The Specialists Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Specialists Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 22, 2020

Sergio Corbucci's "The Specialists" (1969) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include remastered trailers for the film; new audio commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox; new program with critic Howard Hughes; and more. The release also arrives with a 32-page illustrated collector's featuring essays by Howard Hughes as well as technical credits. In Italian, English or French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

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 an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Specialists arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release is sourced from a recent 4K restoration that was completed on behalf of TF1 Films in France. In the United States, the same restoration was released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. (You can see our listing and review of this release here). There are no meaningful discrepancies between the two releases, so below I am reposting my comments from the review of the Kino Lorber release.

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-B "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 three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 2.0, Italian LPCM 2.0, and English LPCM (Partial Dub) 2.0. Three sets of optional English subtitles are provided, one for each track.

I really wanted to see this film with an English audio track because while viewing the Kino Lorber release -- which has only the French and Italian tracks -- it was just way too obvious that many of the actors were uttering their lines in English. So, the English track that is included here is something of a compromise, though. not the solid track I expected it to be. As highlighted above, it is partial, so portions of the film where English dialog is in fact missing. Its quality did not bother me, but I expected better. This being said, I still think that the English track is preferable, and when you decide to see the film you should at least test it before you choose the French or Italian tracks.

The Specialists Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

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

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

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

• English Script - presented here is full dialog script for the English dub track, with scanned pages viewable as a slideshow or accessible as a PDF file.

• Austin Fisher on The Specialists - in this new video program, critic Austin Fisher discusses the production history and critical reception of The Specialists. In English, not subtitled. (19 min).

• Booklet - 32-page illustrated collector's booklet featuring critic Howard Hughes's essays "Western Excess: Sergio Corbucci and The Specialists" and Baguetti Westerns: Cowboys dans le Far-West" as well as technical credits.

The Specialists Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Eureka Entertainment's release features an exclusive English audio track, and even though it is incomplete and a bit rough, I think that it makes this release of The Specialists the one to own. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the original Italian and French tracks -- both of which are also present on the Kino Lorber release of the film -- but there are so many actors in the film that utter their lines in English that at the very least the English track is a welcome bonus. So, if you enjoy The Specialists, consider adding this release to your collection. RECOMMENDED.