6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Gunman Hud arrives in Blackstone to seek revenge for his brother's death. He discovers the truth behind the lost money of the local bank, but still has to deal with an idealistic Sheriff, a dubious female banker, a one-armed Mexican bandit (who once was his friend) and a bunch of hippie-like youngsters.
Starring: Johnny Hallyday (I), Gastone Moschin, Françoise Fabian, Sylvie Fennec, Angela LuceForeign | 100% |
Western | 44% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
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
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).
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.
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.
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