Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

The Frisco Kid Blu-ray Movie Review

A rabbi and a bank robber walk into a saloon...

Reviewed by Randy Miller III July 5, 2022

For a film that essentially gets by on one joke, Robert Aldrich's The Frisco Kid sure isn't afraid to repeat it. Gene Wilder, five years removed from the landslide of Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, stars as Avram Belinski, a carefree Polish rabbi sent to San Francisco to lead a new congregation and marry a buxom young bride. He's quickly swindled out of $200 in Philadelphia and left to die on the road, but is soon taken in by the Amish and works until he can buy a horse for the remaining journey to California. It's only then that he falls in with Tommy Lillard (Harrison Ford), a scruffy young bandit who takes pity on Avram despite their obvious cultural differences and moral barometers.

The Frisco Kid doesn't concern itself with much more than that, as Avram and Tommy's episodic but amiable adventure includes run-ins with a hanging posse, Native Americans, and even those three con men who initially left the former for dead. All have different stakes and outcomes but, while not predictable, often hinge on Avram's faith helping -- or at least influencing -- the predicament's resolution. Our Rabbi's fish-out-of-water scenario does almost all of the driving, comedic or otherwise, and it's shared almost interchangeably with Avram's odd couple relationship with the perpetually grumpy Tommy, who may as well be Han Solo with a cowboy hat. This doesn't give The Frisco Kid much in the way of variety or staying power, which means that if you haven't fully bought in to their dynamic by, say, the 60-minute mark, it's gonna be a long second hour. But to the film's credit, even while it takes a few surprising tonal shifts, The Frisco Kid remains a mostly light endeavor and one that at least has the good sense to end on a crowd-pleasing note.

Although not entirely well-received by critics or much of a box-office hit upon its 1979 release, The Frisco Kid still has obvious staying power on pure name value alone: its story is paper-thin and hardly inspired yet still manages to work reasonably well based solely on Wilder's brand of comedy and Ford's smirking charm. (Supporting roles are also filled out nicely, including a well-placed appearance by Vincent Schiavelli late in the film.) Those with fond memories of The Frisco Kid will forgive its fundamental flaws, but even new viewers who are at least intrigued by the subject matter are guaranteed a few good chuckles. So while I can't say I was entirely won over by the end result, it's the kind of movie that's perfectly fine entertainment in the right mood, whether late at night or a lazy Sabbath afternoon.

Warner Archive follows last month's Judy Garland centennial (led by The Clock, an essential disc) with only a pair of July Blu-rays, the other one being the more impressive 1948 Errol Flynn vehicle Adventures of Don Juan. This isn't one of the studio's most worthy catalog titles in recent memory, but as usual The Frisco Kid is at least granted another one of the boutique label's excellent A/V restorations... and considering its last appearance on home video was a 2006 DVD with public domain-grade cover artwork, this new disc is cause for celebration among its most faithful fans.

The Frisco Kid Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Although Warner Archive did not specify the source material(s) used for this new 1080p transfer in their press release, its clean and stable appearance shares a lot of visual similarities with other WAC catalog titles taken from 2K/4K scans of an interpositive. The Frisco Kid's dry and earthy palette is dutifully represented here, showcasing browns and pale greens that stand in sharp contrast with the rugged terrain and cool blue of a cloudless sky (seen above). Despite the lived-in locations this picture is nonetheless clean as a whistle; no obvious signs of dirt or debris were visible, nor did plumes of dust fall victim to compression artifacts thanks to the Blu-ray's expert encoding. Likewise, grain is perfectly preserved although there were a handful of scenes where noise and chunkier grain levels slightly interfered with what's otherwise a perfectly-rendered image that runs circles around Warner Bros.' own 2006 DVD edition. I've got a feeling that long-time fans of the film will appreciate all of the sweeping improvements here, not to mention the tightening of smaller details that bring together yet another outstanding effort from the reliably great boutique label.

The Frisco Kid Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This high-quality DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track does a fine job with The Frisco Kid's modest but serviceable source elements. Dialogue sounds clean and well-rendered with plenty of room to breathe during wide-open outdoor scenes, which also extends to background noise and certain elements that contain a surprising level of depth and weight. One of these elements is the original score by Frank De Vol (a former actor who briefly appears on-screen and is credited as as "Piano Player - Old Timer"), which sounds great with a relatively strong dynamic range and virtually no clipping at the high end. Likewise, no other age-related sonic defects are present such as hissing, pops, or sync issues.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only.

The Frisco Kid Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with poster-themed cover art, no inserts, and minimal extras.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:51) - This brief and oddly vague promo piece, which touts Gene Wilder's performances in then-recent films like Young Frankenstein as a primary selling point, can also be seen here.

The Frisco Kid Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Robert Aldrich's Western dramedy The Frisco Kid is characters first and story second, with likable but familiar central performances by Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford. It's the kind of film that can be summed up in one or two sentences and, while that doesn't necessarily make this an indispensable or even durable production, it's worth watching every so often and probably holds strong nostalgic value with a very specific core group. Warner Archive's Blu-ray presentation shows their usual amount of effort with another top-tier A/V presentation, although the lack of bonus features given the star power involved stings a bit more than usual. Recommended, but much more so to established fans.