6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
An escaped convict kidnaps a retired sheriff's daughter in 1909 Arizona.
Starring: Charlton Heston, James Coburn, Barbara Hershey, Jorge Rivero, Michael ParksWestern | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
None
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Note: This film is currently available only in this bundle: Movies 4 You: Timeless Westerns
The sixties and seventies were a time of transition for one of the hoariest genres in film, the western. What had once
been a reliable box office attraction through the early fifties at least had found its mojo with audiences seriously
depleted by the glut of small screen oaters which invaded television from the mid-fifties on, as well as perhaps just a
natural attrition of interest caused by so many westerns having been released for so long, and by the time the early
sixties rolled around, huge hit westerns were actually the exception rather than the norm. For every How the West Was Won
(which was actually marketed as much as an “event” movie as it was an actual western), there were scores of other
films, some with major stars and directors attached, which just fell by the wayside. Things seemed to be looking up
when 1969 produced two unlikely western hits that couldn’t have been more different, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
and The Wild Bunch. But
audiences can be fickle aggregations, and while a number of fascinating westerns were made in the wake of these two
hallmarks, few actually ended up connecting with audiences in any overwhelming way. The four films collected on this
perhaps odd seeming two Blu-ray set from Timeless Media Group (an imprint of Shout! Factory) all fall into that less than
stellar category, even if each of them has at least some redeeming characteristics (and sometimes much more than
that). All of these films failed to ignite at the box office, and in fact probably were seen in such venues as drive-ins and
then on various television broadcasts through the years. While they appear to be a fairly disparate bunch, spanning
the years from 1964’s Rio Conchos to 1979’s Butch & Sundance: The Early Years, there are at least a
couple of linking elements here, including three scores by the inestimable Jerry Goldsmith and two appearances by Jim
Brown (including his screen debut). The four together provide a rather interesting look both at what went right and
wrong with the western during this transitional era.
The Last Hard Men is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Timeless Media Group with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. This film, along with Rio Conchos, is the best looking of the bunch, with trouble free elements, nicely saturated and accurate looking color and commendable amounts of fine detail. Especially impressive is some of the location work, which features a lot of scrub oak and other "busy" filigreed environments, but which always resolves sharply and clearly. There are some moments of crush in a couple of very dark scenes, notably the big nighttime climax, where even a series of fires can't completely reveal adequate shadow detail, but otherwise this is a very nice looking transfer, with a naturally filmic appearance.
The Last Hard Men features a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mix delivered via DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. The film features a rather florid sound design, with everything from the rattle and roar of an early automobile, to the mad galloping of horses across the plain, to lots of gunfire and, lest it go unmentioned, James Coburn screaming at the top of his lungs quite a bit of the time. Though this track is obviously fairly narrow, it's surprisingly full bodied, with a really nice sounding midrange and rather unexpectedly vigorous low end. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is exceedingly wide.
There were probably lots of backroom jokes in Hollywood about The Last Hard Men's title when it came out. But if you can stop giggling long enough to actually watch this film, there's quite a bit to like about it. Coburn has rarely displayed this level of outright violence, and he brings a rather startling authenticity to the role of Provo. Heston wisely chooses to underplay, probably realizing there was no way for him to effectively share the screen with Coburn if he adopted the same approach. There are some troubling elements in this film, including a kind of nasty misogyny, and it's a real shocker that it was directed by the usually staid and stolid Andrew V. McLaglen, but The Last Hard Men is certainly visceral, even if it's more than a bit unsettling. This Blu-ray looks and sounds great and comes Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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