins and Associate Producer Dilberto.<\/p>\n

Interviews with the Cast (24:53)<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 These interviews with actors Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones and Kelly Macdonald were filmed to promote the release.<\/p>\n

An Incredibly Unauthorized Documentary (9:19)<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 This is a behind-the-scenes documentary filmed by Josh Brolin.<\/p>\n

The Making of No Country for Old Men<\/em> (24:29)<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 This features promotional and on-set interviews with the cast and crew.<\/p>\n

Working with the Coens (8:09)<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 The actors comment on working with the Coen Brothers.<\/p>\n

Diary of a Country Sheriff (6:45)<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 Featurette on Jones\u2019s sheriff character.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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4K VIDEO \u2013 4\u00be\/5, BLU-RAY VIDEO \u2013 4\u00bd\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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The Criterion Collection releases No Country for Old Men<\/em><\/strong> onto 4K Ultra HD as well as Blu-ray with a newly restored picture, created from a 4K digital intermediate made from the 35m original camera negative that was supervised and approved by Roger Deakins. This is a brilliant looking transfer with sharp detail and well balanced colors with the muted desert scenary.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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AUDIO \u2013 4\u00bd\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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The movie includes is a solid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which is more than adequate given this doesn\u2019t exactly have any real action scenes and instead is a slow moving film that is more about the ambient sounds that fills each of the channels while also outputting clear dialogue levels.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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OVERALL \u2014 4\u00bc\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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No Country for Old Men<\/em><\/strong> is certainly a solid western-drama that features tremendous performances by Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem, the latter especially making for a quiet but nevertheless menacing villain. That said, this probably being my third viewing, it\u2019s not one that entirely gripped me particularly when compare this to a movie like Hell or High Water<\/em>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No Country for Old Men is certainly a solid western-drama that features tremendous performances by Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem, the latter especially making for a quiet but nevertheless menacing villain. That said, this probably being my third viewing, it\u2019s not one that entirely gripped me.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4581,3,970],"tags":[2592,1880,193,7220,1135],"class_list":["post-29238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-4k-uhd-reviews","category-blurayreviews","category-quick-hit-reviews","tag-criterion-collection","tag-javier-bardem","tag-josh-brolin","tag-kelly-mcdonald","tag-tommy-lee-jones"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29238"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29240,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29238\/revisions\/29240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}