Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

A Bullet for the General Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 25, 2012

Damiano Damiani's "A Bullet for the General" (1966) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground. The supplemental features offered with this release include original trailers; short interview with director Damiano Damiani; poster and still gallery; and an excellent documentary film about the life and legacy of actor Gian Maria Volonte. In Italian or English, with optional English, English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles for the different versions of the film. Region-Free.

Somewhere in Mexico

Some days before the Mexican Revolution. El Chuncho (Gian Maria Volonte, A Fistful of Dollars, Faccia a faccia) and his bandits stop a heavily guarded train transporting arms. They kill most of the soldiers and take with them Bill Tate (Lou Castel, Fists in the Pocket), a mysterious gringo heading back home.

In the days that follow, the gringo impresses El Chuncho and his brother El Santo (Klaus Kinski, Venus in Furs) and joins their gang. They give him a new name, Nino, and then together proceed to attack military outposts and steal more arms, which they plan to sell to the revolutionary leader General Elias (Jaime Fernandez).

Nino also impresses Adelita (Martine Beswick, Thunderball), a stunningly beautiful woman riding along with the bandits. El Chuncho notices and encourages Nino to make a move, but he confesses to him that only money excite him. His reaction genuinely surprises El Chuncho, who has the habit of bedding any woman who smiles at him.

Eventually, El Chuncho steals an impressive machine gun, but loses all of his men. When he delivers it to General Elias and asks to be paid, he is arrested and sentenced to death. Moments before he is to be executed, Nino appears and saves his life. The two become brothers and decide to spend the rest of their days up North, but their friendship is soon tested.

This beautifully photographed Italian film directed by Damiano Damiani (The Devil is a Woman, The Most Beautiful Wife) is a terrific piece of satire populated with some truly unusual characters. It borrows the elegance of John Ford’s films, but it has a distinctively Italian temperament. It is loud and violent, exaggerating just about everything that one would associate with traditional westerns.

The main protagonists are strange men whose actions are often impossible to predict – but only if one views the film as a traditional western, not a political satire. Initially, it looks like El Chuncho is a charismatic brute who lives to rob and kill, but as the film progresses it becomes very clear that he is a leftist radical with a very specific view of the world. Nino is a calm and methodical man who cannot have real friends. He has important interests that dictate how he communicates and treats those around him. El Santo is a Christian fanatic who, similar to El Chuncho, sees the world in a very particular way.

Despite the political overtones, the film maintains a terrific atmosphere. Damiani’s meticulous eye for detail and cinematographer Antonio Secchi’s gorgeous lensing ensure that the battle scenes and the unique celebrations look notably realistic. Sergio Canevari’s sets and costume designs are also outstanding.

The film is also complimented by a great soundtrack courtesy of Luis Bacalov (The Designated Victim, Il Postino), which was supervised by the legendary Ennio Morricone. The recording of the original soundtrack was also conducted by another famous Italian composer who scored many cult films, Bruno Nikolai (99 Women, Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key).

Blue Underground’s Blu-ray release of A Bullet for the General has two different versions of the film: the original Italian (International) version, running at approximately 118 minutes, and a U.S. version, running at approximately 115 minutes. The prologue and the narration on the U.S. version are different. Also, portions of the dialog are different. The Italian version comes with English and Italian audio options, while the U.S. version comes only with an English audio track.

A Bullet for the General Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Damiano Damiani's A Bullet for the General arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground.

The scanner noise that is visible on many of these releases of Italian cult and classic films is again present. This time there are also traces of light noise reduction, which has partially minimized its harshness. Detail and clarity are not seriously compromised, but the effects of the noise reduction are often very easy to spot. On the other hand, contrast levels are stable. Color reproduction is also convincing, though during select scenes the noise reduction again has a tendency to affect color balance. There are no traces of traditional edge-enhancement. Lastly, the high-definition transfer is also slightly windowboxed, but I did not notice any side effects to report in this review. There are no serious stability issues either. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

A Bullet for the General Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, for the Italian version, and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, for the U.S. version of the film. For the record, Blue Underground have provided optional yellow English subtitles for the Italian version, and optional English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles for the U.S. version of the film. When turned on, the subtitles appear inside the image frame.

I viewed the Italian version of the film with the English audio track, which is preferable. Some of the English dubbing is quite hilarious, but it adds a certain charm to the film. Depth and clarity are good. The lossless track's overall dynamic amplitude, however, is rather limited. Where it needs to shine, Luis Bacalov's excellent soundtrack certainly impresses. For the record, there are no audio distortions or dropouts to report in this review.

A Bullet for the General Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Blu-ray

• Interview - in this short but informative video interview, director Damiano Damiani discusses A Bullet for the General, its message and unique qualities. In Italian, with imposed English subtitles. (5 min, 480/60i).

• U.S. Trailer - U.S. trailer for A Bullet for the General. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• International Trailer - international trailer for A Bullet for the General. In English, not subtitled. (5 min, 1080p).

• Poster & Still Gallery - a collection of posters, stills, VHS and DVD coverwork, compiled by Gregory Chick. (1080p).

DVD

• Gian Maria Volonte: Un Attore Contro - an outstanding documentary film that takes an in-depth look at the life, career, and legacy of actor Gian Maria Volonte. There are various interviews with film directors and actors as well as plenty of archival footage. This film is a good enough reason to recommend owning Blue Underground's release of A Bullet for the General. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (113 min).

A Bullet for the General Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Damiano Damiani's A Bullet for the General is a very unique political western with a great cast. I really enjoyed it. It would be terrific if Blue Underground could also bring to the U.S. some of the Italian director's '60s and '70s films, as the overwhelming majority of them have never seen domestic releases. I want to specifically point out that Blue Underground have also included as a bonus an outstanding documentary film about the life and legacy of the great Gian Maria Volonte. RECOMMENDED.