Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Comin' at Ya! 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 13, 2016

Ferdinando Baldi's "Comin' at Ya!" (1981) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors MVD Visual. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and gallery of highlights. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The stolen bride

The evil brothers Pike (Gene Quintano) and Polk (Ricardo Palacios, Captain Apache) kidnap a beautiful bride (Victoria Abril, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, Amantes). After they disappear, the bride’s husband, H.H. Hart (Tony Anthony, Get Mean), vows to track them down and make them suffer.

Meanwhile, the brothers kidnap more women and organize an auction in a lawless town near the Mexican border. The wealthy owners of the area’s biggest brothels and some other shady characters gather there and while having a good time divide the women amongst themselves. They pay the brothers but before they can leave Hart appears and all hell breaks loose.

Later on, Hart captures Polk and tortures him in an abandoned house. He leaves him there to die a painful death, but Pike and a few of his goons discover him and save his life. The two brothers then gather a large posse and go after Hart and the women he has freed.

The main attraction in this quite violent western from Italian director Ferdinando Baldi is the 3D footage. Naturally, it does look a bit like a promo piece that aimed to resurrect interest in the 3D technology at a time when it was largely ignored by producers and studios.

Large portions of the film are without any dialog. The camera follows closely Hart while he looks for the evil brothers and when later on the shootouts begin picks up different angles to observe the action in ways that would make it easy to introduce a wide range of 3D effects. There are plenty of precise cuts, zooms, slow-motion moves and other fancy (for the era) tricks whose one and only purpose is to convince the viewer that the 3D technology can add an extra dose of flavor to genre films.

For the most part the plan does work as intended. Especially during the second act, where Hart and the brothers try to outsmart each other, the action is appropriately over-the-top and with the added 3D effects the film’s energy definitely makes an impression. Admittedly, there are a few sequences where the limitations of the technology become rather obvious -- such as the shaky over-enhancement of the colors during close-ups which basically makes them look too artificial -- but after all these years they actually make the film’s period atmosphere even more attractive.

The leads are good. Anthony is predictably flamboyant and at the same time irresistibly charming. Abril looks very young and even though she isn’t given a lot of time in front of the camera certainly leaves a lasting impression. Quintano and Palacios play the nasty villains with determination that makes quite a difference.

The film’s only serious weakness is the editing. Some of the panoramic footage isn’t convincingly cut and the transitions can appear quite abrupt. On the positive side, the locations where the panoramic vistas were shot are excellent.

The soundtrack blends the purity and lushness that define the work of Ennio Morricone. It was created by the prolific Italian composer and conductor Carlo Savina (Mario Bava’s Lisa and the Devil / The House of Exorcism, Giuseppe Bennati’s The Killer Reserved Nine Seats, Lina Wertmuller’s Love & Anarchy).

Comin' at Ya! 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.55:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Ferdinando Baldi's Comin' at Ya! arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD Visual.

The release includes the 2D and 3D versions of the film. It is sourced from a new 4K master and has been supervised and produced by Tony Anthony himself and Tom Stern (In God's Hands), through his company Sternco 3D.

The bulk of the film boasts rather pleasing depth, but there are various sequences with noticeable density fluctuations. Some of these fluctuations are clearly inherited, but there is also flatness that appears to have been introduced during the encoding process. To be perfectly clear, from time to time the grain moves quite awkwardly and produces some unusual effects. They are not distracting, but the film's overall appearance is rather inconsistent. On the other hand, it isn't difficult to tell that the element that was accessed during the restoration was not in optimal condition -- there are traces of fading, discoloration, and various damage marks and debris. Some adjustments have been made to rebalance the image as best as possible -- with the 3D footage in particular being carefully rebalanced and transferred -- and for the most part they are quite good, but one should keep in mind that this was not an extensive restoration job (small marks, scratches and dirt remain).

The 3D footage looks good, at times even very good, but it has to be said that it has obvious native limitations. For example, some flatness is present during the darker footage and elsewhere the color pops are modest at best. Contrast is also a bit erratic. But such is the film's original 3D design -- many of the visual effects work as intended but other times the limitations of the filming equipment become very obvious.

Ultimately, there is clearly room for some important improvements, but at present the film does have a pleasing, if slightly inconsistent, organic appearance. (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).

Comin' at Ya! 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the 2.0 track and later on did some random comparisons with the newly created 5.1 track. Clarity is quite good but some minor fluctuations exist. Depth also fluctuates a bit, though these fluctuations are not unnatural for a film of this caliber. There are no distortions and background hiss isn't an issue of concern, but some very light pops can be heard from time to time. The 5.1 track does not offer any substantial improvements. Perhaps there is only a slightly better dynamic range and marginally better separation during select sequences with music and effects.

Comin' at Ya! 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Promo Piece - a collection of highlights from the film. In English/with music, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Trailer - original trailer for Comin' at Ya!. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

Comin' at Ya! 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The main attraction in this quite violent western from Italian director Ferdinando Baldi is the 3D footage, but by contemporary standards it is actually fairly modest. Nevertheless, the film is quite entertaining and the 3D effects enhance its atmosphere as intended. The Blu-ray release is sourced from a new 4K master and has been supervised and produced by Tony Anthony himself and Tom Stern. Ideally, the film should look better in high-definition, but the current technical presentation is good. RECOMMENDED.