7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.2 |
An American bartender and his prostitute girlfriend go on a road trip through the Mexican underworld to collect a $1 million bounty on the head of a dead gigolo.
Starring: Warren Oates, Isela Vega, Robert Webber, Gig Young, Helmut DantineDrama | 100% |
Western | 27% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Sam Peckinpah's "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage promotional materials for the film; archival audio commentary by co-writer/co-producer Gordon Dawson; and archival audio commentary by film historians Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons, David Weddle, and Nick Redman. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
The piano player
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
If you are reading this article I assume you already know that there was a mix-up with the first pressing of this release, which we addressed in this article. The first pressing of the release was sourced from an older master that was supplied by MGM, not the newer 4K master that was prepared by the folks at Arrow Video. Shortly after the mix-up was adressed, a replacement program was announced here, and earlier today I received a new disc from it.
The new disc is sourced from the newer 4K master, and as you could probably tell from our screencaptures there are some obvious improvements in a couple of key areas. For example, delineation and density levels are better, which is why the overall depth of the visuals is superior. In darker areas, in particular, you will see wider ranges of better defined nuances, many of which are unconvincing on the older master. Clarity is superior and a lot more consistent. The fluidity of the visuals is much, much better as well. The color scheme now boasts stronger and better saturated primaries with overall better balanced supporting nuances. Image stability is very good. There are a few darker areas where the grain can appear slightly looser than it should be, which means that there is still room for minor encoding optimizations (see example in screencapture #9), but even on a larger screen you won't encounter any distracting anomalies. Finally, some minor white specks and blemishes can be spotted, but overall the 4K master produces a much cleaner and healthier presentation of the film. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I mentioned in our review of the first pressing of this release that on my old Italian release there were very large yellow English subtitles for the Spanish lines in the beginning of the film. These subtitles were not present on the first pressing. On this pressing, there are white English subtitles in the segment where El Jefe announces that he will pay 1 million dollars for the head of Alfredo Garcia. Overall, the audio sounds a little tighter than it does on the Italian release as well.
The second pressing of Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is sourced from the 4K master that the folks at Arrow Video prepared a few years ago. The first pressing, which we addressed in this article, was accidentally sourced from an older master that was supplied by MGM. My guess is that all major retailers will still have copies of the first pressing for quite some time, so to get the newly pressed disc you will have to use Kino Lorber's replacement program, which can be accessed HERE. Kudos to Kino Lorber for addressing this issue so quickly and efficiently. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
First Pressing
1974
Quiero la cabeza de Alfredo García | Encore Edition | Limited Edition to 3000
1974
Quiero la cabeza de Alfredo García | Limited Edition to 3000 | SOLD OUT
1974
1992
La resa dei conti
1966
天注定 / Tian zhu ding
2013
2010
Joe... cercati un posto per morire!
1968
1971
2013
2005
1968
1977
Il grande silenzio | 50th Anniversary Edition
1968
1961
Goodbye Texas
1966
Per un Pugno di Dollari
1964
1959
Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco
1980
1964
1971
피에타
2012
1987