The Films of Budd Boetticher

The Films of Budd Boetticher Box Set may be one of the best current releases for avid film buffs. Those who know Boetticher and his series of mid-to-late-50s westerns with Randolph Scott are familiar with his influence on everything (Eastwood, Costner) that’s come since. These five films – The Tall T, Decision at Sundown, Ride Lonesome, Buchanan Rides Alone, Comanche Station – are known for many things including the ensemble work of the cast: some of the conflicted bad guys are James Coburn, Lee Van Cleef, Richard Boone, Henry Silva and Claude Akins. Boetticher uses the background of Lone Pine in the same way Ford used Monument Valley. You can occasionally recognize Mt. Whitney’s sharp peak in the background. You sense the character’s feeling of being surrounded by this vast country,
Randolph Scott plays a taciturn loner in all the films. While his name is always different the titles (lonesome, alone) suggests that his rugged style, matched by the scenery, is really an archetype of the western era. But it's not just Scott, as the evil doers themselves display moments of rational thinking and occasional goodness. The bad guys are also archetypes of anti-heroes.
Each film has an extra where it's discussed in detail by the likes of Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, and Taylor Hackford who also does a commentary on one of the films. A feature-length docu A Man Can Do That fills in all the blanks you might have about Boetticher's life.