{"id":25509,"date":"2021-03-16T06:00:04","date_gmt":"2021-03-16T13:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=25509"},"modified":"2021-02-19T18:11:55","modified_gmt":"2021-02-20T02:11:55","slug":"review-stiletto-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2021\/03\/review-stiletto-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Stiletto Blu-ray Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Stiletto<\/em><\/strong> is a slow burn thriller and while I don\u2019t mind these sorts of movies, there\u2019s little suspense or thrills and sorely underwritten characters, particularly the main as portrayed with little charisma by Alex Cord.<\/p>\n

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Stiletto<\/span>
\n(1969)
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Genre(s): <\/strong>Suspense Thriller, Crime, Drama<\/span>
\nKino Lorber| R \u2013 101 min. \u2013 $24.95 | March 30, 2021<\/span><\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 03\/16\/2021 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Director: <\/strong>Bernard L. Kowalski
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>A.J. Russell (screenplay)
\nCast: <\/strong>Alex Cord, Britt Eklund, Patrick O\u2019Neal, Joseph Wiseman, Barbara McNair, John Dehner<\/p>\n

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DISC INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Features: <\/strong>Commentary
\nSlip Cover: <\/strong>No
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>No
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>Blu-ray
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>1<\/span><\/p>\n
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Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 2.0)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 1.66
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>34.55 GB
\nTotal Bitrate: <\/strong>41.29 Mbps
\nCodecs: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/span><\/p>\n
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Kino Lorber provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
\nThe opinions I share are my own.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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THE MOVIE \u2014 2\u00bc\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Plot Synopsis: <\/strong>Count Cesare Cardinali (ALEX CORD) is a rich jet-setting playboy with a secret life as a professional hitman for the mob. He becomes a human target when he tries to retire, and gets embroiled in an investigation of New York\u2019s mafia kingpin (JOSEPH WISEMAN), who had once saved his life.<\/p>\n

Quick Hit Review: Stiletto<\/em><\/strong> is a slow placed crime-thriller and while I don\u2019t mind these types of movies, which I think seems to be pretty common for the 1960s (In Like Flint<\/em> comes to mind), this one was on the confusing side early on. But even when things begin to make sense, I found myself disengaged with characters that aren\u2019t terribly fleshed out and it culminates with a tension-free finale that was unsatisfying, albeit not wholly predictable, so at least there\u2019s that.<\/p>\n

On the positive front, the movie did seem to be competently directed by Bernard L. Kowalski, whose career has been comprised of mostly television shows, including the pilot episode for Mission: Impossible<\/em> and worked on Jake and the Fatman<\/em> and Knight Rider <\/em>to name a few, and also helmed the snake sci-fi\/horror flick, Sssssss<\/em>. There was a couple interesting shots, such as a dance sequence with some frames from above that looked cool. Otherwise, however, nothing that really stood out.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 1\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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The only feature is an Audio Commentary<\/u><\/strong> with Film Historian David Del Valle and Filmmaker David DeCotea. The movie might not be much good, but I did enjoy listening to these two as they delve out background information on the production.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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VIDEO \u2013 4\u00bd\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Kino Lorber releases Stiletto<\/em><\/strong> onto Blu-ray for the first time with a new 1080p high-definition transfer taken from a 4K master. The picture for the most part does look quite good, detail is relatively sharp throughout and colors do seem to be well balanced. Though I can\u2019t really compare it to any previous DVD releases, I have to assume this is a significant upgrade over anything that has come before. There were a few minor specs but otherwise it\u2019s a pretty clean transfer.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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AUDIO \u2013 4\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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As with most of KL\u2019s releases for older films, the disc comes with a standard but perfectly serviceable DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. Given there\u2019s really not a whole lot of action, at least in terms of explosions and gunfire, this is a fine lossless track, dialogue comes across with good clarity and I didn\u2019t notice any significant popping though I did discern some minor hissing here and there, however nothing I\u2019d consider all that distracting.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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OVERALL \u2013 2\u00bd\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Stiletto<\/em><\/strong> is a slow burn thriller and while I don\u2019t mind these sorts of movies, there\u2019s little suspense or thrills and sorely underwritten characters, particularly the main as portrayed with little charisma by Alex Cord. The Blu-ray release does at least have adequate video and audio transfers and the included commentary is worth listening to.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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