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Released by: MVD Visual
Released on: January 26th, 2016.
Director: Ferdinando Baldi
Cast: Tony Anthony, Gene Quintano, Victoria Abril, Ricardo Palacios, Lewis Gordon
Year: 1981
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The Movie:
Directed by Ferdinando Baldi in 1981, Comin' At Ya! begins when Pike (Gene Quintano) and Polk (Ricardo Palacios), two fairly horrible men who just so happen to be brothers, kidnap a beautiful woman named Abiline (Victoria Abril) just as she is to be tied in holy matrimony to her husband to be, H.H. Hart (Tony Anthony).
Obviously this doesn't sit well with Hart, and as he just so happens to be the gunslinger type, he vows to get her back an exact his revenge. The brothers, however, don't seem too concerned with this. Rather, they've got some sort of racket going wherein they kidnap beautiful women and sell them off to the highest bidder once they make it south of the border. Here various brothel owners gather to stock up their wares. Just as it looks like Pike and Polk are going to get away with it all and head off to a handsome payout, Hart shows up and guns start blazing…
A very basic revenge movie set against a western backdrop, Comin' At Ya! is interesting in that it predates the 3-D resurgence that happened in the eighties by a short while (demonstrated with the success of films like Jaws 3-D and Friday The 13th Part III) and earned itself a cult following in the process. It's easy to see why. The plot is threadbare, really just setting up Anthony's character to kill off the bad guys and call it a day, but as rudimentary as it might be, it's efficient. The action scenes are pretty great even if the 3-D shots are obviously meant to be just that - moments where stuff is literally 'comin' at ya' not to further the plot but to make you go 'hey wow, stuff is comin' at me.' Fernando Arribas shoots the film with loads of style and a pretty keen eye for both dramatic compositions and effective ways to frame things blowing up and being shot at. Again, the film isn't deep, but it is exciting and quick in its pace.
Tony Anthony (who also produced the film) isn't doing anything here we haven't seen him do in a lot of his earlier Spaghetti Western roles. He's basically playing 'The Stranger' as he has time and time before but these are the types of roles he was good at and the movie plays to his strengths in that regard. Victoria Abril is little more than a damsel in distress here but the foxy Spanish chanteuse who would later star in Pedro Almodí³var's notorious Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! roughly a decade later is both easy on the eyes and perfectly fine in her role. Gene Quintano and Ricardo Palacios aren't exactly cast against type here, their characters are giant walking clichés but if you're going to be a giant walking cliché you should at least make your character entertaining and the pair succeeds on that level.
Some effective humor stems from Anthony's self-assuredness in the role. His Hart is a cocky sonuvabitch and he has no problems with anyone knowing it but the film stays pretty much laser focused on the revenge angle. Baldi, no stranger (ha!) to Spaghetti Westerns given that he's the man who gave us Blindman and Get Man (also both with Anthony in the lead) we well as Texas Adios and Django Prepare A Coffin, keeps things moving quickly and with plenty of style. The two would work together again in 1984 on another 3-D adventure film, Treasure Of The Four Crowns.
This isn't deep, but it's fun.
Video/Audio/Extras:
MVD presents 2-D and 3-D versions of the movie in 1080p high definition framed at 2.55.1 widescreen. The 2-D version looks solid, if not perfect as some of the colors have been altered here (a few scenes have had the color sucked out of them save for what look like digitally enhanced splashes - it's odd and out of place). The film was given a 4k restoration which is what the Blu-ray was sourced from and color quirks aside, the image is otherwise pretty solid. Detail is good though it varies from scene to scene. There are some scenes where shadow detail gets swallowed up and further still some spots where grain gets a bit blotchy. Minor print damage remains and softness can be an issue, if not a constant one but this is, for the most part, a good image if not a reference quality one. Things shot outside in proper daylight tend to look really great.
Audio options are provided in English language DTS-HD 2.0 and 5.1 Master Audio tracks. There isn't a huge difference between the two tracks with only slightly more channel separation evident in the 5.1 mix than the 2.0 track, but they both sound fine. Dialogue stays easily discernable and while some spots are a little flat there aren't any problems with any hiss or distortion though you may notice the occasional pop or crackle if you're listening for them.
Extras are slim, limited to a theatrical re-release trailer (not the original theatrical trailer), a five minute promo reel showing off some of the effects work, menus and chapter selection.
The Final Word:
Comin' At Ya! arrives on Blu-ray in a good if not great presentation. As to the movie itself? It's a fun Spaghetti Western with some cool characters, solid action and screwy but effective humor.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
