Trailer Trauma V: 70s Action Attack Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

Trailer Trauma V: 70s Action Attack Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 28, 2020

Trailer Trauma V: 70s Action Attack" (2020) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Garagehouse Pictures. The supplemental features on the disc include a trailer park for other releases and new audio commentary by critics Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles. Region-Free.

Warren Oates in Bring Me the Head of Alfredo García

Garagehouse Pictures’ latest installment in the Trailer Trauma series can easily be used to run a masterclass on the riches of ‘70s action cinema. I am not exaggerating. If ‘70s action cinema is underrepresented in your collection, grab this release, start going through the trailers, and I guarantee that after you are done viewing them you will have a long list of great ‘discoveries’ that gave the decade its reputation, from legitimate big classics to smaller cult films that were representative of key genre trends.

Here’s a quick summation of the type of content that you should expect from the compilation:

A decent section of it is dedicated to blaxploitation gems like Cleopatra Jones, Black Shampoo, Gordon’s War, and Trouble Man. The blaxploitation hybrids – which are films mixing blaxploitation attitudes with more straightforward action -- are also represented with trailers for Hit! and Three Tough Guys. Predictably, there is a healthy selection of trailers for the decade’s big classics -- The French Connection, The Driver, Gone in 60 Seconds, Charley Varick, etc. The big action stars -- Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson, and Steve McQueen -- have some of their famous films highlighted as well.

The smaller films, most of which are actually just as good as the famous classics, bring that special ’70s flavor and make the compilation a lot of fun to explore. Think biker films, exploitation films, racing films, and even a few teen dramedies. Some of them, like Return to Macon County, Bonnie’s Kids, Kill or Be Killed, were recently remastered and are already available on Blu-ray, so you can pick them up and then discover them the right way. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of gems that are not yet on Blu-ray, such as Joyride, Run, Angel, Run, Buster and Billie, and The Losers.

Action comedies are represented as well, but remember that the standard for ‘funny’ during the ‘70s was very, very different, which is why some of these films are now introduced with all sorts of silly social labels attached to them. So, there are trailers for Payday, Law and Disorder, Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, Busting, and even The Super Cops. (Warner Archive should have brought Gordon Parks’ film long before Freebie and the Bean).

The western genre is represented by the likes of High Plains Drifter and Ballad of Cable Hogue, plus there are trailers for ‘modern westerns’ like White Line Fever, High-Ballin’, and Convoy.

Last but not least, the compilation also highlights a couple of cult European films. The biggest one is Zorro with Alain Delon, which for a long period of time was one of the iconic actor’s biggest commercial hits. There is also a vintage trailer for the little seen German action thriller Bloody Friday, which underwent a complete 4K makeover is now available on Blu-ray via Subkultur Entertainment.

*The quality of the trailers varies. The overwhelming majority of them have what I would describe as ‘vintage quality’ – there are minor specks and scratches, light color discoloration, and density fluctuations. But overall they still look quite nice.

**You can see the complete list of the trailers that are included in the compilation if you open the screenshots gallery. The final four screenshots identify them.

Trailer Trauma V: 70s Action Attack Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Trailer Trauma V: 70s Action Attack arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Garagehouse Pictures.

There are a few trailers that are presented in a wider aspect ratio, but the overwhelming majority are in 1.85:1. What about their quality? Well, the quality varies from average to good to very good, with the biggest number of trailers fitting somewhere between the first two. But they all have a vintage appearance, meaning that there are some small scratches, specks, discoloration, and density fluctuations. So, if you compare them to the ones from Trailer Trauma 4: Television Trauma you will conclude that they look rougher, but not by much. In fact, a few look significantly better, meaning healthier and fresher. Overall, I think that this is a perfectly fine technical presentation that makes it easy to enjoy the content that is on the disc, but ideally every single trailer could look better. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical collation).

Trailer Trauma V: 70s Action Attack Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided.

The quality of the audio varies, but I would say that clarity and stability are typically very good. Yes, there is dynamic unevenness, but I think that it is insignificant. Sharpness and stability remain solid, even on some of the rougher looking trailers where it is quite obvious that a lot could have gone wrong. So, your viewing experience will be perfectly fine.

Trailer Trauma V: 70s Action Attack Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Garagehouse Pictures Trailer Park - a collection of trailers for other Garagehouse Pictures releases.

• Audio Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by critics Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger. I loved it. It is casual and funny, but also quite informative, which should not surprise anyone that has listened to the commentaries that these two gentlemen have done for various genre titles from Kino Lorber's catalog. The commentary was recorded exclusively for Garagehouse Pictures.

Trailer Trauma V: 70s Action Attack Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A masterclass on the riches of '70s action cinema, this is what you get from this release. It offers a very solid mix of trailers for the big classics the decade is remembered for and smaller cult and exotic films that were representative of various genre trends. If you pick it up, I guarantee you will make some very special discoveries that will then inspire you to expand your collection. The release also features a typically great audio commentary by critics Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.