The Belle Starr Story - Raro Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1968
Director: Lina Wertmüller
Writers: Piero Cristofani, Lina Wertmüller
Cast: Elsa Martinelli, Robert Woods, George Eastman, Francesca Righini, Bruno Piergentili, Bruno Corazzari, Vladimir Medar, Eugene Walter, Remo De Angelis

Release Date: March 21st, 2023
Approximate running time: 99 minutes 33 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"Abused and dominated by men in her youth, Belle Starr (Martinelli) now out-rides, out-smokes, out-shoots, and out-gambles them as she makes her way around the Old West, usually wearing male garb." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 2.75//5

The Belle Starr Story comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 20.6 GB

Feature: 15.3 GB

No information is provided about this transfer source. That said, it does look clean and in good shape. Colors are inconsistent, black levels are adequate, and any compression issues are fortunately not distracting. Also, though there are moments where this transfer looks very good, most of the time it is underwhelming. There also appears to be some digital filtering of the image since it never looks organic.

Audio: 3.75/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian with removable English subtitles. The audio fared much better than the video presentation. Dialog comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced, and range-wise, things sound acceptable.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an audio commentary with film historian Samm Deighan for the Italian theatrical version, and the U.S. theatrical version from a standard definition source (99 minutes 56 seconds, 4:3 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles).

Summary:

Directed by Lina Wertmüller, a filmmaker most known for her work within the comedy genre. Notable films she directed are The Seduction of Mimi, Love & Anarchy, and Seven Beauties.

The narrative revolves around Belle Starr, a woman who can more than hold her own against any man in the old west.

The spaghetti western was a male-dominated genre. And though there were a few spaghetti westerns with female leads, these were anomalies. Besides having a female lead, The Belle Starr Story is the only spaghetti western directed by a woman.

Once you have watched a dozen or more spaghetti westerns, it becomes clear that there are only so many scenarios, and most of the best ones get recycled. Anyone expecting anything except a by-the-numbers spaghetti western from The Belle Starr Story is sure to be disappointed. After the novelty of seeing a woman in the lead role wears off, there is not much more to hold your attention.

Elsa Martinelli (One on Top of the Other) is cast in the role of Belle Starr. And though she does a good job portraying a woman trying to fit into a man's world, She is never truly convincing when stacked up against most of her male counterparts. The best performance is by George Eastman (Rabid Dogs) in the role of Larry Blackie, an outlaw with whom Belle Starr has a tumultuous relationship.

Though there is predictability to the story at hand, its use of flashbacks to fill in the backstory about Belle Starr greatly enhances the story at hand. Unfortunately, the moments in the present are not as strong. That said, the most memorable moment is a jewel heist sequence. Ultimately, The Belle Starr Story is a mildly entertaining film that only diehard spaghetti western fans need to check out.

The Belle Starr Story makes its way to Blu-ray via a lackluster release from Raro Video that comes with a mediocre transfer and two extras, one of which is an unwatchable standard-definition alternate version of The Belle Starr Story.

                                                      U.S. Theatrical Version Screenshots.

Written by Michael Den Boer