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 S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Ralph Nelson
USA 1970

 

Sometimes the truth is lost in battle! From Ralph Nelson, the acclaimed director of Soldier in the Rain, Father Goose, Duel at Diablo, Charly and The Wilby Conspiracy, comes this graphic and uncompromising anti-racist western starring Candice Bergen (The Hunting Party), Peter Strauss (The Jericho Mile) and Donald Pleasence (The Flesh and the Fiends). After a cavalry patrol is ambushed by the Cheyenne, the two survivors, Honus Gent (Strauss), a soldier highly devoted to his duty, and Cresta (Bergen), a white woman who had lived with Native Americans for two years, must reach the safety of the nearest fort. As they travel, Honus feels a growing affection for Cresta, but he is disgusted that her sympathies lie more with the Cheyenne than the U.S. government. As they arrive at the cavalry outpost on the eve of a planned attack on a Cheyenne village, Honus will finally learn who’s been telling him the truth. Written by John Gay (Run Silent, Run Deep) from a novel by Theodore V. Olsen (The Stalking Moon), Soldier Blue features a rousing score by the great Roy Budd (Get Carter, The Black Windmill) and a strong supporting cast that includes John Anderson (Cotton Comes to Harlem), Jorge Rivero (Rio Lobo), Dana Elcar (The Nude Bomb) and director Nelson under the pseudonym Alf Elson.

***

After a cavalry group is massacred by the Cheyenne, only two survivors remain: Honus, a naive private devoted to his duty, and Cresta, a young woman who had lived with the Cheyenne two years and whose sympathies lie more with them than with the US government. Together, they must try to reach the cavalry's main base camp. As they travel onward, Honus is torn between his growing affection for Cresta, and his disgust for her anti-American beliefs. They reach the cavalry campsite on the eve of an attack on a Cheyenne village, where Honus will learn which side has really been telling him the truth.

Posters

Theatrical Release: August 12th, 1970

Reviews                                                                                                       More Reviews                                                                                       DVD Reviews

 

Comparison:

Kinowelt - Region 'B' - Blu-ray vs. Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

  

Coming to the UK, from Studiocanal on Blu-ray:

and 4K UHD Steelbook:

Bonus Captures:
Distribution Kinowelt - Region 'B' - Blu-ray Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:55:13.740         1:55:21.706 
Video

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 36,323,185,386 bytes

Feature: 35,583,178,752 bytes

Video Bitrate: 31.96 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 39,257,246,716 bytes

Feature: 36,147,554,304 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 Kinowelt Blu-ray :

Bitrate Kino Blu-ray:

Audio DTS-HD Master Audio English 1614 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1614 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
DUBs:
DTS-HD Master Audio German 1622 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1622 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio Italian 1585 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1585 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio Spanish 1593 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1593 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)

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 Danish, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish, none, None English, None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: Kinowelt

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 36,323,185,386 bytes

Feature: 35,583,178,752 bytes

Video Bitrate: 31.96 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• None


 Blu-ray Release Date: June 23rd, 2011
 Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 16

 		Release Information:
Studio: Kino

 

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 39,257,246,716 bytes

Feature: 36,147,554,304 bytes

Video Bitrate: 37.92 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger and Steve Mitchell
 • Theatrical Trailer (3:41)


 Blu-ray Release Date: August 18th, 2020
 Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 10

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (August 2020): Kino have transferred Ralph Nelson's Soldier Blue to Blu-ray. It advances on the 2011 Kinowelt out of Germany. The Kino has a max'ed out bitrate and the image quality is marginally crisper with warmer skin tones. There is a slight movement in the frame. The Kino exports Robert B. Hauser's outdoor cinematography (The Night Strangler, A Man Called Horse) well showing impressive vistas and battle scenes. NOTE: The commentary informs me that Arthur J. Ornitz (Death Wish) was the initial cinematographer - working the first couple fo weeks on the film.

NOTE: We have added 56 large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino also use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (16-bit) in the original English language. I can't notic much difference in the depth of effects (horses and guns) or the score by a young Roy Budd (Get Carter, The Carey Treatment, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, The Wild Geese) sounding dynamic but a bit awkwardly mixed in spots, imo. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray has a new commentary by Howard S. Berger and Steve Mitchell and they do another exceptional job in sharing details and discussing the film objectively as a kind of anti-western, Joseph E. Levine and the film's longer (never seen) cut that has even more horrifyingly graphic sequences, being shot in Mexico and much more. They discuss the scathing reviews at the time of release and attacks on the performances; Bergen, Strauss and Pleasence. I genuinely gained much more appreciation after listening and their film knowledge is always impressive. There is also a theatrical trailer.  

Ralph Nelson's Soldier Blue occupies a unique space of cinema lore. This, in itself, carries value even beyond the dark side of the ham-fisted 'message' but rather that it carries some heavy realism. Kudos to the filmmakers. I enjoyed it even more than when I first saw it and the included commentary provides more value. The Kino Blu-ray is the one to own with superior video and supplements. I think this is a keeper.

Gary Tooze

 

Kinowelt - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

 

Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

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

 

Subtitle Sample - Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

 

 

1) Kinowelt - Region 'B' - Blu-ray  TOP

2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Kinowelt - Region 'B' - Blu-ray  TOP

2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Kinowelt - Region 'B' - Blu-ray  TOP

2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Kinowelt - Region 'B' - Blu-ray  TOP

2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

 

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

 

 

 
Box Cover

  

Coming to the UK, from Studiocanal on Blu-ray:

and 4K UHD Steelbook:

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


 


 

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