The Specialists – Kino Lorber (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy/France/West Germany, 1969
Director: Sergio Corbucci
Writers: Sergio Corbucci, Sabatino Ciuffini
Cast: Johnny Hallyday, Gastone Moschin, Françoise Fabian, Sylvie Fennec, Angela Luce, Serge Marquand, Gino Pernice, Andrés José Cruz Soublette 

Release Date: December 3rd, 2019
Approximate running time: 104 Minutes 47 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono French
Subtitles: English (for Italian language track)
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"Notorious gunfighter Hud Dixon (Hallyday) arrives in Blackstone, a town where his brother was wrongfully accused of robbing a bank and lynched for it. As Hud seeks revenge, he starts to discover the truth behind the stolen loot, and has to contend with an idealistic sheriff, a beautiful and seductive female banker, a corrupt businessman and a one-armed Mexican bandit, who was once his friend.” – Synopsis provided by the Distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Brand new 4K restoration."

The Specialists comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 31.9 GB

Feature: 29.6 GB

The source used for this transfer is in excellent shape. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look very good, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and grain remains intact.

Audio: 4.5/5 (DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono French)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian and a DTS-HD mono mix in French. Both audio mixes are in very good shape, dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced and range wise ambient sounds are well-represented. Included with this release are removable English subtitles for the Italian language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 36 seconds, DTS-HD mono Italian with non-removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with filmmaker Alex Cox, author of 10,000 Ways to Die: A Director’s Take on the Italian Western.

Other extras include trailers for Navajo Joe, The Hellbenders, The Mercenary, A Fistful of Dollars, and Return of Sabata.

Summary:

Directed by Sergio Corbucci, whose other notable Spaghetti westerns include Minnesota Clay, Django, Navajo Joe, The Hellbenders, The Great Silence, The Mercenary, and Companeros. Key collaborators on The Specialists include cinematographer Dario Di Palma (Death Laid an Egg) and composer Angelo Francesco Lavagnino (Queens of Evil).

Though The Specialists has many of the elements that are commonly associated with Sergio Corbucci’s other spaghetti westerns, From its opening moments, it quickly becomes clear that The Specialists was heavily influenced by the 1960s counterculture. And nowhere is this clearer than when it comes to the depiction of youth (hippie) characters.

At the heart of The Specialists is a good old-fashioned tale about revenge. The plot revolves around a gunslinger whose brother was wrongfully accused of a crime and lynched. Wanting vengeance for what they did to his brother, the gunslinger returns to the scene of the crime and exacts his revenge.

From a production standpoint, there’s not an area where The Specialists does not excel. The premise is superbly realized, the narrative gives key moments ample time to resonate, and the action set pieces are well executed.

Performance-wise, the cast is all very good in their respective roles, especially Johnny Hallyday’s understated portrayal of Hud Dixon. The Specialists features a rogues gallery of colorful characters, and other notable performances include Mario Adorf (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) in the role of EL Diablo, a one-armed Mexican bandit, and Gastone Moschin (Caliber 9) in the role of Sheriff Gedeon.

Another strength of The Specialists is its striking visuals and how effectively they use scenic landscapes. Standout moments include the pre-credits opening sequence, which perfectly introduces Hud Dixon; a scene where one of the people responsible for Hud’s murder seductively distracts the sheriff while some men in a bar try to kill Hud; and a WTF finale that’s arguably spaghetti western cinema’s wildest ending. Ultimately, The Specialists is a very good spaghetti western from Sergio Corbucci that is arguably one of his most underrated films.

The Specialists gets a first-rate release from Kino Lorber that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and an insightful audio commentary, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer