Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Cannon for Cordoba Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 21, 2023

Paul Wendkos' "Cannon for Cordoba" (1970) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only bonus feature on the release is an exclusive audio commentary recorded by critics Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

A good fire can make even the most stubborn men talk

It was a few weeks after I acquired Code Red’s release of Nashville Girl in 2015 that I decided to collect as many of Gus Trikonis’ films as I could get. It did not matter if I could acquire them on Blu-ray or DVD. I looked at Trikonis’ body of work and I could not figure out what type of films he was comfortable directing. In the early 1970s, Trikonis directed Supercock, The Swinging Barmaids, Nashville Girl, The Student Body, Moonshine County Express, and The Evil, and then moved to work on a wide range of TV projects. These films are so different in terms of style, tone, and attitude and yet so nicely done that to say that I was intrigued would be a major understatement. During the 1970s, a lot of independent American directors did what Trikonis did -- which of course is one of many reasons the decade remains the greatest for American cinema -- but I genuinely believe that a lot of important people did not get what an interesting auteur he was. Why? Because regardless of the genre identity of his films, Trikonis was always shooting an Americana. (Yes, even Supercock, which was done in the Philippines, is an exotic piece of Americana. This is why it is the best companion piece to Monte Hellman’s cult classic Cockfighter). Even later, in the 1980s and 1990s, after he did not have the same freedom to be creative while working on TV projects, Trikonis continued to produce content with the updated qualities of modern Americana. You don’t believe me? See Love on the Run or The Great Pretender.

Paul Wendkos began making films a lot earlier, but I think that he was a similarly interesting auteur. He did all kinds of different films, plenty of which were made for TV as well. I have not seen all of them because he was far more prolific than Trikonis, but I have seen enough to conclude that he kept getting offers to direct because he did very well with a wide range of projects. They were just not the type of big projects that would force people whose opinions in the film industry mattered the most to declare that Wendkos was a top director that could work with the best of the best.

Too bad.

Wendkos directed Cannon for Cordoba in 1970 and as far as I am concerned this film is a classic spaghetti western that belongs in the company of the very best of its kind. No, I would not place Cannon for Cordoba next to Once Upon a Time in the West, A Fistful of Dynamite, and The Great Silence. However, I think that it is every bit as impressive as Day of Anger and Cemetery Without Crosses, and unquestionably better than Tepepa. Strangely, it is the only spaghetti western Wendkos directed.

Now, here is something even stranger. Cannon for Cordoba unites several big stars at the peak of their careers -- George Peppard, Raf Vallone, Gabriele Tinti, and Giovanna Ralli. These four stars quite easily could have been directed by Gianfranco Parolini, Duccio Tessari, or Sergio Garrone in a big-budget European spaghetti western that would have done very well on both sides of the Atlantic. This is a very solid cast that practically guarantees a very solid film, which is exactly what Cannon for Cordoba turned out to be.

The events that are chronicled in Cannon for Cordoba take place sometime during the year 1912, on the border between Texas and Mexico, where General John J. (Blackjack) Pershing and his soldiers are clashing with General Hector Cordoba (Vallone) and his thugs. While pretending to be revolutionaries, Cordoba and his thugs have taken control of the area and made it impossible for people on both sides of the border to do business and live their lives as they should. When General Pershing’s initial efforts to restore order fail, Captain Rod Douglas (Peppard) and several misfits decide to destroy Cordoba from within by setting a trap that is more likely to fail than succeed. The key piece in this trap is a foreign beauty (Ralli) and a Mexican patriot (Tinti) with an axe to grind.

Wendkos directs with confidence and precision that are very, very impressive. However, the cast looks very comfortable, which suggests that Wendkos probably allowed plenty of improvisation too. The entire film looks great but the second half where Douglas and his men reach Cordoba’s stronghold is just glorious. Wendkos worked with cinematographer Antonio Macasoli, who lensed the very entertaining and equally good looking caper Grand Slam.

Cannon for Cordoba Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Cannon for Cordoba arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an older master that was prepared on behalf of MGM. While the film definitely could look a little fresher and lusher, I like its current appearance a lot. For example, delineation, clarity, and depth are just a notch below where I think they could be if the release was sourced from a proper new 2K master. I also noticed a few highlights that could have been balanced better, though most of the outdoor footage looks lovely. In darker areas, black crush is not an issue, though this is another area where minor adjustments might be good to have. Color balance is very good. Yes, saturation levels can be tweaked, but the entire film has the right color temperature. Only a few ranges of blues and reds/pinks can be rebalanced, but without trading the blues for turquoise or the greens and browns for some other foreign primaries. Image stability is good. I noticed a few white nicks, but there are no distracting large cuts, debris, warped or torn frames to report. (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).

Cannon for Cordoba Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are no provided for the main feature.

The current track could use a good remastering job. There is nothing particularly wrong with it, but its age shows, so I had to turn up the volume quite a bit to be able to hear all exchanges. This is not always easy because there are some minor fluctuations, general unevenness, and plenty of thick accents. So, for this track, there should have been optional English SDH subtitles. There are no encoding anomalies to report.

Cannon for Cordoba Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this new audio commentary was recorded by critics Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson.

Cannon for Cordoba Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Grab a copy of Cannon for Cordoba for your collection while it is still available. This is the one and only spaghetti western Paul Wendkos directed and I think that it is as good as some of the classic spaghetti westerns that were shot on the other side of the Atlantic. George Peppard leads with such impressive authority and style in it that I wish he would have been cast to do more similar genre films with some of the big Italian directors that made them. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an older but solid master that was supplied by MGM. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.