Breakheart Pass is an all-around fun and entertaining western-thriller with Charles Bronson once more great in the lead.
Breakheart Pass
(1975)
Genre(s): Western, Suspense/Thriller, Mystery
Kino Lorber| PG – 95 min. – $29.95 | November 16, 2021
Date Published: 01/10/2022 | Author: The Movieman
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Kino Lorber provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3¾/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: When diphtheria breaks out at Fort Humboldt, a train is dispatched with medical supplies and relief troops. Also on board are Utah’s governor (RICHARD CRENNA), his mistress (JILL IRELAND), a marshal (BEN JOHNSON) and his prisoner, outlaw John Deakin (CHARLES BRONSON). As the train passes through the mountains, soldiers go missing, telegraph lines are cut and it’s discovered that there is no epidemic. There’s a conspiracy afoot, and it’s up to Deakin, actually a federal agent, to expose it. Quick Hit Review: Breakheart Pass is an old school western-thriller that features some well done action sequences, including a train car crashing down a hillside, and a hand-to-hand fight scene on top of a moving train. And you add to that Charles Bronson and the tough-guy charisma he brings to every role and you’ve got one entertaining ride, one that doesn’t needlessly add unnecessary or soap opera drama and instead a breezy nuts and bolts film. I would say it’s probably the rare 1970s film that the entire family could enjoy. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2/5 |
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This release comes with a matted slip cover and the inner cover has reversible artwork. The only features is an Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson as well as the Theatrical Trailer. |
VIDEO – 4½/5 |
| Breakheart Pass comes to Blu-ray for a second time by Kino Lorber, the last back in 2014. This time the film receives a 2K restoration though there’s no mention on the back cover of the source. In any case, and without being able to compare with the old release, this 1080p high-definition transfer looks great; detail is sharp and well defined while colors appear nicely balanced but still in keeping with the old west motif of a more natural palette. The picture seems clean, no apparent signs of aliasing, artifacting or other flaws. |
AUDIO – 4/5 |
| The disc comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track which was fairly strong for a stereo lossless track. Dialogue comes across with good clarity with no obvious pops, hisses or other ailments and the action scenes do contain some modest depth all things considered. |
OVERALL – 3½/5 |
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Breakheart Pass is an all-around fun and entertaining western-thriller with Charles Bronson once more great in the lead. This new edition from Kino Lorber features good video and audio tracks while the features are a bit limited. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.