Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Two Mules for Sister Sara 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 20, 2024

Don Siegel's "Two Mules for Sister Sara" (1970) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include archival interview with Clint Eastwood; recent audio commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox; and vintage promotional materials. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

I tend to agree with the popular opinion that Two Mules for Sister Sara was Don Siegel’s attempt to copy the blueprint that made the spaghetti westerns successful. It blends period action and comedy in a very familiar fashion, and then adds the political overtones these films utilized to produce some of their most memorable contrasts. But the end result is different. There is a new dynamic between the camera and the main characters, plus the exotic flavor is a lot more restrained.

Somewhere in the desert, Hogan (Clint Eastwood), a lone mercenary, saves nun Sara (Shirley MacLaine) from a couple of drunken bandits. When later on he reveals to her that he is planning to get rich by helping a group of Mexican revolutionaries take over a giant French fort, nun Sara decides to join him. As the two travel to a secret place where the revolutionaries have gathered, however, nun Sara’s enthusiasm for the mission and ability to handle arms gradually force Hogan to begin speculating that she may not be a woman of the cloth.

The original screenplay for Two Mules for Sister Sara came from Budd Boetticher and this may actually be the bigger reason why the production does not have a classic spaghetti western identity. Indeed, at the heart of the narrative is a gradually evolving relationship that requires both Eastwood and MacLaine to reveal very different sides of their characters, with their incompatibility eventually initiating the crucial romance. The manner in which the connection between the two is established, however, also produces an uncharacteristic intellectual rivalry, which is what works against the western identity. For example, in the first half, the mercenary is seen as a man who trusts his survival instincts to stay out of trouble, and he leads with confidence that makes him appear entirely legit in his environment. But then the screenplay slowly but surely begins to erode his image so that the nun’s inevitable transformation appears authentic, and this planned ‘softening’ just does not happen in a way a traditional spaghetti western would have embraced.

Siegel’s direction is of course complimentary of the ‘softening’, but even if it wasn’t the film would not have looked much different. The comedy and romance actually do much more to establish the identity of the film than the exact ways in which the action is captured by the camera. (For reference, in A Fistful of Dynamite, which Sergio Leone directed a year later, exactly the opposite occurs. The superbly staged and shot action is what allows everything else in the film to come together as it should, and in the process defines its identity). In other words, the film is only as good as the quality of its comedy and romance.

And how effective are the comedy and romance? It depends on whether you see them as organic elements of the relationship between the mercenary and the nun, or scripted enhancements that hurt its authenticity. Some of the mercenary’s early jabs work fine, especially when he questions the nun’s own rules, but later in the film there is just too much overacting of the kind that makes a lot of situations look a bit too cute.

The original soundtrack was created by Ennio Morricone. It is widely considered one of the Italian maestro’s very best.

*Kino Lorber’s release features two versions of the film that were fully restored in 4K: International Cut, which is approximately 114 minutes long, and Domestic Cut, which is approximately 105 minutes long.

Two Mules for Sister Sara 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kino Lorber's release of Two Mules for Sister Sara is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray disc is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray disc is Region-A "locked".

The release features two versions of the film, International Version, which is the longer one, and Domestic Cut. Only the International Version is presented in native 4K on the 4K Blu-ray. It can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades.

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures #1-10 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #14-33 are from 4K Blu-ray.

Several years ago, Kino Lorber produced this Blu-ray release of Two Mules for Sister Sara. I have it in my library and used it to do various comparisons. I chose to view the native 4K presentation with Dolby Vision.

The overall quality of the native 4K presentation did not change how I feel about the quality of the 4K makeover. There are some quite obvious inconsistencies in the color scheme, and I do not believe that they are intended. For example, in multiple areas, primary blue and blue nuances shift toward green/turquoise, and there are even small surface anomalies suggesting that not everything is managed properly. You can see an example here. The Dolby Vision grade darkens some of these areas and minimizes the impact of the inconsistencies, but they are there, so trained eyes will easily recognize them. Also, the same darkening exacerbates the light crushing that was visible in 1080p, so in some areas there is a bit less to see in native 4K. But there is a lot of material that look very good. For example, the outdoor footage where primary blue and blue nuances are set properly looks terrific. Many close-ups boast outstanding delineation and sharpness as well. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections, so grain exposure is very nice. Ultimately, I feel that certain things should have been done better when the 4K makeover was prepared, so the move to 4K does not offer the upgrade in quality that I think is needed.

Two Mules for Sister Sara 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only standard audio track on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

Obviously, 2.0 track is the same track that was used on the Blu-ray release of Two Mules for Sister Sara. While revisiting the film in native 4K last night, I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review. The following comments are from our review of the Blu-ray release:

Ennio Morricone's soundtrack breathes quite easily throughout the film, but in terms of dynamic intensity, there is hardly any material that could make an impression. Perhaps the attack of the fort at the end of the film could excite some viewers, but overall dynamic intensity is modest. The dialog is clean and easy to follow.

Two Mules for Sister Sara 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC - INTERNATIONAL VERSION

• At Home with Clint - presented here is a vintage video interview with Clint Eastwood. The bulk of the information is about the "real" Clint. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Poster and Image Gallery - a couple of vintage promotional and production materials for Two Mules for Sister Sara. (5 min).

• Commentary - an archival audio commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox.

BLU-RAY DISC - DOMESTIC CUT

• Radio Spots - a couple of vintage radio spots for Two Mules for Sister Sara. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• TV Spots - a couple of vintage TV spots for Two Mules for Sister Sara. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Trailer - vintage trailer for Two Mules for Sister Sara. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Cover - a reversible cover with vintage poster art.

Two Mules for Sister Sara 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is impossible to place Don Siegel's Two Mules for Sister Sara amongst Clint Eastwood's great westerns because it feels a bit like an experiment that did not quite turn out as it should. Budd Boetticher's screenplay introduces character arcs that I think make it awfully difficult for the two leads to connect the right way, and once you realize that their characters are expected to do very specific things to make each other appear legit, the comedy and romance become a tad too sweet.

This combo pack release offers a native presentation of the 4K restoration of the International Version of Two Mules for Sister Sara. The 4K restoration is the best presentation of the film. However, I think that certain things on it could have been handled better. If you really, really enjoy the film, then consider grabbing the combo pack when it goes on sale. But you can pick a far more impressive 4K Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber's massive catalog.