Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Bravados, The (Twilight Time) Blu-Ray Review

Collapse
X
Collapse
  •  
    Mark Tolch
    Senior Member

  • Bravados, The (Twilight Time) Blu-Ray Review



    Released By: Twilight Time
    Released On: September 18, 2018.
    Director: Henry King
    Cast: Gregory Peck, Joan Collins, Stephen Boyd, Albert Salmi, Henry Silva, Andrew Duggan, Lee Van Cleef
    Year: 1958

    The Bravados - Movie Review:

    When Jim Douglass (Gregory Peck) comes riding up to the town of borderish town of Rio Arriba, not much is known about his purpose (unless you read the back of the box), but one thing is for sure; he's a man on one hell of a mission. He's not on the mission that the townspeople originally think he's on, however, acting as hangman to four jailed badasses who have committed hang-worthy crimes; but Douglass most definitely has business with them, nonetheless. Stopping in for a drink, Douglass re-makes the acquaintance of a lady from his past, Josefa Valerde (Joan Collins), and it's through a conversation over a cerveza that his backstory becomes a little clearer.

    It must have been a dark day when Douglass returned home to his ranch to find his wife raped and butchered, leaving him to raise his young daughter, and a nearby neighbour pointed the finger at four men (including Lee Van Cleef and Henry Silva!) the same four men that now reside in the Rio Arriba jail. Despite the men's protestations of their innocence, Douglass is convinced of their guilty and determined to see them hang, a fate that seems to be written in stone with the impenetrable foundation of the local prison, and the arrival of the hangman.

    He has reservations about setting foot in church, but accompanies Josefa to the evening service with the rest of the townsfolk, anyhow, and that's when the Sheriff finds out that the newly-arrived hangman is actually an accomplice of the condemned men. The Sheriff gets a blade in the back for his commitment to duty, a local shopkeeper's daughter makes for an adequate hostage, and the four criminals head for the nearby border. The townspeople are convinced that giving immediate chase in the dark is the best course of action; but Douglass has a plan that involves calculated, meticulous stalking that will see those who did him wrong tracked down and killed, one by one.

    Based on the novel by Frank O'Rourke, The Bravados features the tried and true combination of Director Henry King and Gregory Peck, and, while it lacks the grandeur of Leone's epics, packs a number of emotional wallops in the form of dark and heavy (especially for the time) subject matter. Rape and murder, shootings, followed by fallings from cliffings, followed by tramplings by hooflings, and of course, a nasty, nasty ending that throws the actions of the protagonist into serious questioning light; The Bravados is not a pleasant film about love on the open range. Peck's Douglass is a tormented man driven by revenge and lack of faith, his desperation to see justice carried out driving him to the same depths as the heathens he pursues. Despite being surrounded by exceptional talent, this is Peck's show, entirely, allowing him to showcase torment miles away from his Atticus Finch, and more in line with his Sam Bowden.

    That's not to cast the supporting actors in an incompetent light, as Collins, Van Cleef, and especially Henry Silva step up to the plate admirably. King's familiarity with the genre shines through as well, capturing not only the personal angle of the story, but also the sweeping landscapes and intricacies of small-town relationships; and having ace Cinematographer Leon Shamroy along for the ride doesn't hurt. A beautifully executed score rounds things out, making The Bravados a damn-near perfect film.

    The Bravados - Blu-Ray Review:

    The Bravados comes to Twilight Time Blu-ray with a 2:35:1 AVC-encoded transfer that looks fantastic, especially considering the age. The western scenery comes alive in browns and greens, while skin tones pop from the screen and black levels remain deep. Grain is abundant, damage is non-existent, and contrast is dialed in nicely. The picture does suffer from "CinemaScope Mumps", a byproduct of the Bausch and Lomb CinemaScope lenses of the era, which gives a subtle horizontal stretch effect to certain subjects at certain times that certain viewers may be sensitive to, but the instances are few and far between.

    A number of audio options are presented, including a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English track, a DTS-HD MA 4.0 track (the film was originally presented in four-track stereo), a DTS-HD MA 2.0 track, and an isolated score track. Removing the latter from the equation, viewers will find any of these options to be effective; I flipped between them randomly during the viewing, and all of the options did a wonderful job, without hiss or distortion. The 5.1 does seem to open things up a bit, atmospherically, while the 2.0 is front-and-centre punchy as hell.

    English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing are also available.

    Extras from the previous DVD have been ported over for this release, mostly made up of Fox Movietone news reels. first up is Quick Draw Lesson By Hugh O'Brian (:34) in which the actor shows a pretty little lady how to clear leather in an urgent manner.

    Next up is Bravados Hit NY (:53) a short clip of the film premiering on Broadway, with many celebrities in attendance.

    Hollywood Salutes The Bravados (8:36) is a silent clip of celebrities arriving for a showing at the 20th Century Fox Theater in Hollywood.

    A Theatrical Trailer, Twilight Time Interactive Catalogue, and insightful essay booklet by Twilight Time's Julie Kirgo round out the extra features.

    The Bravados - The Final Word:

    A darkly impressive Western gets a bang-up release from Twilight Time. Definitely worth checking out.

    Click on the images below for full sized Bravados Blu-ray screen caps!
































      Posting comments is disabled.

    Latest Articles

    Collapse

    • Hot Spur (Severin Films) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Severin Films
      Released on: April 30th, 2024.
      Director: Lee Frost
      Cast: Joseph Mascolo, Virginia Goodman, John Alderman
      Year: 1969
      Purchase From Amazon

      Hot Spur – Movie Review:

      Director Lee Frost and Producer Bob Cresse's film, Hot Spur, opens in Texas in 1869 with a scene where a pair of cowboys wanders into a bar where they call over a pretty Mexican waitress and coerce her into dancing for them. She obliges, but
      ...
      03-22-2024, 11:53 AM
    • Death Squad (Mondo Macabro) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Mondo Macabro
      Released on: April 9th, 2024.
      Director: Max Pecas
      Cast: Thierry de Carbonnières, Jean-Marc Maurel, Denis Karvil, Lillemour Jonsson
      Year: 1985
      Purchase From Amazon

      Death Squad – Movie Review:

      Also known as Brigade Of Death, French sleaze auteur Max Pecas’ 1985 film, Death Squad, opens with a night time scene outside of Paris in the Bois de Boulogne Forest where cars pass by a small gang of transsexual
      ...
      03-22-2024, 11:46 AM
    • Roommates (Quality X) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Quality X
      Released on: February 28th, 2024.
      Director: Chuck Vincent
      Cast: Samantha Fox, Vernoica Hart, Kelly Nichols, Jerry Butler, Jamie Gillis
      Year: 1982
      Purchase From Amazon

      Roommates – Movie Review:

      Directed by Chuck Vincent and released in 1982, Roommates opens with a scene where a young woman named Joan Harmon (Veronica Hart) gets a hotel room with an older man named Ken (Don Peterson, credited as Phil Smith),
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:10 PM
    • Night Of The Blood Monster (Blue Underground) UHD/Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Blue Underground
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Jess Franco
      Cast: Christopher Lee, Maria Rohm, Dennis Price
      Year: 1970
      Purchase From Amazon

      Night Of The Blood Monster – Movie Review:

      Directed by Jess Franco, The Bloody Judge (or, Night Of The Blood Monster, as it is going by on this new release from Blue Underground) isn't quite the salacious exercise in Eurotrash you might expect it to be, and while it
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:07 PM
    • Phase IV (Vinegar Syndrome) UHD/Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Saul Bass
      Cast: Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy, Lynne Frederick, Alan Gifford, Robert Henderson, Helen Horton
      Year: 1974
      Purchase From Amazon

      Phase IV – Movie Review:

      Saul Bass’ 1974 sci-fi/thriller Phase IV is an interesting blend of nature run amuck stereotypes and Natural Geographic style nature footage mixed into one delicious cocktail of suspense and
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:02 PM
    • The Bounty Hunter Trilogy (Radiance Films) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Radiance Films
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Shigehiro Ozawa, Eiichi Kudo
      Cast: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Minoru Ôki, Arashi Kanjuro, Bin Amatsu, Chiezo Kataoka
      Year: 1969-1972
      Purchase From Amazon

      The Bounty Hunter Trilogy – Movie Review:

      Radiance Films gathers together the three films in Toie Studios’ Bounty Hunter Trilogy, starring the inimitable Tomisaburo Wakayama. Here’s how the three movies in this
      ...
      03-13-2024, 11:30 AM
    Working...
    X