Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

Hustle Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 19, 2023

Robert Aldrich's "Hustle" (1975) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critics and authors Alain Silver and James Ursini and vintage promotional materials for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

"No matter how much you have, there is always room for a little more. It's an unavoidable fact of life."

Approximately a decade separates Michelangelo Antonioni’s first English-language film Blow-Up and Robert Aldrich’s film Hustle and they have very different personalities. Blow-Up is typically described as an art film. I find this description of Blow-Up somewhat problematic because it seems to suggest that some films are, well, art and some are not, but I have used it too because it has always been part of its reputation. Hustle has always been described as a conventional crime film. So, these films are supposed to be very different and if you knew anything about the work and careers of the two directors that made them, you would rightfully conclude that they were destined to be.

Well, Blow-Up and Hustle have very different personalities but are actually very, very similar films. In fact, they are so similar that the same writer could have conceived them. Before I reveal why, here is a quick synopsis of Hustle:

The cold body of a young woman is discovered on a quiet beach just outside of Los Angeles. Veteran detectives Phil Gaines (Burt Reynolds) and Louis Belgrave (Paul Winfield) begin working on the case and quickly conclude that the woman must have committed suicide. But it is not because they know for sure that she did. Rather, it is because the coroner provides insufficient information for them to conclude that she might have been killed, and because the girl’s parents are nobodies. Gaines and Belgrave’s boss, Santoro (Ernest Borgnine), is happy with their work, too. Why make a bigger deal of a case that no one would care for? Gaines and Belgrave can use their time to tackle another, more important case. But this is not how the father of the dead girl, Marty Hollinger (Ben Johnson), an aging Korean War veteran with a very shaky nervous system, feels. During a heated exchange, he punches Gaines in the face, tells him that his little girl would have never taken her life, and demands that he finds the real reason his girl died. When Gaines reluctantly begins digging for additional information, he quickly learns that the dead girl was a stripper that routinely participated in private sex parties in exchange for money. Gaines also discovers a photo of the dead girl and Leo Sellers (Eddie Albert), a shady businessman with some even shadier business partners, who apparently had repeatedly seen her. While Gaines slowly changes his mind about the girl’s tragic end, his romantic relationship with Nicole Britton (Catherine Deneuve), one of the city’s most famous call girls, becomes so complicated that it begins to interfere with his work.

In both films, a murder case is used as a distraction for terrific character studies. In Blow-Up, the distraction is more advanced, but only because it needs to be -- Antonioni studies a rapidly evolving, hyperactive London from the 'Swinging Sixties' era. In Hustle, Aldrich puts Gaines under the microscope.

But Gaines’ bond with Los Angeles from the 1970s is so strong that Aldrich uses it to profile the city in pretty much the same way Antonioni does London. (Do you recall exactly how Antonioni does it? The curious photographer becomes his alter ego). While doing the extra work the father of the dead girl has demanded, Gaines then reveals a city of striking contrasts, where “everybody hustles”.

It must be said that Hustle is not scripted to behave as a chameleon, which is why it will never be mistaken for an art film. Despite Deneuve’s presence, which softens it a bit, it is a classic Aldrich film -- it has a macho attitude and oozes an instantly recognizable raw energy.

Reynolds is excellent. His struggle to break his rule and admit to Deneuve that he does not want to share her with other men looks very authentic. Deneuve’s phone sessions are a bit weak, but she still looks great. Winfield was a terrific choice to play the fed-up but still loyal partner, and his exchanges with Reynolds are some of the best segments in the entire film. Eileen Brennan leaves a lasting impression as the compromised mother, too.

Aldrich’s director of photography was Oscar-winner Joseph Biroc, whose resume includes such classic films as The Towering Inferno, The Flight of the Phoenix, Bullet for a Badman, and Attack!.

Hustle 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, Hustle arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a new 4K master that was prepared at Paramount Pictures. The new 4K master is very solid, and I like a lot how the film looks now. I think that only one area could have been managed a little bit better, but I am not convinced that the issue is on the master. I am beginning to suspect that something is done during the encoding process. Several darker areas reveal very light crushing, though its effects are easy to ignore because the cinematography introduces plenty of thicker shadows. Perhaps in native 4K these areas look better. The rest looks terrific. For example, density levels are fantastic, often approaching an overall quality that I would expect to see on a native 4K presentation. Delineation, clarity, and depth are terrific (except for the few darker areas that I mentioned above). The color grade is very convincing as well. I thought that all primaries looked fabulous, especially in terms of saturation, while the supporting nuances are very healthy. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. The surface of the visuals is very healthy, but at the very beginning of the film, I noticed a couple of tiny white specks. All in all, this is clearly the best Hustle has ever looked on a home video release. My score is 4.75/5.00. (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).

Hustle 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.

While viewing the film, I did not encounter any issues to report in our review. The audio remained very clear throughout the entire film and dynamic intensity was as good as I thought it could be. Frank De Vol's soundtrack has primarily a supporting role, but there are a few segments where the music easily makes an impression.

Hustle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage U.S. trailer for Hustle. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• TV Spots - presented here are several vintage U.S. TV spots for Hustle. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Alain Silver and James Ursini, authors of What Ever Happened to Robert Aldrich?. I listened to the entire commentary and thought that it was terrific. The two gentlemen are extremely knowledgeable and provide a lot of interesting information that places the production of Hustle in a proper historical context. Also, there are extensive comments on the film's neo-noirish appearance as well as its character arcs and management. Robert Aldrich's career is discussed too.

Hustle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I mentioned elsewhere that despite having different personalities Hustle and Blow-Up have a lot in common. But the closest relative of Hustle is probably Hardcore, which enters a similar territory and undoubtedly carries the same neo-noir genes. However, I prefer not to profile Hustle as a neo-noir film, simply because Robert Aldrich's films are usually in a category of their own and tend to follow their own rules. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a fabulous new 4K master that was prepared at Paramount Pictures. If you wish to pick it up for your collection but reside on the other side of the Atlantic, please keep in mind that it is Region-A "locked". VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.