Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Paul Brinegar, Steve Raines, Eric Fleming, James Murdock
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Paramount Home Video
Release Date: December 18, 2007
One of the most popular television Westerns of all time aired in the late 1950s and into the mid 60s. Rawhide was famous for many reasons, but out of all of them, the acting is what stood out the most, for the majority of the show’s audience. While the average western television shows may not have used actors of such a high caliber, Rawhide made use of the incredibly talented Clint Eastwood and James Murdock.
I was not old enough to enjoy this during its primetime television run and had I been a child, I probably would not have paid it any mind. However, watching it now, though not my traditional cup of tea, the show was somewhat satiating due to the exemplary acting and the high quality production that was involved in making the show. This was still during a time when more thought and attention were given to the shows that would be airing on television. Ideas were nurtured rather than being mass produced for less than intelligible consumption.
Rawhide is one of those shows that won’t be for everyone. If you choose to watch this you will have an interesting look back at the older days of television and Clint Eastwood before he became the creative icon that he is today. You do not need to love Rawhide to appreciate the artistic quality and the classic nature of all that it is.
Release Information:
Rawhide: The Second Season, Volume Two was released by Paramount Home Video on December 18, 2007. This set offers four DVDs in a traditional box set. My personal feelings are split when it comes to putting television shows in volumes and releasing them in box sets. I can see the monetary benefit from the studio’s standpoint, but I prefer complete sets (per season) for my own collection.
With volumes, this forces me to buy all of the volumes of the sets that I like or skip them altogether with the hope that a complete collection will one day be released. Rawhide: The Second Season, Volume Two can be purchased at Amazon for the bargain price of $29.99.
The Rawhide: The Second Season, Volume Two Plot
Rawhide was put on television during the height of popularity for western television shows. The beauty of this show dealt with the production values used to develop this program. The wide, open shots of the plains and the picturesque view of hills and valleys are a beautiful sight to see. Now add in the cattle and the cowhands and you have an adventure on your hands.
The goal of this series was to show viewers the adventure and drama that comes from a good old fashioned cattle drive. As this includes cowhands moving cattle thousands of miles, each shot, whether it included dialogue or not, had to be uniquely created. There were no loops of sweeping valleys. Everything was shot separately and was unique to the episode in which it was originally shot.
Rawhide goes above and beyond when it comes to convincing the audience of the western appeal of the show. Rather than just show the basic events that occur for these cowhands, the plot revolves around many of the little things that other shows might have chosen to overlook. Rawhide spends considerable time offering plots that show the cowhands dealing with problematic ranchers, awful weather conditions, criminals, and even relations with the Native Americans.
There are sixteen episodes in this set of Rawhide: Season Two, Volume Two. Each episode lasts for about 50 minutes. Thanks to the nearly an hour long setup, you have time to learn the story without it offering too much or too little. While all of the episodes offer decent acting and an entertaining storyline, there are some episodes that were better than others. Some of my favorites include “Incident at Tinker’s Dam”, “Incident of the Dust Flower”, “Incident of the Murder Steer”, and “Incident of the Music Maker”.
The complete list of Season 2, volume 2 episodes include:
“Incident at Tinker’s Dam”
“Incident of the Night Horse”
“Incident of the Sharpshooter”
” Incident of the Dust Flower”
“Incident at Sulphur Creek”
“Incident of the Champagne Bottles”
“Incident of the Stargazer”
“Incident of the Dancing Death”
“Incident of the Arana Sacar”
“Incident of the Deserter”
“Incident of the One Hundred Amulets”
“Incident of the Murder Steer”
“Incident of the Music Maker”
“Incident of the Silent Web”
“Incident of the Last Chance”
“Incident of the Garden of Eden”
Rawhide offers the perfect mix of drama with lighthearted, amusing moments from the well developed characters that are responsible for making this show what it was. Clint Eastwood lights up the screen, Eric Fleming hits the nail on the head as the level-headed, hard working boss, and Paul Brinegar is simply marvelous when it comes to portraying the interesting cook, Wishbone. Rawhide is a definite stroll down memory lane through the use of classic television. While some of those trips can be hard to handle, this one is actually quite pleasant.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability: 
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
The audio and video quality for Rawhide: Season Two, Volume Two is exceptional considering the time that the show was made. The picture is sharp for the most part and the picture is clear. The aspect ratio for the compression comes in at 1.33:1. Sound is available courtesy of Dolby Digital. Not too many adjustments needed to be made and things came through loud and clear for the most part.
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
Due to the fact that this is a partial season there are not many bonus features at all. In fact, the only feature that you will find on this set of Rawhide are trailers for other shows. The nice thing about these trailers is that you won’t get stuck having to watch them. The bad thing is that they are the only feature available to you.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
Rawhide, Season Two, Volume Two offers several decent episodes. This set would be most suited to fans of the series or people that love Westerns. If you are new to the series, you might want to rent this first as you might find that it’s not necessary to purchase these particular episodes. Otherwise, these make an interesting piece of television history which, you can own and they are certainly fun to watch when you’re in the mood for classic western television.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: Rawhide, The Second Season, Volume Two, TV on DVD, DVD Box Set, TV Review, Western, Classic Television
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