The Caper of the Golden Bulls Blu-ray

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

(aka "Carnival of Thieves")

Directed by Russell Rouse
USA 1967

Veteran Hollywood writer/director Russell Rouse (The Thief, D.O.A., The Fastest Gun Alive, Pillow Talk, The Oscar) helmed this thrilling heist film starring Stephen Boyd (The Oscar, Ben-Hur), Yvette Mimieux (The Time Machine), Giovanna Ralli (The Mercenary, The Cold Eyes of Fear), Walter Slezak (Lifeboat) and Clifton James (Juggernaut). Retired bank robber Peter Churchman (Boyd) is blackmailed by his former companion (Ralli) into stealing some precious jewels located in a bank in Pamplona, Spain. He and three accomplices plan the robbery during the annual “running of the bulls,” hoping the festival’s atmosphere will act as a distraction as they pull off the very risky heist. Beautiful on-location cinematography by Harold E. Stine (Chuka, M*A*S*H, The Poseidon Adventure) and a memorable score by Vic Mizzy (Don Knott's The Ghost and Mr. Chicken,, The Love God as well as The Night Walker plus the theme to the TV series Green Acres and much more) highlight this rollicking caper.

***

Peter Churchman stopped robbing banks a long time ago and is now living as a wealthy and respected citizen in Pamplona, Spain. But then his former companion Angela appears and blackmails him to help her robbing the Spanish National Bank of Pamplona. He gives in and develops a brilliant plan... Will this be then end of his comfortable life.

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 24th, 1967

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

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:46:24.711
Video	1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 35,483,240,902 bytes Feature: 33,348,501,504 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.92 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 English 1555 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1555 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 1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 35,483,240,902 bytes Feature: 33,348,501,504 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.92 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Phillipa Berry • Trailers Blu-ray Release Date: April 28th, 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 (April 2020): Kino have transferred Russell Rouse's The Caper of the Golden Bulls to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "Brand New 4K Master!" For the most part the 1080P looks very solid with only some very infrequent inconsistency. This would be totally a result of the source but the colors are bright and true, close-ups show pleasing detail and the grain textures are film-like and consistent. I really had no negative issues at all with the HD presentation.

NOTE: We have added 34 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (16-bit) in the original English language. It has a few effects (explosions, the bulls etc.) and a lively score by Vic Mizzy (Don Knott's The Ghost and Mr. Chicken,, The Love God as well as The Night Walker plus the theme to the TV series Green Acres and much more.) Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new audio commentary by film historian Phillipa Berry, she notes that story, on which the film as based was written by William P. McGivern who brought us famous noirs like Odds Against Tomorrow (novel), The Big Heat (Saturday Evening Post serial), Hell on Frisco Bay etc. and who did a lot of TV work later in his career. She discusses the careers of director Russell Rouse, stars Stephen Boyd, Yvette Mimieux, Giovanna Ralli and other including composer Vic Mizzy's score and much more. I thought it was professional and detailed and I'd like to hear more from her in the future. There are also some trailers but none for this film.

I thought this inventive heist film had some strong, entertaining, elements and The Caper of the Golden Bulls is imperfect but Russell Rouse seems to get a lot out of what he was striving for with some subtle comedy imbedded in a creative caper execution. Handsome Boyd, sexy Mimieux (great abs) and Ralli, plus a good supporting cast. I thought it was better than it may have been given credit for and, certainly, a rarely seen crime-based adventure film that I was happy to have my first viewing on a Kino Blu-ray with the value-added commentary. Your call.

Gary Tooze