Butcher's Crossing

In "Butcher's Crossing," Academy Award® winner Nicolas Cage stars in a gritty story about buffalo hunters in the Old West. Will Andrews (Fred Hechinger) has left Harvard to find adventure. He teams up with Miller (Nicolas Cage), a mysterious frontiersman offering an unprecedented number of buffalo pelts in a secluded valley. Their crew must survive an arduous journey where the harsh elements will test everyone's resolve, leaving their sanity on a knife's edge. Based on the book "Butcher's Crossing" by John Williams. (Gary Reber)

There are no special features.

The 2.00:1 1080p AVC picture, reviewed on a VIZIO Quantum X P85QX-JI UHD/HDR display, was photographed digitally and sourced from a 2K Digital Intermediate. The imagery is very natural as the setting is largely the wild outdoor open country of the West. The photography is often beautiful with tall brownish grasses, trees and mountainous terrain. The color palette is perfectly natural with with realistic hues, especially the brown shadings and he dark browns of the buffalo hides. Flesh tones are perfectly realistic. Contrast is generally excellent with deep black levels and revealing shadows. White levels are natural. Resolution is excellent with fine detail exhibited in the weathering faces of the men as the story progresses, beards, and hair. Objects appear realistic and clothing exhibits the rough texture of the l leathered fabrics. This is a realistic western sadly about the history of buffalo killings that will enthrall fans of the genre. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1-channel soundtrack is full of western atmospherics and sound effects, which includes lots of rifle gunfire, horses, buffalo stampedes, skinning and powerful snowy wind storms. The orchestral score is haunting and often quite rhythmic. It is extends aggressively to the surrounds for an effective enveloping experience. Deep bass emanates from buffalo stampedes, winds and fires. Surround energy is often aggressive. Dialogue is intelligible and generally satisfyingly integrated spatially, even the ADR. Overall, this is a holosonic® soundtrack embedded in realism that is well crafted. (Gary Reber)