The Hellbenders Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

The Hellbenders Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 19, 2020

Sergio Corbucci's "The Hellnders" a.k.a. "The Cruel Ones" (1967) 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, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Approach The Hellbenders with caution. With the great Sergio Corbucci behind the camera, Joseph Cotten in front of it, and a predictably excellent soundtrack by Ennio Morricone you would be right to expect from this film at least an hour of decent exotic entertainment, but once the end credits roll you will walk away from it seriously disappointed.

The events in the film take place shortly after the Civil War has ended. There are still scattered pockets with minor conflicts, but the forces of the North are now firmly in control of the country. However, Colonel Jonas (Cotton), who has fought on the side of the Confederate forces, does not think that the war is over and plans to form a new army that can once again challenge the North. Together with his three sons -- Ben (Julian Mateos), Nat (Angel Aranda), and Jeff (Gino Pernice) -- he has stolen a very large sum of money and while pretending to be transporting the cold body of a famous general is heading to the Southwest to fund the uprising. Also traveling with the group is the ‘widow’ (Maria Martin) of the late general, who has been relieved from her daily duties in a popular brothel.

When somewhere in the desert the ‘widow’ becomes inebriated and one of the brothers kills her, Ben is promptly dispatched to find a replacement. In a lawless town, he picks another cheating prostitute, Claire (Norma Bengell), who initially incorrectly assumes that she would be traveling with a group of miners. When later on she discovers the truth, Colonel Jonas’ immediately warns her that it is too late for her to walk away.

The further South the travelers go, the more dangerous their journey becomes. But it is Dan’s desire to protect Claire that eventually threatens to collapse their mission.

Here are a few of the main reasons why The Hellbenders fails to excite: First, the screenplay is one of the most unoriginal used for a spaghetti western. It chronicles a hugely disappointing journey without providing any legit opportunities for the main characters to impress. Quite predictably, there is a lot of posturing of the kind that would have been fine in screen tests but not in a complete film. Second, the absurd behavior around the casket where the stolen money is hidden is simply unbearable, and yet it is needed because without it the film cannot continue after the initial twenty or so minutes. Third, the absurd behavior is completely out of sync with the macho attitudes the script demands from its male stars as well, so as a result the entire film quickly acquires an equally unalterable cartoonish quality. A potentially exciting relationship between Ben and Claire is also foolishly wasted to justify a dramatic finale that solidifies the impression that too many people wanted the film to be something entirely different. It does not look good at all.

A successful case can be made that the casting choices are poor as well. Cotten repeatedly tries to lead but struggles and leaves the impression that he is surrounded by strangers that quite simply do not like interacting with him. The majority of the time Bengell is also kept away from the action, but the few decent sequences from the film are the ones where she actually has something meaningful to say and do.

Enzo Barboni’s camera provides a few spectacular vistas highlighting the beauty of the Spanish countryside, but the film does not have the epic look and ambience the great spaghetti westerns are known for.

The Hellbenders Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Hellbenders arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a recent 4K master that was supplied by StudioCanal. The master is very healthy, but the elements that were used to produce it reveal some minor age-related fluctuations that affect density and clarity. Some of these fluctuations are also exacerbated by lensing choices, though my feeling is that most viewers will completely ignore them. There are no traces of problematic digital adjustments. Fluidity is good, but ideally it could be slightly better. The grading job is excellent. There are solid, nicely saturated primaries, plus good ranges of properly balanced nuances. There are no distracting large debris, cuts, marks, stains, warped or torn frames to report in our review. (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).

The Hellbenders Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

Clarity and depth are very good. There are a few areas where balance is a bit uneven, but I am quite certain that this is how the original audio mix was finalized. Dynamic intensity is good, but as usual keep in mind that this film comes from the late '60s so there are noticeable native limitations.

The Hellbenders Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - new audio commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox.

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for The Hellbenders. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 480/60i).

• Additional Trailers - additional trailers for the following titles from Kino Lorber's catalog:
  
  1. Navajo Joe
  2. The Mercenary
  3. The Specialists
  4. Kill Them All and Come Back Alone
  5. Duel in the Sun

The Hellbenders Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Hellbenders does not look or feel like a Sergio Corbucci film. It was an Italian-Spanish coproduction and my guess is that Corbucci was probably forced to accept all sorts of different suggestions and ultimately make compromises to have it funded. Maybe this is the reason why Ennio Morricone scored it under an alias as well. Anyhow, I don't like this film, and I don't think that I will ever give it a second chance because it is not that far away from being a parody. Fans of the film should be very happy with Kino Lorber's release because it is sourced from a very healthy new 4K master, which was supplied by StudioCanal.