Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

Kill Them All and Come Back Alone Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 11, 2020

Enzo G. Castellari's "Kill Them All and Come Back Alone" a.k.a. "Ammazzali Tutti e Torna Solo" (1968) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include a vintage trailer for the film and exclusive new audio commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox. In English or Italian, with optional English subtitles for the Italian version. Region-A "locked".

The mercenary

You can instantly tell that this film was made by an Italian because only an Italian would have thought that Kill Them All and Come Back Alone is a perfect title for a film. It is true. The Italians were great sellers first and then everything else they needed to be in order to have their films made and bought by international distributors. Some of them made a fortune producing silly copycats of American blockbusters and selling them as if they were as good as the originals, but this isn’t as simple as it sounds now. When you are selling copycats -- and no, I am not implying that Kill Them All and Come Back Alone was one -- you must have the right pitch to get the potential buyer excited, which is precisely why the Italians did a lot of hard work to optimize the market appeal of their films. During the late ‘60s, ‘70s, and even the early ‘80s they were ahead of everyone else, making all sorts of different genre films that looked and sounded so cool that it was almost a crime to miss them. Again, this isn’t easy. It takes some serious talent to do it right, and then do it over and over again so that buyers keep coming back for more.

So, what makes Kill Them All and Come Back Alone a perfect title? Well, the title sounds exotic and promises violence, which is exactly what all great Italian spaghetti westerns needed to convince people to go see them in the theater. Now, take a look at the original Italian poster for the film as well -- what do you see? An Italian director, Enzo G. Castellari, surrounded by American ‘stars’ and a rising local star in what appears to be a serious production. In the late ‘60s, this is a wrap, because most everyone that loved films and could afford to go to the theater would have been intrigued. At this point it no longer matters if the film is as special as its title because it just sounds too good to be missed.

Fortunately, this film delivers everything its title and poster promise. It is exotic, violent, and oozing the type of atmosphere the classic Italian spaghetti westerns are famous for. It has a really good story as well. It is set during the Civil War and follows Clyde McKay (a great Chuck Connors), a famous mercenary, who leads a small crew of colorful characters in a territory controlled by Union forces to steal a large load of gold. His mission is part of an arrangement he has with Captain Lynch (Frank Wolff), who has discovered the location of the gold and desperately needs it to support the Confederate forces in the area. The mercenary is promised a large chunk of the gold for his work, but only if at the end of his mission he gets rid of his crew.

The action is colorful and often quite wild, but rather surprisingly it is not what makes the film special. It is the ‘badness’ that emerges in it that keeps it refreshingly unpredictable. Indeed, the screenplay, which was apparently finalized by Castellari, compromises all major characters and then sends them on a collision course to figure out who deserves to emerge from the mission alive. The end product is a very, very twisty spaghetti western that constantly defies the viewer’s expectations without actually rehashing any of its tricks. In other words, in it the style and substance are very nicely balanced.

The large international cast moves through the film with admirable confidence as well, which is something that has a very positive effect on its energy and pacing. This isn’t always the case with Castellari’s films. Most actually struggle to control both and in the process begin to compromise the integrity of their narratives, though admittedly the most outrageous amongst them are precisely the ones that are now considered genre classics. (See The Inglorious Bastards and The Big Racket).

Virtually the entire film was shot on location in Spain’s desert regions, with the most picturesque footage coming from Almería. Veteran local cinematographer Alejandro Ulloa, who lensed Lucio Fulci's very stylish thriller Perversion Story, was part of Castellari’s team.

*Kino Lorber’s release is sourced from a recent 4K restoration and features English and Italian versions of the film.

Kill Them All and Come Back Alone Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.38:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Kill Them All and Come Back Alone arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a beautiful new 4K master. In fact, aside from room for a few small encoding optimizations, I think that the technical presentation is perfect. On a larger screen the film looks very healthy and boasts terrific depth, clarity, and delineation. Even the sporadic density fluctuations that are part of the original photography emerge in a very natural and balanced manner, which is how they would appear in native resolution. (If you can upscale to 4K, do it, because the visuals look outstanding). The color grading job is equally satisfying. The primaries look rich and healthy, with proper period qualities that feel right for the stylistic identity of the film, while the supporting nuances are balanced with great care. There are no traces of problematic digital work. Overall image stability is excellent. 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).

Kill Them All and Come Back Alone Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit) and Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit). Optional English subtitles are provided for the Italian track.

I viewed the film with the English track, which should be considered the 'original' track. (The release promotes two 'versions' of the film, English and Italian, but the English one is clearly how the film was meant to be seen). It is excellent. The sound is clear, stable, nicely rounded, and free of any age-related imperfections. The dynamic intensity is good and during a few of the bigger action sequences there even a few notable audio 'effects'.

Kill Them All and Come Back Alone Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - audio commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox.

• Trailer - vintage trailer for Kill Them All and Come Back Alone sourced from a VHS. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 480/60i).

• Additional Trailers - additional trailers for the following titles from Kino Lorber's catalog:
  
  1. The Hellbenders
  2. The Specialists
  3. Death Rides a Horse
  4. Adiós, Sabata
  5. For a Few Dollars More
  6. The Big Country

Kill Them All and Come Back Alone Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This film delivers everything its title promises, and then supersizes it to make sure that it won't be easy to forget it. It's got great characters, a ton of action, fantastic twists, and some absolutely breathtaking visuals from Spain's desert regions. I enjoyed every single minute of it, and could not be happier with the new 4K remaster that was created for it. If you enjoy spaghetti westerns, you have to have it in your collection. Because of its exotic flavor, I'd even recommend it to folks that are not big fans of the genre but have had a good time with the Indiana Jones films. It is a really solid addition to Kino Lorber's catalog. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.