The Hired Hand

Harry is a worker and a drifter. He deserted his family because of an itch that was work. Archie is his constant partner in his works, is working alongside him. He had to go to the wide fields and green pastures, he had to go to work and to live. When a shocking event leads him and Archie back to Harry's abandoned family, things will become complicated.

Dreams and landscapes of magical reality. I knew this was a Moviedrome film and it had been seen by me in the late 90s ( as did so many hundreds of others.) I was unsure at that time but today I cry for its beauty, poetry and majestic storytelling. Fonda constructs a space that is so compassionate to the genre, yet so personal to the viewer. It is a world that like are own, is dreamlike, harsh, tender and optimistic.
Humanism is rare for film makers to make dynamic and distinct. Counter culture of the 60s addresses the nomadic spiritual quest that is for me at the films core. Friendship and love are the human ideal and here the revenge is underwritten with love between friends and family. Fonda has performance at the centre of the piece and Oates stands out as the friend, console and counterpart.
I implore you to see it and experience this visual treat.

The extras have some wonderful pieces to add to this gem. The transfer is an absolute delight and gets the shine of light and memory clean and clear. The commentary is great, this is solid. The documentary is a powerhouse of film memory and magic. People expose truths to the world and open the film up to a new audience.

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by Universal

• Uncompressed Mono 1.0 PCM Audio

• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• Audio commentary by actor-director Peter Fonda

• The Return of The Hired Hand, a 2003 documentary containing interviews with Fonda, cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, composer Bruce Langhorne, actor Verna Bloom and others

• Deleted scenes

• The Odd Man, Charles Gormley and Bill Forsyth’s 1978 documentary portrait of Scottish screenwriters, including Alan Sharp [Blu-ray exclusive]

• Interview with Martin Scorsese

• Warren Oates and Peter Fonda at the National Film Theatre, an audio recording of the actors’ appearance at the NFT in 1971

• Stills gallery

• Trailers

• TV spots

• Radio spots

• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sean Phillips