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Released by: VCI Entertainment
Released on: November 7th, 2023.
Director: Julio Buchs
Cast: Ernest Borgnine, George Hilton, Ugo Guerra, Annabella Incontrera
Year: 1969
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A Bullet For Sandoval – Movie Review:
One of a few foreign films that Ernest Borgnine made, A Bullet For Sandoval, which was directed and co-written by Julio Buchs in 1969, is more accurately a starring vehicle for George Hilton, who plays a confederate soldier named John Warner who has just found out before heading into battle that his lady friend, Rosa (Annabella Incontrera), is pregnant with his child. Rather than head into battle, he instead makes an escape and heads to his hometown where he arrives just in time to find out that Rosa died while giving birth. Complicating matters is the fact that Rosa's father, Don Pedro Sandoval (Borgnine), holds him responsible. Sandoval never liked John even when his daughter was alive, and now that she's died, he feels nothing but hatred for the American. He sends John and his newborn grandson out of the family home and into the wilderness alone.
As John tries to care for the infant, it soon becomes obvious that he has neither the experience nor the resources available to him to do this and sadly, his son passes away. This event basically forces John into the same emotional void that Sandoval was in, and John holds Sandoval responsible for the baby's death - but more importantly, he wants revenge and so he sets out to get just that.
A grim and gritty western that sets this tone from the opening sequence in which we see a solider cut a ring off of a fallen enemies body, A Bullet For Sandoval isn't all that unique as far as its plot and storyline are concerned but it's remarkably well paced and often times so dark in tone that you can't help but appreciate it. It's a fairly violent film, though no more so than many other Spaghetti Westerns made around the same time. The violence in the film, however, is a far bit more cold blooded and realistic than a lot of similar films, some of which would take a less nihilistic approach to their subject matter.
The film makes a point with its story in that it shows how those bent on revenge can often lose sight of what matters most and simply just give into the irrationality that hatred and hotheadedness often causes. We first see this with Sandoval who unwittingly kills his own innocent grandson by sending John, who really wasn't responsible for Rosa's death at all, out into the wilderness without any way to care for the baby. While Sandoval's temperament is certainly understandable given that he's lost his daughter, his actions only serve to cause more grief. In turn, when John sets out to get his own revenge, he basically becomes the same time of person as the one he's out to get. The vicious circle is an obvious one, but the film handles this well and it mixes up tension, action, and gritty atmosphere with solid performances from both Hilton and Borgnine (who never quite goes over the top here as he is periodically apt to do) to great effect.
A Bullet For Sandoval – Blu-ray Review:
A Bullet For Sandoval arrives on Blu-ray in a nice 2.35.1 widescreen transfer in AVC encoded 1080p high definition on a 50GB disc looking good if not perfect. There’s very little print damage here, but the colors look a bit faded. Some light DNR might have been applied as skin tones do look a little soft and a little waxy but depth and detail still advance over previous DVD editions and the image is free of any problematic compression artifacts.
Audio options are provided in English and Spanish language 24-bit LPCM 2.0 Mono tracks with optional subtitles provided in English only. There’s some mild distortion in both tracks and a little bit of hiss here and there but it isn’t overpowering or really all that distracting. Levels are properly balanced and the score has some decent depth to it.
The extras kick off with a commentary track that features filmmaker Alex Cox delivered in his typically laid back style. He talks about the film's status as an Italian-Spanish co-production, the 'grand guignol' feeling of the opening sequence, details on Julio Buchs' career, details on the different cast and crew members that worked on the film including Hilon and Borgnine, the state of the Spaghetti Western during this period, the locations used for the movie, thoughts on the film's score and lots more.
The disc also includes the Spanish language version of the film under the title of ‘Los Desperados’
Finishing up the extras on the disc is an original U.S. theatrical trailer, a two minute original Spanish language opening sequence, menus and chapter selection options.
A Bullet For Sandoval - The Final Word:
A Bullet For Sandoval holds up well, it’s a gritty and tense Spaghetti Western with some fine performances and a solid sense of adventure. VCI’s Blu-ray edition won’t win disc of the year but it improves on past editions in both the audio and video departments and the commentary from Cox is a nice bonus.