Northwest Passage (DVD)

Spencer Tracy and a stellar supporting cast grab muskets, gun powder and knives, and head out for adventure in Northwest Passage, a lavish Technicolor retelling of French and Indian War heroics. Based on Kenneth Robert's best-seller, Tracy plays true-life explorer Major Robert Rogers, the intrepid leader of the celebrated Rogers' Rangers fighting force that took on one of the most challenging expeditions in military history. Tracy's portrayal brilliantly captures the American pioneering spirit, but he had to muster up his own will to carry it off. "It isn't exactly fun to work in bitter cold and be sloshing through mud all day," he said. For twelve grueling weeks of location shooting, he endured traipsing through swamps, crossing rapids and climbing mountains. Of this rousing epic (released shortly after Gone with the Wind), The New York Times wrote, "Now that the 'Wind' has stopped ruffling your hair, you can have it lifted, scalp and all, in Northwest Passage."

• drama