Apache Rifles (1964/VCI DVD)
Picture: C+
Sound: C Extras: C+ Film: C+
As the tradition Hollywood Western declined (in part
because so many hit TV shows had succeeded them), with only so much even a
development like the Revenge Western could sustain, you can imagine how tired
the genre was starting to get. Director
William Witney directed on many of those shows and started his career in
B-movies and movie serials, so he knew how to keep a film moving. His 1964 Western Apache Rifles is not bad, with Audie Murphy battling the title
Native American tribe until he falls for one of their females.
Then things get more twisted when gold is discovered and
already challenged loyalties and allegiances will further disintegrate and who
knows how wild things will get. The cast
that includes L.Q. Jones, Michael Dante, Linda Lawson and Ken Lynch is a plus
and the overall film is not bad. Western
fans should see this one at least once.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image has some color
limits, aliasing errors and even haloing, but the good color (by DeLuxe) and
overall solid look (lensed by Archie R. Dalzell) just stop it from being an
average transfer, but the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is more compressed than
expected for whatever strange reason.
Extras are good here, though, including stills and three featurettes: Please Hold The Spaghetti about how the
Western changed at this time, Cut To The
Chase about Witney and Museum Of Lone
Pine Film History.
- Nicholas Sheffo
