HOT SPUR (1968) (Severin Films Blu-ray Review with Screenshots )

HOT SPUR (1968) 

Label: Severin Films 

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 90 Minutes 53 Seconds 

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1)

Director: Lee Frost 

Cast: James Arena, Joseph Mascolo, Virginia Gordon, John Alderman

Sexploitation "roughie" western Hot Spur (1968) is another team-up of exploitation duo producer Bob Cresse (Mondo Bizarro) and writer/director Lee Frost (Love Camp 7) offering a nasty western-revenger set in Texas circa  1869. Ranch hand Carlos "The Mex" (James Arena) is out for revenge against rancher-baddie Jason O'Hara (who went onto a very long career on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives) and his henchmen who years earlier raped and murdered his older sister. The plan involves getting a job at Jason's ranch as a stableman and then kidnapping his pretty wife, Susan (Virginia Gordon, The Muthers), whisking her away to a remote mountaintop cabin, where he proceeds to booby-trap the surrounding area and wait for Jason and his men to come looking for Susan so he can kill them, but not before he rapes and subjects poor Susan to some heinous sexual violence so as to get even for what was done to his sister. There's absolutely no subtlety here, not one characters is likable and the softcore sexual violence and rape are rather  off putting - so it's pretty much everything you would want from a seedy western roughie I think, including disgusting sweat and dust-covered cow hands with no redeeming values, who love to grope and manhandle women. The Old West Texas vibe feels fairly authentic here, better than most low-budget westerns, with some decent production value and authentic locations that set the appropriate dusty western tone for the era depicted. Even by the usual sleazy roughie standard of the era this one feels pretty dang raw and sleazy, it gets surprisingly mean-spirited and depraved,with a nihilistic finale that was probably a bit of a stunner for the day in which it was made. 

Audio/Video: Hot Spur (1969) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Severin Films sourced from a 4K scan from the recently rediscovered negative, presented here in 1080p HD framed in 1.33:1. I have only previously seen a couple of YouTube clips of this film previously, and they looked terrible with green emulsion scratches and loads of other photochemical and physical blemishes, I had real low expectations going into it. Much to by surprise the flick looks near immaculate with excellent depth and clarity, it's a surprisingly vibrant picture as well, and the colors are well-saturated and pop quite nicely. We also gets some excellent fine detail and textures in the close-ups, you can see the individual hairs on their knuckles and chins, it's quite  stunning that this cheapie roughie looks so immaculate. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono with optional English subtitles, like the video the audio presentation is remamranbkly clean and well-balanced. 

This release is well-stocked with bonus material, beginning with an Audio Commentary With Vinegar Syndrome's Joe Rubin, Severin Films' Andrew Furtado And Bob Cresse Friend/Former Something Weird General Manager Tim Lewis, the former duo eat some pie while talking about the flick in-depth, later joined by Lewis who has some fun tales to tell about Cresse. We also get a Recently Discovered Audio Discussion On Frost/Cresse By David F. Friedman And Something Weird Founder Mike Vraney, this is another treasure, the late pair had a wonderful rapport and are in fine form here as they discuss the world of the roughies and they were marketed and plenty more.

We also get a complete bonus film by way of the 64-min Hollywood's World of Flesh, Early Frost/Cresse Feature that explores the seedier side of L.A.; plus the 6-min The Casting Director – Rare Short Starring Bob Cresse, Directed By David F. Friedman that's pretty much a day in the life of an exploitation casting director. The disc extras are buttoned-up with a 6-min Theatrical Trailer and a 45-second Teaser that is absolutely stuffed with nudity.

The single disc release arrives in a black keepcase with a Two-Sided Sleeve of Artwork featuring the titillating illustrated French movie poster which looks like a salacious western romance novel, on the reverse side the  archival marketing materials are reproduced, which includes an open letter to the exhibitors from Olympic International Films, cast and crew infor, and some pull quotes touting this as one the 10 best films of 1969! I would say it was reversible as there;s no spine logo for the film, but it's certainly two-sided. 

Special Features: 
• Audio Commentary With Vinegar Syndrome's Joe Rubin, Severin Films' Andrew Furtado And Bob Cresse Friend/Former Something Weird General Manager Tim Lewis
• Recently Discovered Audio Discussion On Frost/Cresse By David F. Friedman And Something Weird Founder Mike Vraney
• HOLLYWOOD'S WORLD OF FLESH – Early Frost/Cresse Feature (64:16) 

• THE CASTING DIRECTOR – Rare Short Starring Bob Cresse, Directed By David F. Friedman (6:17) 
• Theatrical Trailer (6:15).
• Teaser (0:45) 
• Archival Marketing Materials Reproduced On The Reverse Of The Wrap

Hot Spur (1968) is quite a mean-spirited western-roughie, I dig the authentic western vibe and how salacious the whole thing was, and the revenger storyline is pretty dang decent. Kudos to Severin Films for reviving this Something Weird Video VHS staple for it's debut HD release and presenting it in such immaculate condition, I was really blown away with how good it looked, top-notch.  

Purchase it: https://amzn.to/4a7jdYj

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Screenshots from the Severin Blu-ray: