Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Warning Shot Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 26, 2022

Buzz Kulik's "Warning Shot" (1967) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment. The only bonus feature on the release is an exclusive new audio commentary recorded by critics Steve Mitchell and Howard S. Berger. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Honey, I'd like to stay in your arms forever, but I can't. I did not make a mistake. There was a gun.

When was the last time you revisited Don Siegel’s The Killers? Do you remember what makes it unique? The original material for it comes from Ernest Hemingway's popular short story, which was first made into a film by Robert Siodmak in 1946. You will not encounter a reputable film noir list that does not rank Siodmak’s film among the genre’s greatest masterpieces. Why? Because its use of light and shadow is quite remarkable and beautifully reproduces the very particular ambience that the genre is famous for. Siegel’s film was made for TV, in color, and does not play with light and shadow while attempting to reproduce the same ambience. For obvious reasons, Siegel and Siodmak’s films are almost always grouped and discussed together, but excluding the original material from Hemingway’s story, they are completely different projects. (By the way, their treatment of this material is very loose and very different, too). This is what makes Siegel’s The Killers unique -- it is a film noir that rejects the stylistic identity of the classic film noir.

Released three years after Siegel’s The Killers, Buzz Kulik’s Warning Shot is the exact same type of unconventional film noir. It was conceived as a TV project, shot in color, and remains equally allergic to light and shadow while reproducing the all-important noir ambience. Like Siegel’s The Killers, Warning Shot was quickly modified into a theatrical feature as well.

So, are these obvious similarities coincidental? Absolutely not, but I will tell you why at the bottom of this article.

In Warning Shot, LA cop Tom Valens (David Janssen) is accused of killing an innocent man while tracking down an elusive mass murderer with his partner. Valens does not dispute killing the man but claims that he had a gun in his hand that could have been used against him. When his colleagues fail to recover the gun at the murder scene, Valens is promptly charged with manslaughter. An ambitious prosecutor with an axe to grind then vows to prove that Valens is just another liar with a police badge and put him behind bars. Before the trial, Valens seeks help to prove that he is innocent, but even his partner and boss refuse to believe that he is innocent and advise him to plead guilty. When it is revealed that the victim is a doctor with a seemingly impeccable reputation, the public immediately turns against him, too.

The mystery that is at the center of the story is very good, but there is something better that makes Warning Shot a special film. It is its ability to reproduce the previously mentioned noir ambience while using garish colors with an almost suspicious enthusiasm. The effect is very unusual. Warning Shot begins to look like a cinematic adaption of a juicy story taken from a classic post-war pulp fiction magazine. But neither Janssen nor the rest of the actors are acting in that kind of juicy/flashy film, so the characterizations, suspense, and drama remain suitable for a classic film noir.

In an exclusive new audio commentary that is included on this release, critics Howard S. Berger and Steve Mitchell speculate that the pulp element and garish colors bring Warning Shot extremely close to the work of the great European giallo masters, like Mario Bava, but I very much disagree. Warning Shot and The Killers were conceived with the same blueprint, which reflected a desire to make TV content as exciting as cinematic content during the 1960s. Obviously, replicating on TV what was screened at the cinema was impossible, so the excessive stylization was supposed to make up for the many thrills that were inappropriate for TV. (By the way, this is precisely what makes John Guillermin's P.J., another very stylish film with noir roots from the 1960s, easy to group with Warning Shot and The Killers. For its TV broadcast, Universal edited P.J. because it showed too much of what was possible to see only in the cinema).

Janssen is excellent as the desperate cop running out of time to prove his innocence. There are several great contributions from other outstanding character actors. Ed Begley is Janssen’s frustrated boss, who wants to believe his man but cannot find enough good reasons to do so. Keenan Wynn is Janssen’s partner and is also reluctant to believe his story. George Sanders plays a very nasty financial official. Stefanie Powers, Eleanor Parker, and Joan Collins make an impression as well.

Kulik worked with cinematographer Joseph Biroc, who lensed two of Robert Aldrich’s greatest films, Attack! (a.k.a. Fragile Fox) and The Flight of the Phoenix.

A very groovy, jazz-driven but borderline psychedelic soundtrack created by Jerry Goldsmith works very well with the stylish visuals.

Warning Shot Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transferWarning Shot arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment.

The film has a slightly dated but still pretty attractive organic appearance. If it is fully restored in 4K, it would be a visual stunner because it plays with colors and colored light in some pretty spectacular ways to create a noirish ambience that would have been perfect for TV. Delineation is pleasing throughout the entire film, but there are areas with noticeable fluctuations. The same can be said about clarity and depth. Grain exposure isn't as good as it could be, but it is not disappointing either. Image stability is good. Color balance is convincing. However, this is an area where plenty of important improvements can be made. Again, this film was shot with great enthusiasm for striking colors and the current master at best only suggests how good it can look. I noticed a few nicks, blemishes, and a couple of small marks, but there are no distracting warped or torn frames to report in our review. 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 location).

Warning Shot Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track met all of my expectations. I knew that it would as soon as Jerry Goldsmith's music flooded my speakers, too. Clarity, sharpness, and depth were very good. I think that dynamic intensity is excellent, but as always keep in mind that Warning Shot comes from the 1960s and its original sound design has its limitations. There are no technical anomalies to report.

Warning Shot Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Steve Mitchell and Howard S. Berger. As usual, the two gentlemen place the production of Warning Shot in a proper historical context and spend a great deal of time discussing its visual and stylistic identity. However, while I do agree that Warning Shot has a certain pulp fiction-esque quality, I don't think that it is right to link it to the work of the great European giallo masters, like Mario Bava. Warning Shot has a very different vibe and the colored light/fog is not enough to suggest that it somehow emulates the classic giallo style.

Warning Shot Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I have always believed that many of these stylish crime thrillers that emerged in the early 1960s provided the blueprints for the different contemporary neo-noir subgenres. Most people credit the classic film noirs, but it is pretty easy to tell where the inspiration and creative ideas, especially in terms of visual style, came from. In the 1980s, the LA Noir films, for instance, borrowed heavily from what was done during the 1960s while ramping up the action, which is why if you take the time to compare Buzz Kulik's Warning Shot and Hal Ashby's 8 Million Ways to Die you will discover some very interesting similarities. Warning Shot is a small film but has an outstanding lead and perfect style, so I enjoyed it tremendously. If you decide to pick it up for your collection, I would encourage you to bundle it with The Killers and P.J., both very stylish films from the 1960s as well. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. (If you reside in the United States, keep in mind that Kino Lorber will bring Warning Shot to Blu-ray in January. You can see our listing of this release here).