Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Joe Kidd Blu-ray Movie Review

The Great Conjunction.

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf April 7, 2014

1972’s “Joe Kidd” reads like a dream come true for cineastes. It stars Clint Eastwood and Robert Duvall, it’s written by Elmore Leonard, and the director is John Sturges. Heck, if you’re a Dick Van Patten fan, his brief supporting turn is merely icing on the cake. The feature boasts an impressive roster of credits, working within a proven genre that plays to everyone’s strengths. However, the realization that “Joe Kidd” is a good picture and not a great one is a source of tremendous confusion, with all pistons firing on a project that really doesn’t go anywhere in particular, with blurry characterization and the flaccid conclusion weakening a passable take on a manhunt adventure. While its lacks consistency and scope, “Joe Kidd” remains a superbly entertaining effort, offering the patient a few meaty showdowns and a cheeky lead performance from Eastwood, who delivers amusing work as the titular brute, carrying the movie with his proven western poise, while Sturges emphasizes naturalistic grandeur with magnificent Californian locations. Perhaps in filmographies shellacked with greatness, this simple tale remains forgettable, but for those who enjoy gunfights and acts of intimidation, the lean endeavor offers the goods with conviction.

A troublemaker in the New Mexico town of Sinola, Joe Kidd (Clint Eastwood) is awaiting a court date concerning his hunting activity on Native American land. Taking a ten-day sentence to save money and irritate the local lawman, Kidd soon witnesses the wrath of Luis Chama (John Saxton), a Mexican revolutionary who’s looking to make Americans pay for stealing native land, frustrated with the lack of justice. Storming into Sinola with plans to create chaos if his demands are not met, Chama becomes public enemy number one, turning his attention to Kidd after the prisoner kills one of his associates. Taking off into the mountains, Chama’s exit is quickly followed by the arrival of Frank Harlan (Robert Duvall), a wealthy landowner who’s eager to kill Chama. Hiring Kidd to help lead his enforcers through the wild, Harlan has plans to quickly eliminate Chama, a mission that doesn’t sit well with the guide, who quietly moves from a hired hand to an obstruction, attempting to disrupt the posse’s mission with a mix of blunt force and shenanigans, which eventually makes him a target as well.

Situated between “Dirty Harry” and “High Plains Drifter” on his list of cinematic achievements, “Joe Kidd” isn’t exactly an example of Eastwood pushing himself creatively, leaning back comfortably into a role of a squinty ex-bounty hunter who doesn’t take gruff from strangers (the picture opens in jail with Kidd making life miserable for his bullying cellmates), has an immediate way with women, and knows a thing or two about wild west strategy. There’s no defined change of course for the actor, who plays to his strengths, delivering solid work that merges Kidd’s anti-authority impulses with his sense of frontier justice, caught between Harlan’s bloodlust and Chama’s unnerving comfort with the loss of many to feed the needs of a few. Kidd’s an antihero, but a charming one, keeping his cool around heated encounters, sneaking a kiss from Harlan’s mistress, and toying with the rich man’s dimwit enforcer, Lamarr (Don Stroud, in a fun performance), but he’s not a towering figure of mystery as found in other Eastwood westerns. Kidd’s more of an incidental character who makes trouble because he can, with Leonard scripting a loose sense of motivation for the gunfighter. However, when the going gets tough for “Joe Kidd,” Eastwood always manages to make the movie watchable with his purred articulation and effortless, leathery charisma.

Leonard’s script has something to share about the crisis of land reform, taking a revisionist position as Chama labels the Americans liars and cheats, moving across the countryside with a plan to cut fences and intimidate farmers on native land. The passion is there, but “Joe Kidd” doesn’t follow through on any of its big ideas. In fact, it feels as though a good portion of the picture was either gutted or ignored during its production history, finding Chama a troublesome character to follow. At first, he’s defiant, ready to take on the Americans to return property to its rightful owner, willing to sacrifice his own people to see results. Near the end of the film, he suddenly considers a change of heart, persuaded to approach lawmakers with hopes to explain his interests and trigger some type of dialogue. It’s a drastic change in direction for the character, hinting that perhaps there was more to Chama’s revolution than the final cut suggests. The movie also hurries to a climatic confrontation between all interested parties, and while there’s a humorous runaway train gag to savor, there’s no dramatic swell to launch the action. Instead, the end of “Joe Kidd” sort of sneaks up on the viewer, in an “oh, it’s over?” type of way.

Weaving around the dramatic potholes to the best of his ability is Sturges, who manages performances quite nicely and preserves a great deal of tension with shoot-outs and a mid-movie standoff where Harlan threatens to exterminate residents of Chama’s village if the revolutionary doesn’t come down from his mountain hideout. Making wonderful use of locations, with big vistas and varied landscapes, Sturges keeps “Joe Kidd” visually on task, working to build a classic western ambiance that delivers chewy behaviors and heated showdowns, backed by a Morricone-esque score from Lalo Schifrin and interesting art direction from Henry Bumstead and Alexander Golitzen.

Joe Kidd Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The VC-1 encoded image (2.35:1 aspect ratio) presentation looks like it came from a fairly newer transfer, with only a hint of filtering on display that erases the truly filmic potential of the picture, creating some minor haloing. Still, the crisp, clean essentials are quite handsome, with a rich sense of color that keeps primaries vivid and skintones natural, while hues also make an impression with locations, feature crisp blue skies and expressive costuming. Fine detail remains accessible, ideal for grizzled faces and set design achievements, with a nice sense of depth, eased along by pure blacks. The print displays some speckling, but larger examples of damage aren't detected.

Joe Kidd Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix is very appealing, boasting a basic but grounded presentation of elements, with Schifrin's score deployed to great success, building up the energy of the movie with defined placement and encouraging instrumentation. Dialogue exchanges are deep and true, allowing a full inspection of emotional extremes and iffy Native American accents. Outdoor adventures provide varied atmospherics that bring out the nuances of locations, and sound effects range from subtle spur jangles to fuller gun shots.

Joe Kidd Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Theatrical Trailer (2:10, SD) has been included.

Joe Kidd Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Despite its shortcomings, "Joe Kidd" is actually an enjoyable round-up of western archetypes and violence, overcoming a lack of crisp conflict with personality, making the Chama crisis interesting enough to pass. It's lesser Eastwood (and Leonard and Sturges), but it's impossible to squash the spirit of the work, which carries the film far enough to satisfy basic needs from the genre, making it a lark, but a convincing one.