Behold a Pale Horse Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

directed by Fred Zinnemann
USA 1964

From producer/director Fred Zinnemann comes Behold a Pale Horse (1964), a somber yet harrowingly suspenseful thriller of personal conviction in the face of political repression, set against the backdrop of the dark decades following the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War. In charismatic and charged performances, Gregory Peck plays an exiled guerrilla fighter, Anthony Quinn is the dogged police chief who lays a trap to catch him, and Omar Sharif portrays a priest who intervenes to prevent the antagonists’ inevitable confrontation. Starkly photographed on French locations by Jean Badal, and powerfully scored by three-time Academy Award® winner Maurice Jarre.

***

Manuel Artiguez, a famous bandit during the Spanish civil war, has lived in French exile for 20 years. When his mother is dying he considers visiting her secretly in his Spanish home town. But his biggest enemy, the Spanish police officer Vinolas, prepared a trap at the hospital as a chance to finally catch Artiguez.

Underrated Fred Zinnemann expose with Peck, Quinn and Sharif all are in their best. Don't miss it!

***

By 1964, it was possible for a major studio to make a film touching upon the Spanish Civil War without having to answer to some senate investigating committee or other. Based on Emeric Pressburger's novel A Mouse on Sunday, Behold a Pale Horse stars Gregory Peck as a war veteran who continues waging a one-man offensive years after hostilities have officially ceased. Exiled to France, Peck is lured back to Spain by vengeful police captain Anthony Quinn. Priest Omar Sharif advises Peck that he's being tricked, but Peck is determined to return to Spain to bid farewell to his dying mother Mildred Dunnock. Halfway through, the film bogs down into ponderous preachifying and moralizing, but overall the film is worth a glance. In 1966, Behold a Pale Horse was scheduled to be telecast on a major American network, but was cancelled at the last minute, reportedly at the behest of the Spanish government.

Excerpt from B+N located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: August 14th, 1964 - USA

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Columbia - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover		Coming to Blu-ray from Indicator (UK) in April 2025:
Distribution	Columbia Tri-Star - Region 1- NTSC	Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	2:01:00	2:01:11.305
Video	1.81:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.9 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 30,671,102,490 bytes Feature: 30,002,300,928 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.33 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Dolby)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1993 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1993 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	English, Spanish, Korean None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Columbia Tri-Star Home Video Aspect Ratio: 1.81:1 Edition Details: • Previews DVD Release Date: February 22nd, 2005 Keep Case Chapters: 28	Release Information: Studio: Twilight Time 1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 30,671,102,490 bytes Feature: 30,002,300,928 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.33 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Original Theatrical Trailer • Liner Notes by Julie Kirgo Blu-ray Release Date: August, 2019 Transparent Blu-ray Case i Chapters 24

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Twilight Time Blu-ray (August 2019): Twilight Time bring Fred Zinnemann's "Behold a Pale Horse" to Blu-ray, on a new dual-layered disc. The 1.85:1 HD image bests the previous standard definition release, showing a fine amount of detail and looking consistent when in motion (thanks to a reasonably high bitrate encoding). The framing now extends out farther to the left side, showing a tiny bit more on the bottom, which shows that the previous DVD was a little squished. The real star of the show here is the improved contrast ratio, with much of the film bathed in darkness and shadows (with some truly magnificent lighting and camerawork from cinematographer Jean Badal). There are the sporadic and small instances of scratches, or weaker film stock (only apparent in a few moments including our capture of Gregory Peck in the beret). This is certainly a better than average transfer that I'm sure people will be glad to get their hands on.

The audio is presented in 24-bit 2.0 DTS-HD, with dialogue being reasonably intelligible, and letting the memorable score from Maurice Jarre (The Collector, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds, The Tin Drum, The Man Who Would Be King, The Damned etc.) shine through. No real complaints here, as any damage on the audio print is hardly distracting. There are optional English subtitles on this Region 'Free' Blu-ray from Twilight Time.

The sole extra on this Twilight Time Blu-ray is the film's trailer, unless you count the listings for other Twilight Time releases (also available from the main menu). There are also some liner notes by Julie Kirgo.

What grabbed me the most on this new Blu-ray presentation was the sublime composition of every single shot in every single scene. The film is quite memorable and features some fine performances from Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif and Gregory Peck. The film was based on a novel by Emeric Pressburger. Fans of cinema will enjoy this historical, war-drama with an exceptional cast directed by a masterful storyteller.

Colin Zavitz

***

This image is a little hazy, very dark and the DVD package is certainly bare-bones. It appears as though Columbia are just churning them out with little effort. I don't suppose we should complain too much, it is anamorphic, no digital manipulation and HD sourced with original audio. Coming out like this may be better than never coming out at all. out of