Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Guns for San Sebastian Blu-ray Movie Review

Desert warfare with a side of theology.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III June 22, 2021

Although he's perhaps best remembered for his roles in Zorba the Greek and Lawrence of Arabia, or even his Academy Award-winning supportive turns in Viva Zapata! and Lust for Life, the late, great Anthony Quinn shines brightly in Guns for Saint Sebastian, a rare Spaghetti Western that was actually filmed in Mexico. Directed by French filmmaker Henri Verneuil, this adaptation of William Faherty's A Wall for San Sebastian runs a bit long and feels overstuffed with minor supporting characters, but it's still a solid action-adventure thanks to Quinn's central performance, a strong original score by Ennio Morricone, great editing, and a third act loaded with high stakes and dangerous stunts.

The film starts off with a bang: army deserter Leon Alastray (Anthony Quinn), pursued by the Spanish military, rides wounded on horseback into the middle of a crowded Catholic church. The priest (Sam Jaffe, The Day the Earth Stood Still) refuses to hand him over to the authorities and claims sanctuary for the injured Leon, but he's punished by church leaders and sent to the remote, dangerous village of San Sebastian to lead its people. Leon is not a believer, but the priest sympathizes with his plight and smuggles him out of the church beneath a wagon, setting him free once they're far enough away from the authorities. Leon immediately returns the favor, offering to accompany the priest the rest of the way to ensure his safe arrival in San Sebastian... but when they arrive to find a deserted village and are shot at by an unknown assailant, mortally wounding the priest, Leon is left to fend for himself. Luckily, his finely-tuned army survival skills -- not to mention the bloody priest's robe -- will soon come in handy, and in that order.

From there, Guns for Saint Sebastian seems to settle into its main narrative groove: Leon is reluctantly received as a new priest by the returning San Sebastian residents, who we learn were hiding in the surrounding mountains from violent Yaqui Indians. Together with lovely villager Kinita (Anjanette Comer, The Appaloosa), Leon and his grateful new worshippers attempt to mount something of a defense against their attackers. But the Yaqui aren't their only threat: this also includes a roaming group of vaqueros, one of which was the mystery attacker who killed the original priest. That group is secretly led by half-breed Teclo (Charles Bronson, Once Upon a Time in the West), who feigns friendship with Leon and the villagers but really wants to keep them scattered in the surrounding mountains.

Guns for Saint Sebastian doesn't settle for a completely linear narrative path, throwing in a few surprises before its climactic final act: a violent showdown between the heavily-armed San Sebastian people and the Yaqui, which includes a surprisingly high level of dangerous stunt work that raises the stakes considerably. But the film plays fast and loose with some of its left-field plot developments, and a few minor characters could have easily been written out with little consequence to the most interesting part of this story: Leon's struggles with the desperate villagers and, by extension, his life's purpose. Quinn is magnetic in this central role and owns it completely. (If Guns for Saint Sebastian were remade today, I could easily see someone like Javier Bardem stepping into his considerable shoes.)

Although something of a forgotten entry in the filmographies of its top-billed actors, Guns for Saint Sebastian still offers an enjoyable ride and has aged a little better than most genre efforts from that decade. The reliable Warner Archive has once again rescued another catalog deep cut from DVD oblivion, pairing the main feature with another top-tier A/V presentation and a few recycled extras. It's not quite a classic, but this one's well worth rediscovering.

Guns for San Sebastian Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Although Warner Archive was uncharacteristically quiet about the specific source material used for this month's batch of releases, fans of the studio can rest assured knowing that Guns for San Sebastian is up to their typical high level of quality. At the time of this writing, all of their catalog titles come from 2K or 4K scans of either the original camera negative or the best surviving elements, including but not limited to interpositives. And while I'm not familiar enough with this show to speak about its source material or film stock, what we see here on the Blu-ray's 1080p transfer is an extremely clean and crisp 1080 transfer that's free from dirt, debris, major damage, and of course unsightly digital manipulation including artificial sharpening and excessive noise reduction. Once the yellow-tinted veil is lifted after the opening titles, Guns for San Sebastian establishes a specific appearance that's maintained during the bulk of the film: clear blue skies, dry and earth-toned landscapes, and a rich but unobtrusive level of film grain that yields a strong amount of fine detail in close-ups and wide shots alike. Bright and vivid colors, though few and far between, can be found in select scenes such as Leon's involuntary church invasion on horseback, cute little Catholic costumes, the governor's lavish party (seen above), the bright reds of fake bloodshed and the Yaqui leader's vest, and a few other items. But this is mostly a purposefully muted affair, with foliage taking on a dull green appearance and a vast sea of reddish-brown rocks, sand, mountains, and thirsty plant life. As usual, Warner Archive's Blu-ray is compressed nicely, as this dual-layered disc runs at a very high bit rate with no obvious traces of compression artifacts or banding. In short, it's more of the same great catalog treatment we've come to expect from the boutique label.

Guns for San Sebastian Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio replicates the film's one-channel source audio well enough, with its intermittent action scenes breaking up long stretches of dialogue and silence. Although predictably a bit thin on the high end, gunshots and explosions pack a bit of weight and Ennio Morricone's terrific score comes through cleanly with a great presence -- no surprises there. Like the 1080p transfer, this is a nicely-restored mix that's largely free of any real distorion, hiss, drop-outs, and on-location sync issues. Once again, it's quality work that should satisfy audio purists.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only, but not the extras. This is once again a little disappointing and something I wish WAC would finally change about their otherwise well-rounded releases.

Guns for San Sebastian Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with over-the-top one-sheet poster artwork and no inserts. The on-board extras are limited to DVD-era carryovers but are worth a once-over.

• San Sebastian: 1746 in 1968 (9:53) - This stiffly-narrated but enjoyable behind-the-scenes piece, produced and directed by Floyd L. Peterson. features an overview of the legend as well as a good amount of on-set footage including director Henri Verneuil and members of the cast in action. Some of the production's language barriers are also discussed, which were aided by star Anthony Quinn's fluency in English, French, and Spanish.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:02) - This short promotional piece can also be seen here.

Guns for San Sebastian Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One of the few "Spaghetti Westerns" shot in Mexico, Henri Verneuil's Guns for San Sebastian is a fairly unique action-adventure film with a terrific lead performance by Anthony Quinn -- it's not a one-man show, but it might as well be. (Fans of Charles Bronson eager to see his high-billed name may be disappointed with his small amount of screen time.) Either way, it's a slow-burn story with plenty of memorable moments and a solid third act, even if the film spins its wheels a bit along the way and feels a little overloaded with inconsequential supporting characters. Warner Archive's Blu-ray presentation serves up another top-tier A/V presentation and a few lightweight bonus features, making this forgotten film worth a re-evaluation more than 50 years after its theatrical release. Recommended.