Joe Kidd

Summary

“Anything I can do for you, Joe?”

Elmore Leonard will always be one of my favorite writers. He was not only a great novelist but also a gifted screenwriter. He was as talented writing crime novels as he was writing classic Western stories. Hombre, 3:10 to Yuma, Valdez is Coming, and Joe Kidd are all films based on his writing. That’s certainly a strong track record. I am just as enthusiastic about iconic actor and filmmaker Clint Eastwood. I have been a fan of the multi-hyphenate Eastwood since I was very young and was exposed to Dirty Harry and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. I owned a copy of The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly on VHS that I watched constantly growing up and can still easily quote lines from the film today. I was excited to see that Kino Lorber was releasing Joe Kidd on Blu-ray with a new 4K transfer. Joe Kidd stars Eastwood under the direction of John Sturges from a screenplay by Elmore Leonard. That’s a hell of a winning combo on paper.

Joe Kidd (Clint Eastwood) awakes in a jail cell after drinking too much the night before and being locked up by the Sheriff. He will be forced to stand before the judge for his behavior. A group of Mexican men and women arrive in town as Joe is arraigned. Joe has been charged for poaching a deer on an Indian reservation, resisting arrest, and for disorderly conduct. The judge offers a ten dollar fine or a ten day punishment. Joe accepts the ten days. The revolutionary leader of the group of Mexicans, Luis Chama (John Saxon,) leads his party into the courthouse where he seizes the deeds filed at the courthouse and burns them. Joe walks the judge out the back door to keep him from being kidnapped. Joe pours himself a pint at the saloon and holds off one of Chama’s men with a shotgun. When the man tries to draw on Joe, Joe blows him away. Chama and his men flee town and the sheriff and his posse give pursuit to no effect. A train arrives in town carrying wealthy landowner Frank Harlan (Robert Duvall,) his mistress, and his gun expert heavies. Harlan commandeers the second floor of the town’s hotel and asks the sheriff to bring him Joe Kidd. He pays Joe’s ten dollar fine. Joe comes to the hotel and it comes to light that Joe had been a bounty hunter before. Joe at first dismisses the job proposal by Harlan, but when Joe realizes that Chama has stolen his horses, he returns to the hotel. Joe accepts a job offer from Harlan to escort his men and himself as their guide to help take down the revolutionary Chama. Along the trail to Chama, Joe witnesses the brutality of Harlan and his men and finds himself in a moral quandary.

Joe Kidd is a good Western that is almost a great Western. The only thing that holds the film back from greatness is one scene which features a pretty ridiculous stunt that feels strangely out of place with the rest of the movie. That is honestly the only thing in the film that doesn’t work and you will know it when you see it. If you can get past that one misstep, the film should be a great time for everyone. In the special feature with actor Don Stroud, Stroud discusses that Eastwood and John Sturges did not get along well and had many disagreements regarding how to make the film. I have a feeling that tension also shows up a little in what arrives on screen. Stroud says he feels like the film would have been better under the direction of Eastwood, so I will keep that in the back of my mind for the next time I view the film.

The opening sequences of the film show off the playfulness of Elmore Leonard’s dialogue and writing. Those sequences reminded me of his fan favorite character Raylan Givens which Timothy Olyphant brought brilliantly to life in the show Justified. The opening sequences are so good but the later writing in the film does not quite carry the same smart ass spark that makes the beginning so fun. I was still pleased with the excellent final sequences in the film (minus one idiotic scene,) but the beginning is pure Elmore Leonard.

The acting in the film by Eastwood and Duvall is above reproach. Both are very enjoyable in their roles. Eastwood can do no wrong as a protagonist in a Western and the rule still works here. John Saxon is surprisingly believable as a Mexican revolutionary in the film. Supporting actors like Don Stroud add some energy to the proceedings.

Shot in California and Arizona, Joe Kidd is a picturesque film thanks to the strong cinematography by Bruce Surtrees. The film jumps off the screen with its wide angle lensed filming. I love the way that Panavision film stock looks and this film is no exception. The movie is striking. Another interesting aspect of the film is the score by Lalo Schifrin which feel a little out of place with the film, blending motifs present in his other scores with a Western motif, but I still enjoyed it.

Overall – I really enjoyed Joe Kidd. While it has some minor issues, it is still well worth checking out!

Video

This transfer of Joe Kidd in 1920x1080p with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 looked great to me. Universal released the film as a stand-alone disc and within their Clint Eastwood: The Universal Pictures 7-Movie Collection box set in 2015. The Blu-ray presentation by Kino Lorber from a new 4K scan is a tremendous leap in quality from the already dated prior presentation. Fine detail is exceptional and the updated presentation really brings the film to life. Filmed in Panavision in Technicolor, Joe Kidd benefits from the high quality of that particular film treatment with a wide aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Cinematographer Bruce Surtrees manages to showcase the open mountain vistas in California and Arizona where the movie was filmed. The film is visually very striking. This presentation is incredibly strong should please fans of the film and newcomers alike.

Audio

Joe Kidd features a DTS-HD MA 2.0 track that sounds pretty good. Dialogue is clear and the score by Lala Schifrin gets a nice boost from the track. The score by Lalo Schifrin is unique because it uses Western motifs but still somehow has marks of his work on films like Bullitt and Dirty Harry. I think that the merits of the score are certainly debatable, but I was pleased with the audio presentation on the disc.

Supplements:

• Audio Commentary – director and Western film authority Alex Cox discusses numerous aspects of the film.
• Interview with Don Stroud – the actor who played one of the gunmen in the film gives an excellent and insightful interview. While it is a short piece, it’s full of information.
• Poster and Image Gallery
• Radio Spot
• T.V. Spot
• Theatrical Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 3/5

Overall – 4.5/5

Joe Kidd is an enjoyable Western film starring Clint Eastwood and Robert Duvall. The film comes close to greatness thanks to a playful script by Elmore Leonard, but a sequence towards the end of the film simply doesn’t make sense and throws the film off track for a moment. Don’t let that one scene keep you from checking out the film, because it is still a lot of fun. The new Blu-ray by Kino Lorber features a fantastic looking new 4K transfer that makes the previous Universal Studios release obsolete. The couple new supplements are enjoyable. Recommended!