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Behold a Pale Horse (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - Powerhouse Films Review written by and copyright: Rick Curzon (7th April 2025). |
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The Film
 Gregory Peck (MacArthur), Omar Sharif (Lawrence of Arabia), and Anthony Quinn (R.P.M.) lead the cast of Behold a Pale Horse, a powerful drama from director Fred Zinnemann (The Day of the Jackal). Twenty years after the Spanish Civil War, Republican guerilla Manuel (Peck) lives in exile in France. Francoist Captain Viñolas (Quinn) is tasked with capturing him, and senses an opportunity when Manuel’s mother (Mildred Dunnock) falls ill, but hasn’t counted on the involvement of priest Father Francisco (Sharif), who tries to protect Manuel and guide him away from his path to violence. Adapted by J P Miller (Days of Wine and Roses) from a novel by Emeric Pressburger (The Red Shoes), Behold a Pale Horse is a riveting tale of morality, betrayal, and resistance.
Video
Well acted, written, directed etc but this prestigious drama never really catches fire until the last ten minutes. There's precious little action or suspense but lots of talk. I think it's one of those slow burn dramas that once you accept it's not action-packed it'll improve on second viewing. From the booklet: Behold a Pale Horse was sourced from Sony’s HD remaster. The film’s original mono soundtrack was remastered at the same time.it's a beautifully lensed monochrome production which was still not uncommon in the first half of the sixties for big budget, all-star drama films like this. Black levels are consistently strong throughout this at times darkly lit film, but it's always easy to see with decent dynamic range and gamma has been balanced to avoid colour bias creeping in. Detail is strong and the grain untouched and very fine; it's a surprisingly sharp image with little of the expected softness beyond opticals and scene fades. There's no signs of any age related damage that I noticed. The bitrate is high, the encode superb and the presentation as strong as can be (shy of 4K and HDR), based on an excellent HD master from Sony ('A'). 1080p24 / AVC MPEG-4 / BD50 / 1.85:1 / 121:09
Audio
English LPCM 1.0 (48kHz, 16-bit) Subtitles: English HoH Sound is standard for a film of its era and is as strong a track of it's type that I've heard. Low range mono but it gets the job done as well as it can with no distortions. It's been cleaned up so there's no signs wear and tear, no pops, clicks etc. mild analogue hiss when cranked up but that's all part of the original. Hard of hearing subtitles translate and account for all dialogue ('B+').
Extras
"The Guardian Interview with Omar Sharif: Conducted by Quentin Falk at the National Film Theatre, London on 8 January 1984" 1984 interview that plays out as an alternate audio track over the film (76:45) These vintage screen talks are always well worth the price of the disc in and of themselves. Sharif has plenty to say and it's an entertaining listen. He starts with how he got the role in Lawrence of Arabia which was the beginning of his international career; lots of ground is covered (he loved working with Blake Edwards for instance). Generally clear presentation if a little canned, mildly tinny with some fluctuations in volume and some distortions. Presented in lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (48kHz, 112Kbps) and no subtitle options. "The Pain of Exile: Caitlin McDonald on Behold a Pale Horse" 2025 interview (15:16) Fine short piece that covers the film and its source by a film historian that I don't recall coming across before. He does a great job explaining it all. Presented in 1080p24 1.78:1 with lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo (48kHz, 192Kbps) with no subtitle options. Theatrical Trailer (2:29) Vintage promo presented in 1080p24 1.85:1 with uncompressed English LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, Behold a Pale Horse Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (38 images) HD still gallery of promotional images. 44-page liner notes booklet with a new essay by Michael Pattison, an in-depth look at Emeric Pressburger’s source novel, an a collection of anecdotes from Fred Zinnemann on the film’s production and reception, an overview of contemporary critical responses and film credits A strong booklet, which is par for the course, the centrepiece of which is the new essay and the interesting comparriaon betwixt film and original novel.
Packaging
Not sent for review.
Overall
A largely forgotten slice of worthy sixties Hollywood drama from heavy weight director Fred Zinneman (From Here to Eternity, A Man for All Seasons, The Day of the Jackal) gets the deluxe treatment. Image and sound are strong, extras decent but the film is slow and talky never really coming to life. It's a solid view but not a patch on the best of Zinneman's best. Still, the disc is worth getting for the faithful ('B+').
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