7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.9 |
Manuel is a leather-clad killer, drawn into a tragic kidnap/murder plot by his former flame Maria Caine.
Starring: Michèle Mercier, Guido Lollobrigida, Daniele Vargas, Serge Marquand, Pierre HatetWestern | 100% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.67:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Italian: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A, B (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Robert Hossein's "Cemetery Without Crosses" a.k.a. "Une corde, un Colt..." (1969) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment Group. The supplemental features on the disc include an original theatrical trailer for the film; exclusive new video interview with actor and director Robert Hossein; extract from the French television program Cinema; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated collector’s booklet containing new writing by Ginette Vincendeau and Rob Young. In English or Italian, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A/B "locked".
The widow
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Robert Hossein's Cemetery Without Crosses arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment Group.
Despite some obvious source limitations, the film has a very pleasing organic appearance. The majority of the close-ups, for instance, boast very good depth (see screencapture #1). In fact, even during the nighttime footage detail and clarity remain pleasing (see screencapture #16). During wider panoramic shots, however, it is easy to see that fluidity and depth are not as convincing as they should be. Grain isn't evenly distributed and there are various yellow stains and scratches (you can see what these stains look like in screencapture #8). Density fluctuations are also present, though they never become distracting. The good news here is that no attempts have been made to digitally repolish and resharpen the film. In other words, the organic qualities we expect to see when older films transition to Blu-ray are retained as best as possible. Colors are stable, never appearing artificially boosted, but saturation could be better. Image stability is good, but occasionally light jitter can be spotted in the bottom end of the frame. The encoding is very good. All in all, even though there is clearly room for improvement, this is a fine technical presentation that makes it very easy to appreciate Hossein's artistic vision. My score is 3.75/5.50. (Note: This is a Region-A/B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have native Region-A, Region-B, or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0 and Italian LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the English track and optional English subtitles for the Italian track.
The English track is very good. The melancholic Spanish guitar solos sounds crisp and well rounded while the gunshots are sharp and clear. The dialog is stable and clean. Because it was overdubbed some very minor sync issues can be spotted, but they are part of the film's original sound design. There are no audio dropouts, pops, distracting background hiss, or digital distortions to report in our review.
Robert Hossein dedicated Cemetery Without Crosses to the great Sergio Leone. It is a very stylish European noir western, rivaled only by Sergio Corbucci's The Great Silence. Hossein's work is largely ignored in English-speaking markets so having Cemetery Without Crosses on Blu-ray is a real treat. Hopefully, Arrow Video will also consider bringing to Blu-ray Bernard Borderie's equally stylish Angélique films, which have already appeared on Blu-ray in France and Germany. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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