Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

The Pirates of Blood River Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 22, 2020

The Pirates of Blood River is currently only available in the twenty film Hammer Ultimate Collection.

At the end of the 17th century, many sailed the seas in search of new land, new opportunity, and freedom from persecution. They were the “Huguenots” and found their safe haven on the Isle of Devon. However, the honeymoon was short-lived. The colonist soon reverted to the ways of the old world – seeking greed and tyranny – and erased the hard work and sacrifices so many made for a better way of life. There, a man by the name of Jonathon Standing (Kerwin Mathews) is sentenced for the crime of adultery by his own father Jason (Andrew Keir) and given a 15-year term to a penal colony. There, he is poorly treated, worked inhumanly hard, and is barely fed or watered. Quickly realizing his choices are escape or die, he chooses the former but barely survives the pursuit. No sooner do his captors give up the hunt is he captured by pirates, led by Captain LaRoche (Christopher Lee), who interrogate him and force him to return to his village and reveal there whereabouts of untold wealth ripe for the plundering.

The film serves up enough action and adventure to make it a worthwhile endeavor. It moves quickly, the action is surprisingly robust, and Christopher Lee works the pirate angle quite well, verbally and physically alike. Star Kerwin Mathews is strong in the lead role, demonstrating a character command through the entire ordeal, whether holding steadfast to his innocence in the courtroom, when toiling at the prison, or returning home in the company of pirates under duress. The character as scripted is without much range, but Mathews injects him with a commanding persona that, paired with his screen presence, make for a formidable lead in a picture that demands one.

The Pirates of Blood River Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Pirates of Blood River's 1080p transfer proves adequate if not underwhelming. It's approachable for its ability to transmit essential details, though certainly there's a flatness to the image. Grain is light but not fine; there's no sense of organic, filmic crispness at play, the picture favoring a somewhat dull, uninteresting appearance. Super-fine detailing and textural command are nonexistent, but essential facial, clothing, and environmental touches bring out enough of the foundation to make the 1080p presentation worthwhile. Colors are likewise somewhere in the middle of exciting and poor. Contrast and saturation are fine but underwhelming. Nothing pops but nothing appears grossly faded, either. Black levels are a bit light, however. The picture displays pops and speckles but never to bothersome extremes. Compression is handled quite well.

The Pirates of Blood River Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Pirates of Blood River sails onto Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. Unfortunately score falls onto the unkempt side of the ledger. It's hard-edged, lacking finesse and clarity, sounding a bit muddled and messy. There are moments of improved fidelity but the delivery is always stymied by a number of factors, including age, source limitations, encode quality, and so on. Spatial range is limited, too. The two-channel track fails to push much beyond a center imaged area, which is a shame when would-be rousing score is confined to a tiny portion right in front of the screen. A shootout around the 39-minute mark wants for more authority and a sense of immersion. As it is the sounds pop in the middle with little distinction or feel for places of origin or places of impact. Certainly the audience is left without a real aural sense of the battlefield's geography; everything is just shoved in that one location. Most of the movie is this way, whether various one-off sounds, natural ambience, or anything else the track has to offer. Dialogue does at least benefit from the placement. It's foundationally clear though lacking that lifelike authenticity.

The Pirates of Blood River Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of The Pirates of Blood River contains no supplemental content.

The Pirates of Blood River Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Pirates of Blood River passes muster as passable entertainment but brings nothing new or interesting to the table. Lead performances and fair production design carry the day. Mill Creek's featureless Blu-ray delivers decent video and iffy audio.