Kelly's Heroes Blu-ray Review & Comments

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Reviewed by Chris McEneany, 19th June 2010.
Kelly’s Heroes and Where Eagles Dare are inextricably linked by both star and director, and whilst plot-wise they are distinct and separate entities, it is hard not to view them as a sort of WWII Eastwood double-tap. Of the two – and I do wholeheartedly recommend getting the two on Blu-ray – Kelly’s Heroes is the superior movie in almost every way. It has such an ebullient atmosphere, some amazing and unconventional action, whip-cracking dialogue and a roster of truly fantastic characters. Much is made of the anachronistic inclusion of Sutherland’s hippy, Oddball, but viewing the film today, he just seems to fit the larger-than-life caper to a tee. Just as Coppola used the peculiar madness of the Vietnam War as a backdrop for his voyage into the heart of darkness in Apocalypse Now, Hutton paints a large-scale heist drama against the broader canvas of the Second World War and, just like Kelly and his Heroes, pulls it of with explosive aplomb.

The transfer for Kelly’s Heroes is terrific. It looks vibrant and alive, sharp, detailed and film-like, and you just can’t ask for more than that, can you? Audio-wise, this lossless mix behaved exactly as I thought it would do. It is neither superb, nor bogus. The sporadic surround use is welcome, if not entirely necessary, and the cramped dynamics of the source’s vintage doesn’t hamper the fun of the frothy dialogue or Schifrin’s cavalier score. The lack of extras is, however, despicable considering the talent that went into this riotous production, but then no release of the film, to my knowledge, has had anything of worth added to it.

Kelly’s Heroes is a defiantly fun movie, and yet it has moments of death and carnage that seems surprisingly raw, and the humour does not impede the pathos of certain situations. As is customary, Clint does not steal the show and the film is resolutely an ensemble affair. The two Dons, Rickles and Sutherland, absolutely shine, and Savalos delivers a performance of intensely charismatic gruffness. Of all the war-time platoons, patrols and small unit teams, this is the goon-squad that I would most want to sign up for. <i>No negative waves here, baby!

Kelly's Heroes go for gold, and my advice is go along with them.


Read the full review...
 
So the UK release is not the same transfer as the US release?
Every review of the US version says it's not that great at all...
 
So the UK release is not the same transfer as the US release?
Every review of the US version says it's not that great at all...

I've not seen the US transfer, but I trust it is exactly the same as the UK. Most people I know who have seen this (UK or US) have been impressed with it, and I certainly haven't come across a negative video report for it yet.

Where Eagles Dare is the one that is somewhat disappointing. Kelly's Heroes is on the money. It is not a full-blown restoration, you understand, but it looks fine and faithful and trounces every home video version that has gone before it.

Cheers,

Chris McEneany :devil:
 
Chris, will you please stop making me want to buy more Blu-Rays?!?

Love the review, you've got me all enthused again about this old film. I'd never considered the Predator comparison before but you're dead right. Lots of interesting stuff in there, a pleasure to read, thanks :smashin:
 
Chris, will you please stop making me want to buy more Blu-Rays?!?

Love the review, you've got me all enthused again about this old film. I'd never considered the Predator comparison before but you're dead right. Lots of interesting stuff in there, a pleasure to read, thanks :smashin:


LOL, sorry, dude!

I'll try to review some naff ones in future.

Seriously, though, I'd forgotten just how damn entertaining Kelly's Heroes is. Real good fun, endlessly quotable and truly benefitting from a strong ensemble cast and real locations. People always say this ... but they really don't make em like this anymore.

Enjoy it, mate!

Cheers,

Chris McEneany :devil:
 
Hi

Good review of a fun movie.
Must agree that the image on BR is indeed vivid and impressive and the sound acceptable.

I actually have the vinyl LP of the soundtrack :)

Cheers
 
Yes, a good review there.

And the image quality is at least several notches up from the DVD release - a real filmic quality to it.
 
Excellent Review Chris!

Shame the 45+ mins cut just before the films release are still MIA:confused:
 
Excellent Review Chris!

Shame the 45+ mins cut just before the films release are still MIA:confused:

I totally agree. Heroes is a long film as it is, but I wouldn't turn my nose up at another hour or two in the company of Oddball, Kelly and Big Joe. Terrific style and a fabulous roster of characters. WWII was never so much fun!

Thanks for your comments and it is great to find so many other fans for this classic. :smashin:

Cheers,

Chris McEneany :devil:
 
Several years after the film was released, Eastwood claimed that the movie studio (MGM) made additional cuts to Hutton's final version of the film, eliminating scenes that gave depth to the main characters. The resulting edits, Eastwood said, made the characters look like "a bunch of goof-offs from World War Two."

James Aubrey, the head of MGM, demanded many cuts before its release, all to the exclusion of character and highlighting hi-jinks. Eastwood was upset over these edits as he felt the film lost some of his best scenes, ones that augumented the anti-war nature of the original script.


Fan Site:-
Kelly's Heroes

Brian Hutton later dropped out of Hollywood to become a plumber. Seriously.
 
WOW!

Brilliant stuff, there, Shawn! :thumbsup:

Thanks for the info and the link, mate!!!

Cheers

Chris McEneany :devil:
 
It's a great movie all in and any improvement over the DVD can only be a good thing. I see it's in the 3 for £20 on amazon just now (think Where Eagles Dare is in it as well)
 
It certainly is a great movie!
 
It's a great movie all in and any improvement over the DVD can only be a good thing. I see it's in the 3 for £20 on amazon just now (think Where Eagles Dare is in it as well)

Its certainly better than the DVD, I can assure you of that.
 

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