We have started a Patreon page with the hopes that some of our followers would be willing to donate a small amount to keep DVDBeaver alive. We are a tiny niche, so your generosity is vital to our existence.

We are talking about a minimum of $0.10 - $0.15 a day, perhaps a quarter (or more) to those who won't miss it from their budget. It equates to buying DVDBeaver a coffee once, twice or a few times a month. You can then participate in our monthly Silent auctions, and have exclusive access to many 'bonus' High Resolution screen captures - both 4K UHD and Blu-ray (see HERE).

To those that are unfamiliar, Patreon is a secure/verified third-party service where users can agree to a monthly donation via credit card or PayPal by clicking the button below.


 

Search DVDBeaver

 S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Gli specialisti" or "The Specialist" or "The Specialists" or "Drop Them or I'll Shoot")

 

Directed by Sergio Corbucci
Italy France West Germany 1969

 

From Sergio Corbucci, the legendary director of Django, Navajo Joe, The Great Silence and The Mercenary comes this thrilling spaghetti western starring French music and film great Johnny Hallyday (The Man on the Train, Détective, Vengeance). 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. Gastone Moschin (The Conformist, Caliber 9) and Françoise Fabian (Belle de Jour, My Night at Maud’s) co-star in this fully restored adventure-yarn gorgeously shot by Dario Di Palma (The Seduction of Mimi, The Oldest Profession).

***

Johnny Hallyday plays Hud, a dressed all-in-black gunman extraordinaire who returns to the town of Blackstone to seek out the men responsible for the lynching of his brother.

Seems someone robbed the bank in Blackstone of every penny. His brother got the blame. The money is still missing.

But lots of people are looking for it, including a Mexican bandit named El Diablo (Mario Adorf), the businessmen of Blackstone who lost all of their savings, and Virginia Pollywood (Francoise Fabian), the lady bank owner who tells Hud no one trusts her anymore.

Excerpt from OnceUponATimeInaWestern.com located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: November 26th, 1969

Reviews                                                                                                       More Reviews                                                                                       DVD Reviews

 

Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

  

Coming to the UK, on Blu-ray, from, Eureka, in May 2020:

Bonus Captures:
Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:44:46.488        
Video

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 34,264,879,829 bytes

Feature: 31,852,062,720 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.93 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

DTS-HD Master Audio Italian 1554 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1554 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio French 1554 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1554 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Kino

 

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 34,264,879,829 bytes

Feature: 31,852,062,720 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.93 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• NEW Audio Commentary by Filmmaker Alex Cox
• Includes Both French and Italian Audio with Optional English Subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer (3:36)


 Blu-ray Release Date: January 7th, 2020
 Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 9

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (December 2019): Kino have transferred Sergio Corbucci's The Specialists ("Gli specialisti") to Blu-ray via a "Brand New 4K Restoration". It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. Colors are vibrant, rich and deep and it looks like the film was shot yesterday. There is a touch of blue-green leaning that accentuates the image. A brilliant HD presentation!

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel tracks (16-bit) in the option of the Italian or French languages. The DUB'ing is fairly transparent but has a neat score by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino (Revolt of the Slaves, The Savage Innocents, Chimes at Midnight, Othello, Legend of the Lost) exporting a typically hollow pasta western bent with reasonably consistent dialogue. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

NOTE: 66 more full resolution (1920 X 1080) Blu-ray captures for Patrons are available HERE.

The Kino Blu-ray has another excellent Alex Cox commentary. He states that this is the most sexual of all Corbucci's films, as well as having the director's favorite plot location - the cemetery, the nudity unusual in a Corbucci film, the impressive location work (Cortina d'Ampezzo, Belluno, Veneto, Italy), the strangest ending and a quote from Corbucci at the end: "I have something in common with Hawks, Ford, Hathaway, Sturges, Walsh, De Toth, Lang - we're all blind in the right eye...". I believe in his book, 10,000 Ways to Die: A Director's Take on the Spaghetti Western, Cox intimated that Corbucci had sort of 'given-up' when The Specialists was made. There is also a theatrical trailer (in Italian with burned-in English subtitles) and trailers for similar genre westerns.

The Specialists on Blu-ray offers a gorgeous video presentation - stunning - of a less-cohesive Corbucci Spaghetti Western. But it has so many of the coolest conventions that genre devotees covet so there are enticements with the Cox commentary carrying immense value. Based on the stellar image and commentary - this is recommended to pasta western, and especially Corbucci, fans!

Gary Tooze

 

Menus / Extras

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More full resolution (1920 X 1080) Blu-ray Captures for DVDBeaver Patreon Supporters HERE

 

 
Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

  

Coming to the UK, on Blu-ray, from, Eureka, in May 2020:

Bonus Captures:
Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray


 


 

Search DVDBeaver

 S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

 

Hit Counter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DONATIONS Keep DVDBeaver alive:

 CLICK PayPal logo to donate!

Gary Tooze

Thank You!