6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A South American gunrunner uses an island in Hawaii as his base of operations. A squad of beautiful government agents is sent to put him out of business.
Starring: Erik Estrada, Kym Malin, Dona Speir, Cynthia Brimhall, Devin DeVasquezErotic | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
1565 kbps
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The films of husband-wife Andy and Arlene Sidaris are a cross between a high-octane '80s action picture and the beaches of Baywatch. But the A&A duo began making films of this ilk long before the popular TV series became a hit. Ever since their debut feature Stacey (1973), the Sidaris team created a little cottage industry of low-budget features that mixed softcore sex with B-movie action scenes. The filmmakers knew that their work had a small theatrical window and mostly relied on the drive-in theaters to get them exposure. The Sidaris also had the foresight that their movies would play on midnight cable and enjoy an extended life on VHS. 1990's Guns is one of their most straightforward and accessible offerings. Juan Degas (Erik Estrada) heads a gunning operation which ships high-powered weapons originating from China to South America courtesy of a clandestine base in Hawaii. Degas earns the nickname "Jack of Diamonds" because he or his henchmen leave such a calling card in a dead victim's mouth. He hires two hitmen, Tito (Richard Cansino) and Cubby (Chu Chu Malave), to take down two Molokai-based femme federal agents, Donna Hamilton (Dona Speir) and Nicole Justin (Roberta Valesquez), who are working under cover. Tito and Cubby cross-dress in disguise and interrupt a luncheon at a beach restaurant. They think they've shot one of the correct DEA agents but after their getaway learn it was a different woman! Degas is livid and hatches a new scheme to kidnap the blonde bombshell mother of one of the agents who's the attorney general.
Did Dirty Harry come back as a woman?
Guns makes its global debut on high-def on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50 courtesy of Mill Creek Entertainment. The film was first released on DVD by Millennium Entertainment in 2003 as part of The Andy Sidaris Collection: Volume One, a six-disc box set. It was presented in 1.33:1 from the original negative. Mill Creek advertises this new scan as struck "from a 4K widescreen restoration." I don't know definitively the original exhibition ratio but I'd guesstimate 1.85:1 so this 1.78:1 seems closest to the theatrical framing. The picture is very bright and takes full advantage of Hawaii's warm spots. Aqua, hot pink, salmon, yellow, and green plants predominate this palette. Nighttime exteriors and indoor scenes are often photographed in downtown Las Vegas. We see plenty of bright lights in the big city. Interiors primarily contain azure, black, and shimmering pink. The print retains a very thick and coarse grain for evening scenes (e.g., see the limo meeting between Degas, Tito and Cubby in Screenshot #16). Print damage is most conspicuous during two extended scenes. See the thin vertical tramlines in capture #24. The feature sports an average video bitrate of 34999 kbps. My video score is 3.75/5.00.
The 96-minute film comes with a dozen chapters.
Guns was recorded in Ultra Stereo and since the Millennium disc kept the stereo mix, it's surprising that Mill Creek has downsampled it to a DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono (1565 kbps, 24-bit). I didn't really notice the downmix all that much since gunshots, choppers, jeeps, and other f/x are fairly enveloping at times. Dialogue is cleanly presented and I didn't discern any intelligibility issues with spoken words. Composer Richard Lyons crafts a propulsive, synth-heavy score that keeps pace with the action cues.
Optional English SDH are available.
Guns was surprisingly much better than I expected and fans of the Sidaris' Seven (1979), which Brian reviewed very favorably, should check it out. Mill Creek has restored the original luster of the Hawaiian colors but some additional frame-by-frame cleanup would have made the transfer cleaner. Supplements duplicate the Millennium Entertainment DVD. RECOMMENDED.
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1991
1988
1985
1993
L.E.T.H.A.L. Ladies: Return to Savage Beach
1998
1994
1993
1996
1987
Christina y la reconversión sexual
1984
Rio 70 / River 70 / Future Woman / Future Women / Mothers of America / The Seven Secrets of Sumuru / Die sieben Männer der Sumuru
1969
1981
1986
1979
1983
Peekarama Collection
1981
1978
1982
1983