Hit Man Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Hit Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Once upon a time in L.A.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III March 30, 2025

One of a handful of 1970s blaxploitation films released by Warner Archive in recent months, George Armitage's Hit Man is the lesser-known 1972 American adaptation of Ted Lewis' British novel Jack's Return Home, most famously made into Get Carter starring Michael Caine the previous year. It also features an early co-starring role for "Pamela Grier", who was still a year or two away from Coffy and Foxy Brown, but still stands on its own two feet as a decently entertaining genre entry with a likable lead performance by the late, great Bernie Casey. High art it ain't, but I'll always get some kind of enjoyment out of low-budget 70s fare like this if only for the raw, time-capsule appeal of it all.

Our title character refers to one Tyrone Tackett (Casey), a towering and charismatic former cop who finally returns home to L.A. after the untimely death of his brother, Cornell, who was believed to be murdered. The clues are limited and Tyrone's first real lead is Cornell's girlfriend Irvelle (Bhetty Waldron), a prostitute who he lightly interrogates at the funeral before learning that his brother died in a DUI car accident. Cornell was clearly a well-liked man and Tyrone has no trouble reconnecting with a few former friends and acquaintances, but he encounters literal pushback in the form of low-level thugs Baby Huey (Roger Mosley) and Leon (Christopher Joy), who end up indiscreetly tailing him during the next couple of days. Nonetheless, Tyrone presses on by following several newer leads including the whereabouts of Cornell's teenage daughter Rochelle (Candy All), local mob boss Nano Zito (Don Diamond), Zito's memorably-named driver Shag Merriweather (Bob Harris), porno theater owner Theotis Oliver (Edmund Cambridge), and aspiring young porn actress Gozelda (Grier), who seems especially well-equipped for the job.

There's even more going on with Hit Man, whose admittedly tangled story aims high but has trouble juggling all its balls in the air. Tyone, on the other hand, juggles his balls just fine by sleeping with just about every adult female in the cast of characters, which also includes ditzy motel manager Laural Garfoot (Lisa Moore) and Nita Biggs (Tracy Ann-King), his girlfriend back home. Tyron's talent in the bedroom is only rivaled by his fighting ability and detective skills, making Hit Man one of those "God mode" movies where you just know the main character's never in any real trouble. It's all in good fun, though, as Hit Man's generally light tone decently balances melodrama, camp, and action decently well; not enough to stand out as a true genre classic, but a serviceable time killer that should appeal to enthusiasts.

Director George Armitage, who only helmed seven films in his career including 1997's excellent Grosse Pointe Blank, died only a few short months ago and thus sadly didn't get to see the release of this new Blu-ray edition from Warner Archive, who as usual serves up a solid A/V-focused disc that die-hard fans will certainly enjoy. Flaws and all, Hit Man offers an entertaining little detour from the boutique label's usual output and, at the very least, will allow lovers of low-budget 1970s cinema to soak up all the colorful sights and sounds of sunny Los Angeles from this era.

Hit Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Archive's exclusive 1080p transfer is sourced from a recent 4K scan of Hit Man's original camera negative, which was treated to a round of the boutique label's careful manual cleanup. The results are predictably great, as this low-budget MGM production looks extremely healthy and stable despite retaining a gritty, film-like appearance that's all but expected from material made during this era. The colors appear extremely accurate and fine detail is impressive as well; it's not particularly texture-driven but still achieves a favorable amount of crispness, not to mention respectable shadow detail and black levels despite the low-budget nature of its filming and more than a few underlit or nighttime scenes that would look disastrous in the wrong hands. Although a handful of these moments find the widescreen visuals fighting with swarms of noise (some of which suffer from trace artifacts), this issue is largely kept in check and will only make viewers appreciate the overwhelming majority of moments that look perfect from an accuracy standpoint. Though Hit Man arrived in theaters several years before my time, I can say with certainty that Warner Archive's restoration likely meets or exceeds original showings and will certainly please long-time fans of the film.

Hit Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix follows suit with an equally crisp and stable presentation of Hit Man's original mono soundtrack in a split-channel container, which obviously doesn't shoot for the moon but has no problems handing the film's wildly varying tones and locations. Dialogue is decently prioritized, as are the sound effects and original score by pianist, record producer, and occasional actor H.B. Barnum, who made his feature film composing debut here and would contribute music to Five on the Black Hand Side the following year. Overall, this is fine work indeed and, like the best vintage audio restorations, doesn't call a lot of attention to itself and simply gets the job done.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles have been included during the main feature only.

Hit Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with poster-themed artwork and minimal bonus features.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:59) - This short but sweet promotional piece can also be seen here.

Hit Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The late George Armitage's Hit Man might be remembered as the other other adaptation of Ted Lewis' novel Jack's Return Home (the other two being both versions of Get Carter), but it's a decent little blaxploitation film with a handful of fun performances, humor (planned and accidental), and terrific location footage of early 1970s Los Angeles. Anyone who's seen their fair share of films from this genre should know what they're getting into, and from that perspective it's a fun little throwback that's worth a weekend watch. Warner Archive's new Blu-ray edition offers rock-solid A/V merits as usual, meaning that owners of their 2010 DVD should consider this an easy and immediate upgrade.