6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A sole survivor of a bloody massacre vows revenge on his attackers.
Starring: Burt Reynolds, Aldo Sambrell, Nicoletta Machiavelli, Fernando Rey, Tanya LopertWestern | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Sergio Corbucci's "Navajo Joe" (1966) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox; archival audio commentary by Ennio Morricone historian Gary Palmucci; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Navajo Joe arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
In the United States, Navajo Joe made its high-definition debut with this release in 2015. A couple of years earlier, Swiss label Koch Media prepared this release of the film, which is the only one I currently have in my library.
It appears that all three releases are sourced from the same old master, which most unfortunately is not a good one. Indeed, large areas of the film can look quite soft and flat, and a few spots are even smeary. Grain exposure is superior on this release, but there are many inherited fluctuations that make this improvement irrelevant. Furthermore, a lot of finer nuances, and especially darker ones, are either unconvincing or lost, which is why depth is almost never pleasing. If you have a big screen, this will be one of the biggest issues you will notice. Sharpness is not good either, though it is good to see that the master has not been artificially sharpened. Color balance is stable. However, this is an area where major improvements can be made. Saturation levels can be improved in various primaries and supporting nuances. Many darker and dark nuances can be expanded and appear a lot healthier, too. A few blemishes and nicks pop up here and there. I even noticed traces of fading. All in all, while the current presentation is serviceable, Navajo Joe will need a proper 2K or 4K remaster so that it looks as good as it should on Blu-ray. (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).
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. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
I would describe the lossless track as good. The raid on the train and the rest of the shootouts throughout the film, for instance, sound quite nice. The dialog is clear and easy to follow, too. However, if you turn up the volume a bit more than usual, some areas reveal what I usually refer to as 'thinning'. English dubs that were prepared for Italian spaghetti westerns almost always reveal unevenness, but I think that aging might have contributed to the 'thinning' as well. So, perhaps a remastered audio could introduce some small but meaningful improvements.
Kino Lorber's reissue of Navajo Joe offers a different technical presentation of the film. However, if you have the original release of Navajo Joe from 2015, you should not consider an upgrade. Thus far, Kino Lorber and other international boutique labels have all worked with the same old MGM master, which has a lot of limitations that give Navajo Joe a dated, mostly average appearance. This film will have to be properly restored, either in 2K or 4K, so that it looks as it should in high-definition.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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