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Kelly's Heroes
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
This 1970 film stars Clint Eastwood as Kelly, the leader of a group of soldiers who decide to take a little something extra home with them in the form of Nazi gold. Those who have seen quite a few films in the past year or so might find this similar to a specific one about a group of "Kings"...
Again, the film stars Eastwood as Kelly, a former Lieutenant who is fighting for the freedom of France when he and his crew have the idea of robbing a bank in enemy territory. The film really has a wonderful mix of humor crossed with the realities of war; both halves of the film exist on their own and never overshadow each other. The action sequences are thrilling - the film practically opens with a major action scene that lasts a solid 15 minutes or so. Production values are very good, and the movie is fairly big for a 30 year old film.
I had no idea of what to expect from Kelly's Heroe's, but I found myself being highly entertained by the tale, which is a big, well-acted and entertaining adventure picture that holds up well today. Performances from Eastwood, Donald Sutherland, Don Rickles and others are all excellent. A very well-done war film.
The DVD
VIDEO: Warner Brothers has given a magnificent effort to "Kelly's Heroes" and the film looks mighty good for a film of its age. One might expect a deal of scratches and wear on the image from a film that's now 30 years old, but in this case, I've seen films that are 5 years old with more wear than what's exhibited here. Sharpness is perfect throughout, with images that are very consistent and pleasingly smooth and "film-like". Detail is also pretty good, even in the dark or dimly lit sequences. Colors also look great for a fairly old picture, with all of the film's greens, browns, oranges(explosions) and other colors looking natural and nicely saturated.
The only real flaw that I noticed here was a little bit of grain now and again, but really, the grain here is pretty minimal and does not become much of a distraction. Some marks and scratches are noticable, but again, I've seen more on some films that have been done within the past few years. Pixelation and shimmering do not make an appearance at all here, and the majority of the images look remarkably good. This is really outstanding work from Warner Brothers and what flaws there are here are really very minor.
SOUND: The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio works in some ways, and is slightly unsuccessful in others. The new 5.1 track does a fine job in opening up the battle scenes, but the general quality is somewhat fair at times. Dialogue is the one element that I found tiring on occasion - although general conversation sounded passable, yelling or loud talking begins to sound thin and slightly harsh. This isn't a major complaint, but it did get to me once or twice. Surrounds aren't used too often, but are moderately effective when they come into play. I was pretty pleased with how some of the explosions sounded; nothing earth-shaking, but offering a nice amount of power for a 30 year old picture.
MENUS:: Menus aren't too bold with no animation and not too much in the way of graphics. The score does play in the background, though.
EXTRAS: The film's trailer and some production notes/cast&crew bios.
Final Thoughts: This is the first time I've seen "Kelly's Heroes" and I found it to be a really entertaining film with some great performances. Although I would have liked more of a special edition from Warner Brothers, the picture quality is excellent and although it has a couple of flaws, the sound quality is generally good as well. This is not part of the "Clint Eastwood Box Set"; although it is part of the "Clint Eastwood Collection", it's available on its own. Lack of extras aside, I still liked this film enough to recommend it, especially to fans of Eastwood or war films in general.
This 1970 film stars Clint Eastwood as Kelly, the leader of a group of soldiers who decide to take a little something extra home with them in the form of Nazi gold. Those who have seen quite a few films in the past year or so might find this similar to a specific one about a group of "Kings"...
Again, the film stars Eastwood as Kelly, a former Lieutenant who is fighting for the freedom of France when he and his crew have the idea of robbing a bank in enemy territory. The film really has a wonderful mix of humor crossed with the realities of war; both halves of the film exist on their own and never overshadow each other. The action sequences are thrilling - the film practically opens with a major action scene that lasts a solid 15 minutes or so. Production values are very good, and the movie is fairly big for a 30 year old film.
I had no idea of what to expect from Kelly's Heroe's, but I found myself being highly entertained by the tale, which is a big, well-acted and entertaining adventure picture that holds up well today. Performances from Eastwood, Donald Sutherland, Don Rickles and others are all excellent. A very well-done war film.
The DVD
VIDEO: Warner Brothers has given a magnificent effort to "Kelly's Heroes" and the film looks mighty good for a film of its age. One might expect a deal of scratches and wear on the image from a film that's now 30 years old, but in this case, I've seen films that are 5 years old with more wear than what's exhibited here. Sharpness is perfect throughout, with images that are very consistent and pleasingly smooth and "film-like". Detail is also pretty good, even in the dark or dimly lit sequences. Colors also look great for a fairly old picture, with all of the film's greens, browns, oranges(explosions) and other colors looking natural and nicely saturated.
The only real flaw that I noticed here was a little bit of grain now and again, but really, the grain here is pretty minimal and does not become much of a distraction. Some marks and scratches are noticable, but again, I've seen more on some films that have been done within the past few years. Pixelation and shimmering do not make an appearance at all here, and the majority of the images look remarkably good. This is really outstanding work from Warner Brothers and what flaws there are here are really very minor.
SOUND: The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio works in some ways, and is slightly unsuccessful in others. The new 5.1 track does a fine job in opening up the battle scenes, but the general quality is somewhat fair at times. Dialogue is the one element that I found tiring on occasion - although general conversation sounded passable, yelling or loud talking begins to sound thin and slightly harsh. This isn't a major complaint, but it did get to me once or twice. Surrounds aren't used too often, but are moderately effective when they come into play. I was pretty pleased with how some of the explosions sounded; nothing earth-shaking, but offering a nice amount of power for a 30 year old picture.
MENUS:: Menus aren't too bold with no animation and not too much in the way of graphics. The score does play in the background, though.
EXTRAS: The film's trailer and some production notes/cast&crew bios.
Final Thoughts: This is the first time I've seen "Kelly's Heroes" and I found it to be a really entertaining film with some great performances. Although I would have liked more of a special edition from Warner Brothers, the picture quality is excellent and although it has a couple of flaws, the sound quality is generally good as well. This is not part of the "Clint Eastwood Box Set"; although it is part of the "Clint Eastwood Collection", it's available on its own. Lack of extras aside, I still liked this film enough to recommend it, especially to fans of Eastwood or war films in general.
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