A Bullet for the General - Blue Underground (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1966
Director: Damiano Damiani
Writers: Salvatore Laurani, Franco Solinas
Cast: Gian Maria Volonté, Klaus Kinski, Martine Beswick, Lou Castel, Jaime Fernández, Andrea Checchi, Spartaco Conversi, Joaquín Parra, Aldo Sambrell

Release Date: May 22nd, 2012
Approximate running times: 114 Minutes 54 Seconds (U.S. Version), 117 Minutes 48 Seconds (International Version)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Versions)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian (International Version), DTS-HD Mono English (Both Versions)
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish (U.S. Version), English (International Version)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $19.95

"At the height of the Mexican revolution, a mysterious young American (Lou Castel of Fists in the Pocket) joins a gang of marauders led by El Chucho (Gian Maria Volonte of A Fistful of Dollars) on a series of savage raids to steal guns for a powerful rebel general. But when the Gringo brings his own cold-blooded ideals to the bandits, El Chucho discovers that the real weapons of war belong to no army. In a land ravaged by poverty and violence, can true freedom be bought with a single bullet?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5 (U.S. Version, International Version)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfers, "Freshly transferredin handsome High Definition."

A Bullet for the General comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 43.4 GB

Feature: 19.5 GB (U.S. Version), 21.7 GB (International Version)

Once again, Blue Underground has delivered a source that cleans up any debris or source-related damage. Unfortunately, like so many Italian films released in the early days of Blu-ray, there is some light scanner noise and digital noise reduction; in the case of the latter, it is minor enough that it is not distracting. That said, colors and flesh tones look correct, image clarity, contrast, and black levels are strong, and compression is very good. Also, these two transfers are comparable quality-wise.

Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono English - U.S. Version, DTS-HD Mono English - International Version)

The U.Stheatrical version comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Subtitle options for the U.S. version are English SDH, Spanish, and French; all three are removable.

The International version comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. The only subtitles included for the International version are removable English subtitles for the Italian language track.

It should be noted that the U.S. version comes with a different English ‘dub’ track than the one used for the International version. Quality-wise, these three audio options are comparable. Dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, ambient sounds like gunshots are well represented, and the score sounds appropriately robust.

Extras:

Extras for this release are spread over two discs. 

Extras on the BluRay disc are a poster & still gallery, U.S. theatrical trailer (1 minute 52 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), International theatrical trailer (4 minutes 29 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), and an interview with director Damiano Damiani titled A Bullet for the Director (5 minutes 1 second, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles).

Extras on a second disc (a DVD) are a feature-length documentary, ‘Gian Maria Volonte: Un Attore Contro’ (112 minutes 30 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian and English with non-removable English subtitles).

Summary:

Directed by Damiano Damiani, whose other notable films include The Witch (La strega in amore), The Most Beautiful Wife (La moglie più bella), The Day of the Owl, A Complicated Girl, Confessions of a Police Captain, The Case Is Closed, Forget It, and How to Kill a Judge.

The narrative revolves around a bandit named El Chuncho who becomes the figurehead of a revolution. Along the way, he meets up with an American mercenary who has ulterior motives for helping El Chuncho and the other revolutionaries. Will this most unlikely partnership prove fruitful, or will it end in bloodshed?

By the mid-1960s, the spaghetti western genre was in full swing in Italy, and the genre's most famous director had by this point just wrapped the 'Man with No Name' trilogy. The genre was nearing its apex, and in just a matter of a few short years, it would undergo a slight makeover, with a shift more towards humor. And while some of the reasons why the genre started to run dry by the late 1960s point heavily towards the genre's innate need to mimic the films of Sergio Leone, Ever so often, there would come along a film that would go against the grain and not rely as much on the tried and true clichés of the genre.

Take, for instance, a film like A Bullet for the General, which on the surface resembles countless other spaghetti westerns, yet the end result is easily the closest any film has ever come to capturing the mood and style that have become synonymous with the films of Sergio Leone. Also, though Bullet for the General features many of the staples of the spaghetti western genre, Its core message, ‘government corruption, transcends the genre and would be just as potent no matter where or when you had this story take place.

When it comes to spaghetti westerns, the violence that unfolds on screen is easily this genre's most durable and bankable asset. That said, A Bullet for the General delivers this in spades, as there is an ample amount of carnage. Spaghetti westerns are known for their explosive opening sequences, which set the tone for the events that follow. And A Bullet for the General opens with a memorable sequence where dissidents are being executed by the government.

Performance-wise, the entire cast is exceptional in their respective roles. With the standout role being Gian Maria Volonté (For a Few Dollars More) in the role of El Chuncho. And though his performance contains many of the hallmarks that one would expect from watching his other films, His portrayal of a character that is against the type of characters he was so prone to play is without a doubt one of his finest moments as an actor. Other notable performances come from Lou Castel (Requiescant) in the role of an American mercenary and Klaus Kinski (The Great Silence) in the role of El Chuncho’s brother, a priest named El Santo.

From a production standpoint, there is not an area where A Bullet for the General is an exceptional piece of filmmaking. The premise is superbly realized; a well-executed narrative gives key moments an ample amount of time to resonate without ever lessening the mounting tension; and a phenomenal ending provides perfect closure to the events that preceded. Not to be overlooked is another exemplary score from Ennio Morricone, whose scores more than any other composer defined spaghetti westerns. Ultimately, A Bullet for the General is an extraordinary film that is one of the spaghetti western genre's highwater marks.

A Bullet for the General makes its way to Blu-ray via a good release from Blue Underground that comes with two versions of the film and a pair of informative extras, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer