Search - Shalako on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Violence, Not For Children Movie Release: 1968 DVD Release: 01/19/1999 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 53 mins Studio: Anchor Bay Members Wishing: 1 Genres: Western, Eurowestern See Also: Shalako [Widescreen]

In this western adventure, Shalako (Sean Connery) leads a hunting expedition in the wilds of New Mexico. There they run across an Apache camp where the Countess Irina (Brigitte Bardot) is being held hostage. When the Indians retaliate by destroying the camp of the European aristocrats, Shalako must use his wiles to battle the Indians and the jealous members of his own hunting party. The camp is robbed by Fulton (Stephen Boyd), who runs off with the wife of Sir Dagget (Jack Hawkins). Lady Boyd (Honor Blackman) leaves her rich husband in a dramatic split decision prompted by the marital discord between her and her pompous husband. Shalako leads the survivors through dangerous mountain terrain, engaging in climactic hand-to-hand combat. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Sean Connery - Shalako
Brigitte Bardot - Countess Irini Lazaar
Peter Van Eyck - Frederick Von Hallstatt
Stephen Boyd - Bosky Fulton
Honor Blackman - Lady Julia Daggett

An absolutely bare-bones, movie-only DVD, this Anchor Bay release has the widescreen version (2.35:1, non-anamorphic) on one side of the disc and a pan-and-scan version on the other, though the viewer is left to guess as to which side has which (side 1 is the cropped version). There are 18 chapter stops, including one for about 15 seconds of end titles. The audio is stock mono, with the tendency to be a bit rough on the ears -- voices, effects, and music tend to blur together at times. Viewers are fortunately able to skip past the opening credits, which come with one of the more irritating Western theme songs in known memory. Visually, the look of the film is okay. The widescreen mastering seems to have had more attention than the cropped version, which seems quite soft and murky. The colors are good (where there is much color; the locations are mostly grey and dull) and flesh tones accurate, and the image is for the most part reasonably sharp (it softens from time to time for no apparent reason) and free of blemishes, though some speckling is evident. Overall, this edition of Shalako is, much like the movie itself -- a mediocre effort. ~ Steven E. McDonald, All Movie Guide