A Town Called Hell Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		1.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

A Town Called Hell Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 17, 2015

1971’s “A Town Called Hell” (titled as “A Town Called Bastard” on the Blu-ray) sets out to define four different perspectives on guilt, loss, and redemption. It’s more than most movies establish to fuel tensions, and the production is not up to the challenge. Disjointed and anticlimactic, “A Town Called Hell” goes through the motions of genre intimidation, urging its cast to communicate unease and threat to the best of their ability, as the story never supports them as securely as it should.

“A Town Called Hell” is a western, but it doesn’t carry cowboy swagger. Instead, it plays more theatrically, holding tight on characters played by Robert Shaw, Martin Landau, Telly Savalas, and Stella Stevens as they engage in power plays and confrontations, with a host of past sins returning to haunt the foursome as they probe one another with queries and hostilities. Performances generally carry the saga along, as much of “A Town Called Hell” is concentrated on pained reactions, permitting amble room for dramatic interpretation. Action is present, with a handful of shootouts to work through, but the feature isn’t about boiling points. It’s after a more intimate understanding of shattered psyches and the illusion of redemption.

A Town Called Hell Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.35:1 aspect ratio) presentation is a mixed bag, with most of the viewing experience aided by adequate sharpness, which finds detail on sweaty close-ups and costuming, offering facial textures that add to performances. Colors are satisfactory, delivering on interior decoration and fabrics, while skintones are accurate. Weirdly, the last act of the feature is the most problematic, displaying posturization, missing frames, and uneasy contrast. Vertical scratches, chemical burn marks, and speckling are also detected.

A Town Called Hell Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Rarely have I encountered an audio mix as frustrating as the one found on the "A Town Called Hell" Blu-ray. The 2.0 DTS-HD MA track has a severe problem with hiss, which comes to dominate the listening experience in unexpected ways. Age is expected, but dialogue exchanges are frequently whispered, and they are nearly impossible to hear. To manage the loss of exposition, a great increase in volume is required, which doesn't blend well with more violent encounters, hitting a strong range of gunshots and screamed encounters. The track isn't consistent, making sections of the feature confusing due to lost dialogue.

A Town Called Hell Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplementary material on this disc.

A Town Called Hell Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"A Town Called Hell" is structured oddly, moving into an extensive flashback during its final act, which throttles what little passes here for momentum. It's not a terribly interesting tale of revenge, but the feature delivers during a few sequences that relax narrative pressure and simply bask in the glow of talent chewing scenery or working out impressively sweaty internalization.