Soldier Blue - June 23rd

[The Limey]

Great to see that Kinowelt will be releasing Ralph Nelson's Soldier Blue in its Hi Def debut on June the 23rs. Hopefully like Kinowelt's earlier DVD, this will be a great transfer and uncut.

http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B004...SIN=B004SKKMGU

[Arkadin]

this bd is out now in Germany, and I have read one favorable user review at another site.
note: this is a locked region b release.
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Soldi...ay/2412/#Forum
http://www.amazon.de/Das-Wiegenlied-...9956469&sr=1-1

from user review The Limey

"Well this arrived today and I make no secret of the fact that I was wary as to how this was going to look and sound after my most recent experiences with German s - more specifically Scanners and The Quiet Earth and indeed the caps posted from AVS were hardly flattering, especially as this is the same transfer as the Universal release from that territory. At the start of the disc you are given a choice of countries such as Australia, Germany, Denmark, Nordic etc which just underlines that Universal and Studio Canal have shared the distribution as usual across various territories - doubtless at the behest of their mutual shareholder - Vivendi.

PQ:
There is little doubt in my mind that this is the same master that Kinowelt used for their excellent DVD from 2004 of the same title. As a result there is noticeable EE around at times but I did not find it really intrusive. Clarity is very good, indeed, and there is a nice healthy portion of grain on view. Detail previously unseen on the dvd is revealed and the dirt and dust on the faces and uniforms of the Pay Master's troop for example is thrown into very clear relief, indeed. Uniforms and costumes take on a detail simply unseen on previous video incarnations and are rich and detailed. The film's leads - Bergen and Strauss are shown with a clarity that I have not seen since seeing the film theatrically. Lighting and contrast are both excellent, as is colour which retains its slightly subdued hues which in contrast to the blood and gore which has always looked a little too red full stop. I found the blacks very deep but not really affecting shadow detail. Instead they display a richness that I think enhances the PQ well. All in all PQ gets the thumbs up and despite the issues that come with this older master it still scores very favourably and frankly belies those AVS screen caps when seen in motion.
4/5

AQ:
Now we come onto some really good news and that is the two channel DTS-HD Master audio is the best that I have ever heard Soldier Blue sound. This audio is nice and clear and there is not a hint of distortion anywhere, even on the louder sequences.
LFE is good but never overpowering. The audio is really punchy too and is far stronger than that on offer on the DVD.
This means that Roy Budd's superlative score for this film sounds absolutely amazing, as indeed does Buffy Sainte Marie's opening title song which is beautifully depicted in all of its haunting glory.
Overall AQ garners itself an impressive 4.5/5."

.

[toddly6666]

I just watched this German blu-ray. Here's my little user review:

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Soldi...2/#UserReviews

[G:Box]

Originally Posted by toddly6666

I just watched this German blu-ray. Here's my little user review:

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Soldi...2/#UserReviews

So IMDB shows it as PG, is this an unedited cut?

[The Duke]

Originally Posted by MrGBox

So IMDB shows it as PG, is this an unedited cut?

Huh? It's rated R for "strong violence including a rape, and some nudity". And the US DVD is cut to 112 minutes, this German release is the full 115 minutes. While it's only 3 minutes, almost all of the cut footage removes the more brutal mutilation gore of the massacre of the Indian village at the end of the movie. That scene was based on the true events of the Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado in 1864. It was so brutal Congress held hearings into it, here's some of the testimony:

I saw the bodies of those lying there cut all to pieces, worse mutilated than any I ever saw before; the women cut all to pieces ... With knives; scalped; their brains knocked out; children two or three months old; all ages lying there, from sucking infants up to warriors ...

Fingers and ears were cut off the bodies for the jewelry they carried. The body of White Antelope, lying solitarily in the creek bed, was a prime target. Besides scalping him the soldiers cut off his nose, ears, and testicles-the last for a tobacco pouch ...

To film the massacre scene they hired a bunch of amputees, fitting them with prosthetic arms & legs and hacked those off during the filming. I can't stand slasher gorefest movies but it doesn't bother me when gore is used to make a point, like Saving Private Ryan did to realistically portray how brutal the D-Day landing was. And Soldier Blue uses the Indian massacre to realistically portray some of the savagery done to Native American "savages" by "civilized" men. I've had the German PAL DVD for some time, sounds like it's time to upgrade. I'm waiting/hoping Grooves-inc will carry this.

[G:Box]

Originally Posted by The Duke

Huh? It's rated R for "strong violence including a rape, and some nudity".

[Show spoiler]And the US DVD is cut to 112 minutes, this German release is the full 115 minutes. While it's only 3 minutes, almost all of the cut footage removes the more brutal mutilation gore of the massacre of the Indian village at the end of the movie. That scene was based on the true events of the Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado in 1864. It was so brutal Congress held hearings into it, here's some of the testimony:



To film the massacre scene they hired a bunch of amputees, fitting them with prosthetic arms & legs and hacked those off during the filming. I can't stand slasher gorefest movies but it doesn't bother me when gore is used to make a point, like Saving Private Ryan did to realistically portray how brutal the D-Day landing was. And Soldier Blue uses the Indian massacre to realistically portray some of the savagery done to Native American "savages" by "civilized" men. I've had the German PAL DVD for some time, sounds like it's time to upgrade.

Oh ok, I had never heard of this film until now
the reason I asked was because Imdb, says R in one spot but say "PG" in others, I didn't know, but thanks for the explanation

[The Duke]

Originally Posted by MrGBox

Oh ok, I had never heard of this film until now
the reason I asked was because Imdb, says R in one spot but say "PG" in others, I didn't know, but thanks for the explanation

Ah, I didn't see that PG at the top, kind of ignored that as they're also using the wrong cover - that's either from Mexico or Spain as Soldado Azul is the Spanish name for the movie. Not sure what that "PG edited for re-rating) (1974)" rating is, maybe they re-edited it for a re-showing in theaters?
Lionsgate released the 112 minute cut version on DVD in 2006, and Amazon has it rated R. It's still pretty violent even with the 3 minutes of the massacre cut, it opens with a scouting party of the US cavalry being slaughtered. You might try renting the DVD first to see if you like it, it's not a movie for everyone.

[G:Box]

Originally Posted by The Duke

Ah, I didn't see that PG at the top, kind of ignored that as they're also using the wrong cover - that's either from Mexico or Spain as Soldado Azul is the Spanish name for the movie. Not sure what that "PG edited for re-rating) (1974)" rating is, maybe they re-edited it for a re-showing in theaters?
Lionsgate released the 112 minute cut version on DVD in 2006, and Amazon has it rated R. It's still pretty violent even with the 3 minutes of the massacre cut, it opens with a scouting party of the US cavalry being slaughtered. You might try renting the DVD first to see if you like it, it's not a movie for everyone.

Thanks, but definitely not for me. I'm not one for gory and highly violent flix.
Most of my collection is PG-13 and very few R movies, I know weird right,

[MrBrown]

I am gonna order the BD. Never saw this movie, and the BD seems really okay.

Here is a little comparison between German DVD and BD at caps-a-holic.

[Arkadin]

I am also waiting on grooves to get this in.

[zardoz]

Wo sind mein fransözisch untertittel ? :-(

italian, spanish, ... but no french :|

[TheOneWithThePrize]

Originally Posted by zardoz

Wo sind mein fransözisch untertittel ? :-(

italian, spanish, ... but no french :|

Interesting, I've seen plenty of Studio Canal titles sharing the same master with Kinowelt and Optimum but apparently not with this one. Studio Canal doesn't even have a BD of this lined up, still only lists the DVD (with only a French dub to boot...).

[toddly6666]

Originally Posted by MrGBox

Thanks, but definitely not for me. I'm not one for gory and highly violent flix.
Most of my collection is PG-13 and very few R movies, I know weird right,

Hey, sorry I didn't respond to you sooner. I haven't been in this thread in a while. This German blu-ray is definitely R-rated - hard R!

[The Duke]

Originally Posted by Arkadin

I am also waiting on grooves to get this in.

Grooves-inc finally got this in, and as an added bonus for those of us in North America the euro and Swiss franc have tanked in the past several days. Going to order a copy this weekend.

[Arkadin]

thanks for the heads up.
(I caved and bought the "other" westerns from amazon.de)

[The Limey]

Originally Posted by The Duke

Grooves-inc finally got this in, and as an added bonus for those of us in North America the euro and Swiss franc have tanked in the past several days. Going to order a copy this weekend.

I think that you will be very happy with this purchase too - it really is is a great blu-ray.