6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
"The Kid," a notorious gunfighter, and his Mexican sidekick Armadillo ride through the post-Civil War West looking for four Indians who raped the Kid's girl friend.
Starring: Gary Allen (I), Steve Rivard, Jeff Kanew, Susannah Campbell, Yolanda SignorelliWestern | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
None
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 1.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
During his interview on this Blu-ray release, co-writer/actor Jeff Kanew (who directed “Revenge of the Nerds” and “Troop Beverly Hills”) credits his absolute love for Sergio Leone’s 1966 epic, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” as the prime inspiration behind 1968’s “The Wicked Die Slow.” However, Kanew had no access to a budget and limited filmmaking experience, trying to replicate the ways of the sun-baked, Italian-born spaghetti western in rural New Jersey during the autumn season. It’s a bad idea from conception, but co-writers Kanew and Gary Allen have their motivation, working with director William K. Hennigar to stumble through this patience-testing collection of real-time events and gratuitous violence, sold without a moment of style or tension. It’s meant to celebrate the western genre, but nobody seems to have a clue what they’re doing, making a backyard production that’s unusually hostile to female characters and genuinely seems to hate viewers.
The AVC encoded image (2.35:1 aspect ratio) presentation is listed as a "Brand new 2019 HD scan of the original film elements." It's not a consistent viewing experience, with age and damage encountered, and there's a brief moment of missing footage at 59:03. At 60:29, a stretch of violence is crudely censored. It's a softer look at frame information, with fine detail elusive, but a general sense of character is present, including rougher skin and facial hair. Locations aren't deep, but a feel for the autumnal setting is available. Delineation has a few moments of solidification. Grain is mostly chunky.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix isn't working too hard here, presenting a basic understanding of dubbed dialogue exchanges. Intelligibility isn't lost, but technical efforts aren't prioritized by the production. Musical selections also deliver a simple sound with mild dramatic support.
Again, "The Wicked Die Slow" (emphasis on "Slow") was shot in New Jersey and looks it, and the production isn't too attentive to period details, with this old west adventure featuring visible power lines and characters in JCPenney-style t-shirts and denim ensembles. Of course, there's no budget here, but the endeavor doesn't earn leniency, determined to provide as inert a viewing experience as possible, with everything in the feature eventually slowing to a stop. And there's the focus on agony, with cowboys delighting in any chance to torment and kill women (don't worry, there's genital mutilation for a male character – you know, to even things out), turning the feature into an offering of dark fetishizing that's unpleasant to watch. There's no feel for character, no suspense, barely any plot, and enough real time events (including a full poker game with Psycho and the boys) to make one wonder what exactly about "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" served as inspiration for this painfully DOA effort.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Special Edition
1966
1968
1919
1956
1957
Ammazzali tutti e torna solo
1968
1972
1982
Il grande duello / The Big Showdown
1972
Ehi amico... c'è Sabata, hai chiuso!
1969
Il mercenario / A Professional Gun
1968
Gunlaw / I giorni dell'ira
1967
1918
1917
New Frontier / Raiders of the Wasteland
1939
1958
Indicator Series | Limited Edition
1969
Cuatro dólares de venganza
1966
1954
1982