Sunday in the Country Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Sunday in the Country Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 22, 2018

John Trent's "Sunday in the Country" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British label Odeon Entertainment. The only bonus feature on the disc is a gallery of vintage trailers. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The fugitives

Here’s a prime example of an American film that would not get greenlighted in the current social environment. It comes from the ‘70s, which should not be surprising, and it delivers its message in such straightforward fashion that it becomes borderline controversial.

The entire film is set in a small farming community somewhere in the middle of the country where people know each other by name. Life isn’t easy here -- basically it is a lot of hard work and a regular trip to the local church on Sundays where people get a chance to quickly discuss their latest failures and successes, and then the whole cycle is repeated again -- but the place is safe and everyone is thankful and happy. On a beautiful summer afternoon, however, three bank robbers enter the area and shortly after execute a young couple. After they ditch the victims and their car in the bushes, the robbers head to a nearby farm where they plan to spend a few days until the police unseals the area and they can safely slip away with their loot. But the owner of the farm, Adam Smith (Ernest Borgnine), catches a local radio report about the three fugitives and their victims and after he realizes that his phone line us cut immediately prepares himself for a possible surprise, so when the outsiders ring his doorbell he promptly empties his rifle in the first and then takes the other two hostage.

This is where the film quite dramatically alters its tone.

The farmer’s granddaughter, Lucy (Hollis McLaren), is so disturbed by the bloody greeting that she demands that the authorities are informed as quickly as possible. But the old man decides to make a statement first, and when Lucy condemns it and questions his sanity, the balance of power is reset.

This very politically incorrect thriller directed by John Trent uses violence to make something that should be quite obvious painfully obvious. It is basically what makes it so effective -- it is impossible to dismiss its message, and at the end the only thing that is left to legitimately critique is its delivery. In other words, sometimes things really are as black and white as they initially appear, an for this reason it is unquestionably better to act early and decisively in order to minimize damage, rather than to award second chances to those that have not proven that they actually deserve them. Sure, the logic here could be targeted as “old-fashioned”, “barbaric” and “deeply flawed”, but in a real situation like the one that is chronicled in this film at the end the only thing that matters is how many lives were saved and how many were lost. And you know what? Nine out of ten times the logic that the film endorses would emerge as the most appropriate one. You can take this to the bank as it is still the case today, more than forty years after the film was released. You just have to cut through all the silly noise and equally pointless drama that fancy gadgets are relentlessly unloading in your daily life to impact your sense of right and wrong, and then the bigger picture instantly becomes very small and easy to understand.

What about the statement? It becomes very difficult to label controversial because without the old man’s proactive choices, which are an essential part of the logic that is addressed above, the nature of the statement becomes completely irrelevant. In fact, the entire situation changes dramatically. This is basically how the real world is -- out in the wild you are routinely forced to choose between imperfect and awful outcomes, and later on only the demagogues would argue with you that there was a perfect one as well.

Sunday in the Country Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, John Trent's Sunday in the Country arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Screenbound Entertainment.

The film looks quite soft. Especially during wider panoramic shots depth is problematic and overall fluidity is very unconvincing. There really are pretty significant ranges of nuances that are missing, and in darker/indoor footage shadow definition is seriously compromised. Colors are stable, but saturation and again nuances should be better. Image stability is very good. There are no large cuts, debris, stains, warped or torn frames to report in out review. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Sunday in the Country Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

Stability and balance are good. However, I feel that there is room for optimizations that can ensure better rounded sound and even depth. The good news is that there are no serious age-related issues and enjoying the film is indeed very easy.

Sunday in the Country Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers - four trailers for other Screenbound Entertainment releases.

Sunday in the Country Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sometimes you really have to meet fire with fire and then make a statement so that future drama is avoided. The truth is that there is a certain group of people that respond only to strength, and as soon as they sense that you don't have it, they will find a way to destroy you. I like Sunday in the Country quite a lot, but it has to be properly remastered so that it looks great on Blu-ray. Consider picking it up only if you find it on sale.