Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		2.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.0

God's Gun Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 19, 2022

Gianfranco Parolini's "God's Gun" (1976) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include new audio commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Perhaps I can change your mind.

God’s Gun was the final spaghetti western Gianfranco Parolini directed, and even though it reunited him with the great Lee Van Cleef, who played the iconic Sabata character, it is one of his most disappointing films.

The notorious bandit Sam Clayton (Jack Palance) and his boys arrive in Juno City, rob the bank, and decide to stay and have a good time. In the only saloon in town, where the whiskey is good and carnal pleasures great, one of Clayton’s boys guns down a local resident, but when the sheriff (Richard Boone) tries to arrest him, a couple of cowards convince him that the dead man was a troublemaker who deserved to die. The news quickly reaches Father John (Van Cleef), who has dealt with Clayton in the past, and soon after, with a gun in his hand, he helps the sheriff change his mind. But a few days later, while getting ready for a morning service, Father John is shot dead.

Devastated by the coldblooded murder, young Johnny (Leif Garrett) leaves Juno City and heads to rural Mexico, where he begins searching for Father John’s twin brother, Lewis (Van Cleef). When they eventually meet, young Johnny, who appears to have permanently lost his voice, delivers the awful news to Lewis and then convinces him to destroy Clayton’s gang.

Precisely how Parolini agreed to shoot God’s Gun for the notorious Israeli producers Yoram Globus and Menahem Golan is unclear, but judging by the overall quality of the production it seems fair to conclude that his only motivation must have been money. Indeed, it is the one scenario that makes sense because only a big enough check would have convinced Parolini to shoot what is in God’s Gun and leave it as it is to be promoted to fans of his Sabata trilogy. (This was the exact audience that the producers of God’s Gun were targeting with it).

So, what material did Parolini shoot for God’s Gun? Two types -- very odd and very, very bad.

The odd material is a mix of shockingly amateurish acting and out-of-sync posturing that can give even exceptionally forgiving spaghetti western fans a serious headache. For example, Palance routinely behaves as if he is under the influence of some recreational drug that has impaired his ability to process information as promptly as the rest of the cast does. As a result, his actions and reactions, emotions, and facial expressions are routinely incompatible with the events that he is a part of. Needless to say, the overlapping of the drama, humor, and action in God's Gun is very bizarre. Van Cleef looks sharp, but the intensity of his performance is so badly mismanaged that one is immediately left with the impression that he must have been handed the wrong screenplay. This disconnect is too bizarre as well.

Then there is the bad material, which is the overwhelming majority of the material in God’s Gun. It appears that Parolini shot uneven chunks of footage and later on a lot of it was lumped together to make it appear coherent. But it rarely does. There is just too much basic material of the type that would usually end up on the cutting floor, and in God’s Gun this is the primary material that is supposed to entertain.

The only relatively enjoyable segment in God’s Gun features a huge melee between Palance’s boys and the local courtesans. In it, a few couples appear engaged in real fights. However, right in the middle of the melee one of the girls reveals that she is the mother of Palance’s son and instantly terminates the fun.

God's Gun Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, God's Gun arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a new 2K master. Most unfortunately, this master shares some of the same issues that are discussed in our review of Criterion's upcoming Blu-ray release of The Flight of the Phoenix. (This release is sourced from a recent 2K master as well).

Immediately after the Rovi Film Productions red label disappears from the screen, it becomes painfully obvious that the film has been very oddly graded, which is why there are plenty of areas where the dynamic range of the visuals quite simply isn't right. I will provide specific examples highlighting such areas below, but first I would like to describe what appears to have gone wrong and why.

Particular settings elevate light green(ish) and blue(ish) hues, which then destabilize a wide range of color values and end up producing a very unusual cold/neutral color palette. As a result, proper blues or yellows for instance are nowhere to be seen. However, the big issue is the permanent alteration of the film's native color temperature. Indeed, instead of being lush, vibrant, and hot, the visuals look flat and cold. In fact, they can appear so cold that in different parts of the film there are some pretty big visual anomalies. For example, screencaptures #16-17 are supposed to reveal an unusually hot summer day, but it looks like they are taken from a very cool and pleasant autumn day. Screencaptures #4 and 11 are supposed to reveal an equally hot summer day as well, but instead, the neutral colors leave the impression that the action takes place during a cool, soon-to-be rainy day. There is plenty of darker and indoor footage where balance is off too, so shadow nuances and delineation can be quite underwhelming. I did not encounter any traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability was good as well. (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).

God's Gun 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 provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is very problematic. The majority of the exchanges sound as if they come from a large hall with unusually poor acoustics, plus there is some very annoying low-end humming that creates additional issues. Unsurprisingly, if you turn up the volume the audio becomes very thin and it feels like there is a car engine humming along with it. To be honest, I was barely able to finish the film because the humming eventually gave me a minor headache. What is the cause of this flaw? I can think of two options: a) there is a technical defect that was introduced when the Blu-ray disc was authored, and b) the flaw was inherited from an element MGM provided when the new 2K master for God's Gun was prepared.

God's Gun Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for God's Gun. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Commentary - an exclusive new audio commentary recorded by filmmaker Alex Cox.

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage poster art.

God's Gun Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

You will have to try really, really hard to find another spaghetti western that has the same impressive cast and is as amateurishly shot and edited as God's Gun. I actually could not think of one. The overwhelming majority of the material in this film is so bad that it should have ended up on the cutting floor, which genuinely makes me wonder what type of material was junked. It is just sad because the five names that are highlighted on the original theatrical poster for it -- Lee Van Cleef, Jack Palance, Richard Boone, Sybil Danning, and Leif Garrett -- have all been attached to some pretty special genre films. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a recent 2K master that has video and audio issues, so if you are dying to have God's Gun in your library, I suggest you find a way to rent and test it first. SKIP IT.