7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
As a child, Bill witnesses the murder of his family by four robbers. Fifteen years later, he embarks on his revenge...
Starring: Lee Van Cleef, John Phillip Law, Mario Brega, Luigi Pistilli, Anthony DawsonForeign | 100% |
Western | 87% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Giulio Petroni's "Death Rides a Horse" a.k.a. "Da uomo a uomo" (1967) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on this release include original trailer for the film and audio commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox. In English or Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
"When you've waited fifteen years to find a man, it's a shame you can only kill him once"
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Death Rides a Horse arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
The master that was used to produce the release comes from MGM and it is the same one Swiss label Explosive Media used in 2013 for this European release. Despite being old this isn't a bad master, but it is a bit rough and has some limitations. The good news is that there are no traces of problematic digital corrections, which means that the visuals have decent, sometimes even quite good, organic qualities. A lot of close-ups, for instance, reveal very nice delineation. Also, clarity is quite pleasing. During indoor footage even shadow definition can be surprisingly nice. The limitations of the master are noticeable during wider panoramic shots where depth isn't optimal. No, it is not disappointing, but it is easy to tell that it can be more convincing (see examples in screencaptures #2 and 17). The color scheme is also good, but this is another area where a proper new 2K/4K master can introduce various meaningful improvements. Here occasionally small traces of fading can be observed, plus some nuances are not as well expanded as they should be. Overall saturation, both in primaries and supporting nuances, should be superior as well. Finally, the current master has a fair number of tiny white specks and even a few scratches and blemishes. They are no distracting, but most certainly reveal the age of the master. My score is 3.75/5.00. (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 are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I picked up this release because the Swiss release from Explosive Media that we reviewed a while ago did not have a lossless English track. Well, I was hoping that some of the depth could be better, and it is, but now that I have been able to compare the two tracks -- which undoubtedly reproduce the qualities of the same master -- I think that a new master with redone audio could offer some improvements. Again, there is nothing problematic, but I think that there is room for some meaningful optimizations.
The difference between the lossy track from the Swiss release and the lossless track on this release is not as big as I wanted it to be. Yes, the lossless track is better, plus I think that the encode on this release is superior, but this film needs a fresh makeover so that we can have a convincing technical presentation on Blu-ray. The current master, which comes from MGM, has good organic qualities, but its age definitely shows. RECOMMENDED, but only when you can find the release on sale.
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