Review: 'Joe Kidd' a Lesser Eastwood Flick Given Top-Notch Treatment

Clint Eastwood plays a man of few words with great shooting skills in "Joe Kidd," one of the lesser films in Eastwood's career in the western genre. Although the film has sturdy direction from the always reliable John Sturges and an arsenic-laced script by Elmore Leonard, the story haphazardly throws Eastwood's gunman into the action, and he can't seem to navigate which side his character is on. Add in a slight performance by John Saxon as a Mexican landowner, and you have a stilted production that only briefly alludes to the political content of its story about ruthless land barons taking land that doesn't belong to them.

The new Blu-ray of "Joe Kidd" comes from Kino Lorber and their Studio Classics label, with a terrific presentation sourced from an older digital master of the film. Sturges' proclivity for shooting sweeping panoramic vistas is in full force here, and the Blu-ray offers excellent contrast in both wide and close-up shots. There's a new audio commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox that goes deep on Eastwood's career, and Cox isn't afraid to criticize the film's shortcomings.

Joe Kidd (Eastwood) is an ex-bounty hunter hired by a ruthless land baron named Frank Harlan (Robert Duvall) to track down a Mexican revolutionary leader (John Saxon). As Kidd learns more and more about Harlan's dirty dealings, he's torn between aiding Saxon's Luis Chama and carrying out his initial contract.

There's a great story about "Joe Kidd" that's actually kind of better than the film itself. Duvall, Eastwood, and Saxon were reportedly so struck by Sturges that they surrendered a great deal of authority to him. That could be why this 88-minute western is jam-packed with breathtaking vistas as padding between the main set pieces. Eastwood was also having panic attacks on set and was suffering from a bronchial infection, which didn't help the production.

At its best, "Joe Kidd" is a beautiful western with a bit of a political backbone, but it's frustrating to see Leonard's whip-smart prose get lost to the usual Eastwood shtick. But if you're a fan of Eastwood, I'm sure this Blu-ray will offer you everything you've ever wanted.

Special features include:

� Interview with actor Don Stroud
� Poster and image gallery
� TV spot
� Radio spot
� Theatrical trailer

"Joe Kidd" is now available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.