Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

Hard Country Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 6, 2018

David Greene's "Hard Country" (1981) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Scorpion Releasing. The only bonus feature on this release is a collection of trailers for other films from the label's catalog. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Jodie

It does not take long to figure out that in this small Texas town there are hardly any opportunities for people to do something meaningful with their lives. Occasionally a few dare to dream big, but the majority have concluded that it is a waste of time to look beyond the horizon and for the most part are content with the way things are.

Jodie (Kim Basinger), who is in her early twenties, wants something more out of her 'normal' life and the more she thinks about her future, the more convinced she becomes that Texas should not be part of it. But she has never been outside of the Lone Star State and is fully aware that even if she wanted to leave her boyfriend, Kyle (Jan-Michael Vincent), would never agree to follow her. What is worse is that even if she somehow managed to change his mind it is inevitable that they would both struggle even more -- for years she has made only a few bucks an hour talking to rude strangers on the phone while Kyle has been breathing poisonous fumes in a local fence factory. Who is going to want to hire them?

An unexpected visit by a childhood friend who years ago went to California to pursue a career as a country singer finally gives Jodie the courage to make the crucial move that could give her a good excuse to leave her hometown. She secretly sees a recruiting agent from a big airline company and a few weeks later is notified that she can have a new job if she agrees to relocate to Southern California where she must complete a training course. Almost immediately after she reveals the news to Kyle, however, she is presented with an awful dilemma: ignore the job offer and keep Kyle in her life or abandon their relationship completely and start a new life alone in a distant place she has only seen in cheap tourist brochures.

Despite coming from the early ‘80s and having a distinct American flavor, David Greene’s Hard Country seems like a very distant cousin of the famous ‘kitchen-sink’ dramas that numerous British directors shot during the early ‘60s. Indeed, it oozes the same type of authentic energy and offers an unpolished look at life in rural Texas by essentially exposing many of the same social contrasts that the ‘kitchen-sink’ dramas did.

The flavor that Greene adds to the narrative is where the crucial difference comes from. The big picture -- which is that the socio-economic conditions in the small town are forcing just about everyone to settle down for a very specific type of existence -- never becomes a secondary element of the narrative, but Greene occasionally pushes it aside and emphasizes a lot of the good things that the locals experience. So it also becomes easy to see the positive side of living in a small place where people do not ever miss the hustle and bustle of city life.

Something else worth mentioning is the fact that the film also routinely interchanges the main point of view. There are entire dilemmas that are seen strictly through Jodie’s eyes and then after a resolution emerges Green moves Kyle in her spot. This works very nicely because it allows one to see again that there are contrasting philosophies of life that can both be right for completely different reasons.

The film has a cracking soundtrack with a ton of great country tunes. Some of the best ones are Michael Martin Murphey and Katty Moffatt’s “Hard Country” and “Take It As It Comes”, and Tanya Tucker’s “Somebody Must Have Loved You Right Last Night” and “I’m Gonna Love You Anyway”.

Hard Country Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, David Greene's Hard Country arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Scorpion Releasing.

The release is sourced from a remaster which at the very least was struck from an element that is a generation -- and more than likely two -- away from the OCN. So density and a range of fine nuances are not as optimal as they ideally should be; there are some areas where the color scheme reveals obvious inconsistencies as well. Nevertheless, there are no digital anomalies here and this makes a huge difference. To be perfectly clear, while you will be able to see some signs of aging and notice a few sporadic drops in density, you will also view a stable organic presentation of the film. Again, the type of limitations that would emerge will be the source limitations, not awkward issues introduced by pointless digital tinkering done in a lab (good examples are unevenness in grain exposure, less than optimal shadow definition, and less than optimal color saturation and nuances). Image stability is very good. However, a few scratches and even damage marks can be spotted. My score is 3.75/5.00. (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).

Hard Country 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 not provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is very good, but I am certain that if it is fully remastered some improvements in terms of clarity and overall balance will be introduced. Still, clarity and depth are very good, and if there ever were any serious age-related fluctuations and imperfections it is virtually impossible to tell. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report.

Hard Country Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers - a collection of trailers for other Scorpion Releasing releases.

Hard Country Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

You should keep in mind when you read this review that I am not unbiased when I offer opinions on films with Jan-Michael Vincent. I think that in the past I have made this quite clear, but it is probably worth mentioning it again here because Hard Country also happens to be an old favorite of mine and I am probably a bit more enthusiastic about this release than I should be. The film is sort of a Texas-type 'kitchen-sink' drama with a whole lot of country music. So it has a lot of authentic energy and quite a few good laughs, but it also offers an unpolished look at life in rural Texas while exposing a wide range of social contrasts. Scorpion Releasing's new release of Hard Country is sourced from a good but with a few obvious limitations master. I still think that this is one of the very best additions to the label's Blu-ray catalog. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.