|
Search DVDBeaver |
S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
|
|
Hit [Blu-ray]
(Sidney J. Furie, 1973)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Paramount Pictures Video: Olive Films
Disc: Region: 'A' (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player) Runtime: 2:15:12.104 Disc Size: 23,619,896,163 bytes Feature Size: 23,449,645,056 bytes Video Bitrate: 21.00 Mbps Chapters: 9 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: April 24th, 2012
Video: Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio English 911 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 911 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles: None (English burned in for non-English dialogue)
Extras: • None
Bitrate:
Description: A federal agent, Nick Allen (Billy Dee Williams) whose daughter dies of a heroin overdose is determined to destroy the drug ring that supplied her. He organizes a small independent task force of mercenaries to travel to France in order to kill the nine leaders of a Marseilles drug syndicate. The motley crew of angry American citizens includes construction worker, Mike Willmer (Richard Pryor); call-girl Sherry Nielson (Gwen Welles); rogue cop, Dutch Schiller (Warren J. Kemmerling); college professor Barry Strong (Paul Hampton) and the kindly old Jewish couple, Ida (Janet Brandt) and Herman (Sid Melton), who want to inflict Old Testament revenge upon the syndicate. Photographed by legendary cinematographer, John A. Alonzo (Chinatown) with a beautiful score by Lalo Schifrin (Dirty Harry). Directed by Sidney J. Furie (The Ipcress File).
The Film: In Sidney J. Furie's interminable caper film, Billy Dee Williams is a federal agent who takes matters into his own hands after the government refuses to do anything about French drug trafficking. After his daughter dies of an overdose of heroine and the authorities seem unconcerned, Nick Allen (Williams) takes it upon himself to organize a small independent task force of mercenaries to travel to France in order to kill the nine leaders of a Marseilles drug syndicate. This motley group of angry American citizens who are out for blood include the rabid Mike Willmer (Richard Pryor); the sedate Sherry Nielson (Gwen Welles); the robust Dutch Schiller (Warren Kammerling); and the kindly old Jewish couple, Ida (Janet Brandt) and Herman (Sid Melton), who want to inflict Old Testament revenge upon the dope peddlers. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi Williams stars as a federal agent who returns from an assignment only to discover that his daughter has died from a drug overdose. Williams jumps in to find those responsible and learns that a giant, well-organized drug smuggling operation, based in Marseilles, has been shipping huge amounts of illicit materials into the US. Shocked and angered that his own government won't help him smash the dope dealers' operation, Williams organizes his own band of guerrillas to combat the influx of drugs. This of course leads to the action-packed climax of the film. The film features some interesting performances from Pryor, Welles, and Brandt, but that can't overcome the clichés. Excerpt from TV Guide located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Hit! appears decent if not notably stellar on Blu-ray from Olive Films. The image quality shows some 70's grit and I'm guessing it looked quite similar to this theatrically almost 40 years ago. This is only single-layered but appears to do its job on the bare-bones release where the 2 1/4 hour features shares the allotted file-space with nothing else. There is a smidgeon of noise in the darker scenes. This bright Blu-ray is pretty consistent without any damage or speckles. There is no real depth but this and the thickness is more a factor of the original production never looking glossy - which would be totally consistent with the era.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :No surround boost going on here - another modest but faithful DTS-HD Master mono track from Olive at a subtle 911 kbps. The original music for Hit! is by the renowned Lalo Schifrin and it never interferes with the plot but supports it with a flat, crisp edge under the surface. Sweet. There are no subtitles and m y Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked like all Olive Film Blu-ray releases before it.
Extras : Nutt'in... bitch.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze April 16th, 2012
|
|
About the Reviewer: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500 DVDs and have reviewed over 5000 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.
Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who
focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I
find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction. 60-Inch Class (59.58” Diagonal) 1080p Pioneer KURO Plasma Flat Panel HDTV PDP6020-FD
Oppo Digital BDP-83 Universal Region FREE Blu-ray/SACD
Player APC AV 1.5 kVA H Type Power Conditioner 120V Gary W. Tooze ALL OUR NEW FORMAT DVD REVIEWS
|
CLICK PayPal logo to donate!
|
Gary Tooze
|
|
Thank You!
