Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

The Specialists Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 23, 2020

Sergio Corbucci's "The Specialists" (1969) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include remastered trailer for the film and new audio commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox. In Italian or French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The clue

French rock star Johnny Hallyday, whose real name was Jean-Philippe Léo Smet, left a pretty diverse legacy of films. He appeared in old-fashioned crime thrillers, comedies, westerns, war dramas, and of course a few musicals. Sergio Corbucci’s The Specialists, which came out in 1969, was part of an effort to expand Hallyday’s appeal outside of France and a couple of other French speaking markets.

When news reaches gunslinger Hud Dixon (Hallyday) that his brother Charlie has been wrongfully accused of robbing the bank of Blackstone and lynched by a posse of unknown vigilantes, he immediately vows to avenge his death. Soon after, Hud arrives in the notorious western town and goes to work to identify the killers.

But Sheriff Gedeon (Gastone Moschin), who has worked hard to change the town’s reputation, remains skeptical that Charlie was victim of a dirty play and warns Hud that if he continues to seek justice he would have to intervene. Hud not only ignores him, but promptly confronts a number of people that helped shaped the public opinion that Charlie was a thief trying to steal their savings, including the beautiful banker Virginia Pollicut (Francoise Fabian), who was reportedly the last to see him alive. While Hud is looking for answers, a notorious one-armed Mexican bandit named El Diablo (Mario Adorf), who grew up with the gunslinger and for years considered him a friend, also emerges and announces his intention to find out the stolen money that Charlie died for.

Despite employing a couple of high-profile European stars, The Specialists relies almost exclusively on the charisma of Hallyday to impress. More interestingly, the manner in which Corbucci shoots Hallyday to build up the noirish atmosphere of The Specialists is practically identical to the one he utilized to accomplish the same while working with another French actor, Jean-Louis Trintignant, in the classic The Great Silence. So, perhaps rather predictably, these two films, which came out roughly a year apart, are quite easy to use as prime examples of ‘western noir’.

The journey Hallyday’s gunslinger is dispatched on may appear to be a straightforward one, but the solid script produces a number of excellent twists that actually make it quite difficult to guess precisely how it would end. These twists, which are scattered throughout the entire film, are made possible with the use of nicely done character arcs that allow Corbucci to expand the playing field when it usually seems like it is only a matter of time before the bad guys get what they deserve. Admittedly, in certain areas this makes it a bit more difficult to maintain the same heavy noirish atmosphere The Great Silence is known for, but the trade-off is well worth it.

Corbucci relied on the services of cinematographer Dario Di Parma, who captures nature’s beauty in some quite impressive ways. Obviously, the locations that are seen in the film were carefully chosen, but Di Parma positions his camera in very particular ways to get the maximum visual effect and it is quite easy to tell. The short but stunning sequence where the gunslinger and the sheriff head to El Diablo’s lair is a terrific example of Di Parma’s awareness of the importance of camera positioning. (Another better known film with such striking panoramic shots but from a very different environemnt is Ettore Scola’s Ugly, Dirty and Bad).

Angelo Francesco Lavagnino‘s soundtrack is difficult to describe as anything else but a misfire. Its energy is very much out of sync with the film’s moody personality.

The Specialists Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Specialists arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a recent 4K restoration that was completed on behalf of TF1 Films in France. It is a really good restoration with one minor limitation. It is the presence of light crush in darker areas, which is very similar to the one that is noticeable on the 4K restoration of The Deer Hunter. In our review of the 4K Blu-ray release of The Deer Hunter, I speculated that the limitation -- this is the best way I can describe it-- may actually be a byproduct of the downconversion to 1080p, so the native 4K content is probably more convincing. Of course, it could be that the grading is just a tad too aggressive as well, but I have seen the exact same effect on multiple releases already, including The Age of Innocence and Kind Hearts and Coronets, and the more I encounter it, the more I begin to think that the grading alone isn't the main culprit. (Or, of course, you could say that it is precisely the grading job because it is finalized on the 4K master, which makes perfect sense, but adjustments are not made when the same content is later one moved to 1080p). Other than this, the quality of the technical presentation is very good and the film boasts a very consistent organic appearance. Depth and fluidity, in particular, are often fantastic. (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 Specialists Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is clean, clear, and stable. The dialog is easy to follow as well. However, I remain unconvinced that these two tracks, Italian and French, are the only ones that were finalized for this film. There are actors in the film that clearly utter their lines in English, so I wonder if at some point some sort of an 'international' English mix was prepared. I viewed the film with the Italian track and did not encounter any technical anomalies to report in our review.

The Specialists Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a fully restored trailer for The Specialists. In Italian, with imposed English subtitles. (4 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - an exclusive new audio commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox (Repo Man).

• Trailers - additional trailers for the following titles from Kino Lorber's catalog:
  
  1. Navajo Joe
  2. The Hellbenders
  3. The Mercenary
  4. A Fistful of Dollars
  5. The Return of Sabata

The Specialists Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sergio Corbucci's The Specialists is a very fine noirish western that can be a great companion piece to the director's much better known and even more atmospheric film The Great Silence. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a solid 4K restoration that was completed on behalf of TF1 Films in France, but I wonder if the producers of the film also had an international English track for it. Anyhow, if you enjoy this particular genre, pick up a copy of The Specialists for your collection. RECOMMENDED.