The Old Way Blu-ray review: The Good, the Bad and the Cage

Nicolas Cage’s first western, The Old Way, is about what you’d expect. It is reverent to the genre but allows for a few Cagey touches. 

In the prologue, Colton Briggs (Cage) is a silent stranger in town. He can quick draw and win a firefight. 20 years later he’s married to Ruth (Kerry Knuppe) with a daughter, Brooke (Ryan Kiera Armstrong). When outlaws kill Ruth while Colton is at his store with Brooke, he reverts to the old way to seek revenge. 

Colton actually considers shooting his daughter in her sleep so he can focus on revenge alone. Obviously he doesn’t do it, but that’s still dark. On the road, he teaches Brooke survival skills like making a fire, cauterizing bullet wounds and getting enough rest for the journey. You don’t want to show up for revenge too tired to shoot straight. Colton teaches Brooke the revenge business too.

There are three shootouts in the movies, the beginning, middle and end. It makes the most of what must have been limited days and resources for action. 

Cage plays Colton muted, a bit like a Clint Eastwood monotone but a tad louder. There are a few oddball scenes like teaching Brooke how to cry in front of strangers.

The film looks a little bit more like dress up than a period piece. The wardrobe is not weathered enough to look convincingly like frontier garb. The sweeping score certainly evokes classic epics though. 

The Old Way looks good on Blu-ray. The western towns are bright and beautiful. The green fields in a valley of hills are lush green, as are the forest creeks. 

Surround sound works to create the atmosphere too. In addition to the score, you’ll hear rustling nature in the rear speakers. 

Cage and the cast all tak behind the scenes. You’ll get some Cage pearls of wisdom including the genie of Montana. Other extras show Andrew Morgan Smith recording that score. 

Director Brett Donowho gets really into his commentary keeping it moving throughout the film. He confirms that Colton and Brooke are on the spectrum, hence some of their atypical behavior for the western genre. Donowho gets technical with regards to color correction and lighting, tightening long scenes and covering up ambient sound. He also discusses character subtext that’s not explicit.

Donowho has plenty of anecdotes from the set, including some gems from Cage. It’s tragic to hear about some of the footage htat was lost, which he really couldn’t spare on an 18 day shoot. 

Smith’s separate commentary is a little more sporadic, but he explains the process of marrying music to film and the aesthetic influences on the film’s themes. He tends to limit his discussion to when there’s music in the film, which is valid for his specialty.