The Gentle Gunman Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

The Gentle Gunman Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 31, 2023

Basil Dearden's "The Gentle Gunman" (1952) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the release include new program with critics Matthew Sweet and Phuong Le and a collection of behind the scenes stills. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The traitor

A quiet corner of Northern Ireland, 1941. Local IRA leader Shinto (Robert Beauty) and his men blame one of their own, Terrence Sullivan (John Mills), for several consequential blunders. Because Terrence has disappeared, they suspect he might have even switched sides. Terrence’s younger brother, Matt (Dirk Bogarde), an IRA soldier, is angry, too. However, he has trouble believing that he was trained by a traitor.

In the middle of a carefully planned operation in the London subway, the two brothers cross paths, and Terrence risks his life to prevent a massacre. Shortly after, Shinto’s two expert bomb makers are captured by the British, and an order is issued to take out the traitor. Now fully convinced that his brother has switched sides, Matt sides with Shinto and vows to help, but when the perfect opportunity eventually arrives, he hesitates to do what is expected of him. Meanwhile, Terrence risks his life again to free the captured bomb makers.

Basil Dearden directed The Gentle Gunman for the Ealing Studios in 1952, while working with a screenplay handed to him by Roger MacDougall, who adapted his play of the same name. MacDougall had completed the play a couple of years earlier.

Despite the impressive cast, it is quite easy to tell that Dearden was not given a big budget. Indeed, The Gentle Gunman is a very pragmatic film that takes full advantage of existing studio resources and tech talent to achieve period authenticity, and while it frequently looks pretty, it does not always look right. For example, there is an abundance of footage where the controlled lighting and camera movement infuse the drama with an artificiality that is extremely difficult to brush aside. On top of this, an ongoing struggle to get Irish accents right unquestionably hurts the desired period authenticity.

If one severely downplays its inability to establish a convincing period identity, The Gentle Gunman could produce some interesting food for thought, though it must be said that it is hardly unique. For example, the brothers have completely different takes on the definition of violence and its justification, which instantly alter their definitions of freedom fighter and terrorist as well. While the drama heats up, it is suggested that the cause they have been supporting is an easily manipulative license for lawlessness, too. The final act even places loyalty under the microscope, with some predictably logical questions about its purpose and definition. (While testing Matt’s loyalty, what Shinto and his men prepare to do is exactly what Stalin and his henchmen did a few years later when they initiated the “purge of traitors”).

But the pragmatism of The Gentle Gunman makes it impossible for the direct and indirect questioning to transform the conflict between the two brothers into something much bigger and more interesting. Dearden would have needed more time for that kind of multi-layered film, and undoubtedly a substantially bigger budget. As it is shot, The Gentle Gunman goes through a series of predictable situations and delivers equally predictable character arcs that fail to produce much excitement.

Dearden’s director of photography was Gordon Dines, whose credits include The Blue Lamp (1950), Pool of London (1951), The Cruel Sea (1953), The Square Ring (1953), The Maggie (1954), and The Colditz Story (1955).

The Gentle Gunman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Gentle Gunman arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

I have never owned a copy of The Gentle Gunman and do not know how it might have looked on previous DVD releases. However, this Blu-ray release introduces such a stunning new restoration there is no doubt in my mind that this is the best The Gentle Gunman has ever looked. I was very, very impressed. There might be a few tiny blemishes that could be removed, but the overall quality of the visuals is quite incredible. Indeed, delineation, clarity, and depth are almost always outstanding, so even on a very large screen there is a lot to admire. The grayscale is fantastic as well. In fact, it is very easy to tell that the party that finalized the grayscale was extremely careful to get everything right because darker and nighttime footage looks sensational. Image stability is excellent. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Gentle Gunman 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 provided for the main feature.

The dual mono track is very good. All exchanges are clear, sharp, and easy to follow. From time to time, the sound feels slightly compressed, but I assume this is a limitation of the original soundtrack. As noted in the review, the film was not made with a lavish budget, so the audio was almost certainly not optimized. There are no audio dropouts, pops, distortions, or other similar anomalies to report.

The Gentle Gunman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Discussion - in this new program, critics Matthew Sweet and Phuong Le discuss The Gentle Gunman. In English, not subtitled. (34 min).

• Behind the Scenes Stills Gallery - presented without sound. (1 min).

The Gentle Gunman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you instantly dismiss The Gentle Gunman because some of the Irish accents in it are not as authentic as they could have been, I think you would be making a big mistake. I admit in our review that this is an issue, but it is not the humongous issue it is made out to be. There are plenty of legendary classic films where German characters are played by English speakers, or American characters with American accents are played by European actors. The current trend of insisting that all older films that feature such 'anomalies' are deeply flawed and future films should avoid them is horrible. More importantly, it is very, very damaging. The Gentle Gunman could have been a much better film if it had been made with a bigger budget and greater vision. It could have used the conflict between the two brothers to produce many timeless truths about those who choose to kill in the name of a cause they believe is sacred, as well as those who are manipulated not to shame them because of it. I think it is worth seeing because it unites several terrific actors and produces some surprisingly good visuals, but it is not one of the great films about Northern Ireland's troubled past. StudioCanal's Blu-ray release introduces an outstanding, exclusive new restoration of The Gentle Gunman. If you decide to pick it up for your collection, please keep in mind that it is Region-B "locked". RECOMMENDED.