Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

The Killer Elite Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 11, 2014

Sam Peckinpah spent much of his professional career fighting The Man, which for Peckinpah typically consisted of studio types and producing partners who attempted to rein in both Peckinpah’s legendary behavioral excesses as well as his often hyperbolic directorial style. Maybe the iconic director was simply tired by the time The Killer Elite came along in 1975. Peckinpah was already reeling from the abject failures of films like Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo García, and a lot of The Killer Elite seems to have been “packaged” specifically to get seats in theaters, no matter what the cost. Two then very hot stars, James Caan and Robert Duvall, headline the cast, and if the film’s source novel (Monkey in the Middle by Robert Rostand) wasn’t exactly topping the bestseller lists, the general outline of the plot, pitting two kind of black ops contractors for the CIA against each other, had enough exciting elements to guarantee opportunities for Peckinpah’s typically wildly imaginative action sequences. And yet—The Killer Elite is a really weirdly amorphous film most of the time, one which stumbles and lurches rather than runs (or even coasts, as in some of Peckinpah’s other late career outings). As seemed to be more and more the case as Peckinpah’s career drew to a much too early close (he died at the tender age of 59), interference from others and Peckinpah’s own on set shenanigans led to an ungainly finished film that some have even argued wasn’t completely directed by Peckinpah, since his disgust with the process led to him sequestering himself from the actual shoot, leaving individual scenes to his underlings to complete. The result is an interesting but kind of sad curio that represents an obviously titanic director trying to weave together frayed strands of creativity. Everyone in front of the camera seems game, but there’s an unevenness to much of The Killer Elite that, unlike its expert marksmen at the core of the story, misses the bullseye.

Caan and Duvall play Mike Locken and George Hansen, both hired hitmen who work for a CIA subcontractor (who knew the CIA subcontracted?) called ComTeg. The Killer Elite establishes the camaraderie between these two mercenaries as they aid a defector named Vorodny (Helmut Dantine) make his way to the safety of the West. In a nicely done about face, Hansen turns out to have a few ideas of his own, and the result is a dead defector and a badly wounded Locken. Locken’s injuries are indeed so severe that he’s informed his days as a hired hitman are obviously over. That doesn’t sit well with Locken, and the stage is set for an epic revenge drama.

Things seemingly play right into Locken’s hands when his former employer enlists his aid to protect a Chinese politician named Yuen Chung (Mako, The Sand Pebbles), whose life has been threatened. When Locken finds out that Hansen is one of those doing the threatening, he jumps (or perhaps more appropriately considering his injuries, limps) at the chance, recruiting two former associates, Mac (Bert Young) and Miller (Bo Hopkins), to help him in not just protecting Yuen Chung, but (hopefully) confronting Hansen as well.

The typically terse style of Peckinpah is scattered almost from the get go in The Killer Elite. Despite several action set pieces, the film meanders, trying to be archly humorous at times and deadly serious at others, but often feeling simply lost. Caan, then at the height of his rugged athleticism, is literally hobbled in this role, reduced to a shuffling has been due to his injuries, and further forced to recite some risible dialogue that frequently doesn’t help matters.

Still, The Killer Elite manages to scrape by on enough adrenaline in its early going that fans of Peckinpah (if no one else) will probably be able to overlook at least some of the film’s more glaring lapses in logic and continuity. But the longer The Killer Elite goes on, the more it seems to disappear in a morass of ill conceived character “developments” and truly off the wall action sequences (Peckinpah and ninjas?—they’re here, folks). What's ultimately the most depressing thing about The Killer Elite is how derivative and forced it all seems, two aspects that may be downright shocking for those who have always thought of Peckinpah as an intentional provocateur and innovator.

The Killer Elite Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Killer Elite is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Twilight Time with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. It's unclear whether this was sourced from the same master used for the French Blu-ray which came out last year, but based on the comments of my colleague Dr. Svet Atanasov and a cursory comparison of screenshots, it seems like this release is largely similar if not identical. The elements are in tip top shape, with no really problematic damage to report, and colors have also weathered the intervening decades very well, with especially robust blues making the location photography in and around San Francisco really pop. Detail is quite pleasing, with close-ups providing at times squirm inducing fine detail (Peckinpah does like to linger on scenes of bodily carnage). One of the best things about this transfer is the really impressive shadow detail and grain resolution, two aspects that have hobbled previous home video releases. A lot of this film takes place in dark or dimly lit environments, and there's some real depth to the imagery now that was lacking on the DVD release. Grain is nicely organic looking, spiking at times in the darkest moments, but never appearing artificial.

It should be noted that this release only contains one version of the film, unlike the French release. This version runs 2:03:21, which, while a minute shorter than the uncensored timing mentioned by Svet in his review would indicate this is the uncensored version.

The Killer Elite Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While there's nothing horribly wrong with The Killer Elite's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track, amplitude seems just a bit anemic, something that becomes more apparent in some of the big (and ostensibly noisy) set pieces like the car chase through San Francisco (as I mentioned above--derivative). Dialogue and Jerry Fielding's score come through very cleanly, but this track lacks significant punch and may require audiophiles to turn their volume "up to 11".

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

• Noon Wine (480i; 51:18). Those who are too young to remember ABC's valiant experiment for the 1966-67 season Stage '67 may not realize what a remarkable anthology it was, but among its stellar offerings during its sole year on the air was this rare and intimate piece directed by Peckinpah and starring Jason Robards, Olivia de Havilland and Theodore Bikel. Adapted from a novel by Katherine Anne Porter (Ship of Fools), Noon Wine has some melodramatic elements but provides fantastic performances by its star trio in its tale of a farmer, his wife, and a hired hand. This is sourced from older video and has some inherent tracking issues, but is an incredible historical document and should be treasured by Peckinpah fans. The feature also comes with an optional commentary by the trio providing the feature film's commentary (see below). As an added bonus, this comes complete with Stage '67's opening credits, with some lesser known music by Elmer Bernstein. Jerry Fielding scored the actual episode.


• Passion and Poetry: Sam's Killer Elite (480i; 27:45) is part of a longer Peckinpah documentary and includes some great interviews and behind the scenes footage.


• Promoting The Killer Elite (480i; 4:15) contains a gallery of advertising material.


• TV and Radio Spots (480i; 5:10)


• Original Theatrical Trailer (480i; 2:12)


• MGM 90th Anniversary Trailer (1080p; 2:06)


• Audio Commentary. Paul Seydor and Garner Simmons join Nick Redman for a consistently interesting and informative commentary that deals with this film's somewhat troubled shoot and some of the larger contextual issues surrounding Peckinpah.


• Isolated Score Track is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. This was Jerry Fielding's last score for Peckinpah.

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

The Killer Elite is one of those rare releases where a frankly problematic film is rescued (at least somewhat) by its curio value and some stellar supplementary material. This is far from Peckinpah's best, and in fact is a little depressing at times given how chaotic it all feels, but technical merits are very good to excellent (especially the video component), and as mentioned the supplements are first rate. Recommended.