The Killer Elite Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

The Killer Elite Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 1, 2013

Director Sam Peckinpah's "The Killer Elite" (1975) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Wild Side Video. The supplemental features on the disc include a longer uncensored version of the film; original trailer; original TV spots; radio spots; gallery of original poster art and lobby cards from around the world; and a segment from Mike Siegel's superb documentary "Passion and Poetry: The Ballad of Sam Peckinpah". In English, with optional French subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The professionals

Elite assassins Mike Locken (James Caan, Thief) and George Hansen (Robert Duvall, Apocalypse Now) are contracted by a private company with ties to the CIA to protect an important defector (Helmut Dantine). After they transport the defector to a safe house on the outskirts of San Francisco, Hansen kills him. Then he shoots his partner in the leg and arm. Before he disappears without a trace, he wishes him a happy retirement.

After a long surgery, Locken is informed that he will never be able to walk or run properly, which guarantees that he will never be contracted again by his former employers. But he vows to return and undergoes a long rehab program. He also becomes interested in martial arts.

Soon after, Locken is approached by his former boss (Arthur Hill, Futureworld) after a group of Japanese killers try to eliminate a high-profile Chinese politician (Mako, The Sand Pebbles) at the San Francisco airport. When he is told that Hansen and another top assassin are also after the Chinese politician, he agrees to protect him until he can safely exit the U.S., hoping that somewhere along the way he will also get a chance to meet his ex-partner. To help him with the new job, Hansen calls two other retired assassins, one now running a shady auto shop (Burt Young, Rocky), the other a loner with a great collection of weapons (Bo Hopkins, Midnight Express).

Based on Robert Syd Hopkins’ novel Monkey in the Middle, The Killer Elite is one of Sam Peckinpah’s most inconsistent films. Parts of it are filled with the typical for the director’s best films over the top violence and dark humor, but its many scattered pieces are never effectively aligned into something that actually makes sense. The chaos gives the film a very exotic flavor, one that typically cheap B films would promote.

The film’s biggest weakness, however, is the unbalanced cast. Top actors are teamed up with very inexperienced actors that often look either disappointingly stiff in front of the camera or completely out of sync. The first half of the film where Caan, Duvall, Young, and Hopkins are frequently seen together is so much better than the second half where the different martial arts actors appear. The big fight with the ninjas at the end, in particular, is beyond unconvincing.

Still, Peckinpah directs The Killer Elite with such energy and gusto that the film often impresses with its uncompromising tone. Caan’s assassin for instance is so mean that when he suffers one does not feel particularly bad about him. On the other hand, Young has all sorts of terrific one-liners that make his character one of the best in the entire film. Hopkins’ assassin also has a few memorable lines, though at the end he once again gets the Peckinpah treatment.

The film was lensed by cinematographer Philip H. Lathrop (The Americanization of Emily, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?). Many of the panoramic shots from San Francisco are particularly good. The long episode at the end of the film with the big ships is also very well done.

French label Wild Side Video’s Blu-ray release of The Killing Elite contains two versions of the film: the original Theatrical Version, which runs at approximately 116 minutes, and a longer Uncensored Version, which runs at approximately 124 minutes. The longer version contains some extra graphic violence.

The Killer Elite Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Sam Peckinpah's The Killer Elite arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Wild Side Video.

Please note that two version of the film are included on this Blu-ray release:

1. Original Theatrical Version: approximately 116 minutes long.
2. Long Uncensored Version: approximately 124 minutes long.

Excluding some traces of light sharpening that are occasionally visible during some of the daylight footage (see screencapture #1), the high-definition transfer is quite pleasing. I have only one DVD release in my library from MGM which uses a transfer that isn't anamorphically enhanced and the gap in quality between the Blu-ray and the DVD is indeed enormous. The nighttime footage from the second half, in particular, looks drastically different - because of the improved detail and shadow definition there are in fact various objects that are simply missing on the DVD release. Elsewhere, when there is plenty of light, close-ups also look very good (screencapture #7). Color reproduction is also far more convincing - there are stable browns, greens, blues, grays, and blacks. The best news, however, is that excessive degraining corrections have not been performed. Also, there are no large damage marks, debris, cuts, or stains to report in this review. To sum it all up, while there is room for some additional improvements, the overall quality of the presentation is quite good. Indeed, anyone who has seen The Killer Elite only on DVD is guaranteed to be satisfied with the film's transition to Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

The Killer Elite Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Theatrical Version of The Killer Elite comes with English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 and French DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 tracks. The Uncensored Version comes only with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 track. Both versions have optional French subtitles. When turned on, the subtitles split the image frame and the black bar below it.

The sound is quite uneven at times but the various fluctuations are indeed inherited. The dialog is clearer and the dynamic movement better, but the balance and stability one would expected from a film with a decent budget are missing. But these are all flaws of the film's original sound design, not technical limitations of the lossless track. With that in mind, I must say that if The Killer Elite arrives on Blu-ray in North America, optional English subtitles should be included on the release as they will undoubtedly be appreciated by a lot of different viewers. For the record, there are no problematic pops, cracks, audio dropouts or distortions.

The Killer Elite Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Version Longue - the longer Uncensored Version of The Killer Elite can be accessed through the special features section of this Blu-ray disc. In English, with optional French subtitles. (124 min, 1080p).

• Bande-annonce - original trailer for The Killer Elite. In English, with optional French subtitles. (3 min).

• Passion & Poetry - Sam's Killer Elite - a segment from Mike Siegel's superb documentary Passion and Poetry: The Ballad of Sam Peckinpah. Included here are short excerpts from interviews with actors Isela Vega (Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia), Bo Hopkins (Jerome Miller in The Killer Elite), Ernest Borgnine (The Wild Bunch), James Coburn (Cross of Iron), and Kris Kristofferson (Convoy), stunt co-ordinator Whitey Hughes, Sam Peckinpah's associate, Katy Haber (1971-1977), and the legendary director's sister, Fern Lea Peter, as well as raw footage from the shooting of the film. In English, with optional French subtitles. (28 min).

• U.S. TV Spots - three original U.S. TV spots for The Killer Elite. In English, with optional French subtitles. (2 min).

• Radio Spots - original U.S. radio spots for The Killer Elite with stills from the film. In English, with optional French subtitles. (4 min).

• Materiel Promotionnel - a gallery of original poster art and lobby cards for The Killer Elite. The content is from the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, England, Finland, and Japan. The images are courtesy of The Mike Siegel Archive. With music. (5 min).

The Killer Elite Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Killer Elite is not one of Sam Peckinpah's best films, but it is still quite entertaining. It attempts to impress in so many different ways that it becomes quite exotic, which is part of its charm. After years of having only a non-anamorphic DVD release of it, French label Wild Side Video's Blu-ray release is quite the revelation. It should make many fans of the American director and his work quite happy. RECOMMENDED.