Guns for San Sebastian is a spaghetti Western starring the late great legendary star Anthony Quinn, the iconic Charles Bronson and directed by French film director Henri Verneuil. This movie is based on the novel A Wall for San Sebastian and is noted for being an Italian film that was shot in Mexico.
Taking place in the year 1743, outlaw Leon Alastray (Anthony Quinn, Zorba the Greek) is being hunted down by the Spanish army but manages to escape them. He ends up in a village and is given sanctuary by Father John. This village is an unsafe territory as it is often terrorized by both bandits and the Yaqui Indians. The villagers are basically hiding from the Indians and bandit who attack them and steal their supplies. When Leon arrives, he is immediately mistaken for a priest to replace one that was recently killed by bandits led by Teclo (Charles Bronson, Murphy’s Law). Teclo is pretending to be on the side of the villagers but secretly is plotting against them. Leon at first denies that he is a priest, but since no one believes him, he plays along. Soon he is partnered up with Kinita (Anjanette Comer, The Appaloosa) and together they help the villagers to defend themselves and fight the Yaqui and Teclo’s gang.
Warner Archive debuts Guns for San Sebastian on Blu-ray without much in the way of information given about their presentation other than it is in 1080p and what source materials were used. The image does look spectacular with rich colors, and excellent details to the scenery. Most of Warner Archive’s Blu-rays at present do get a 2K or a 4K scan, so I would presume this film has been given one. The first few minutes do have a yellowish hue but that departs shortly after the credits. The image is free of print damages, dirt, speckles. No DNR has been applied; the picture has a nice organic look to it. The cinematography by Armand Thirard shines in high-definiation.
The English DTS-HD master audio 2.0 track is solid with dialog, gunshots and other action noises coming in perfectly clear. The always excellent Ennio Morricone provides a great score that also sounds flawless. The audio is free of any hissing and other issues such as crackling or pops. English SDH subtitles are available for this offering
Extras include a featurette entitled San Sebastian: 1746 in 1968 and a theatrical trailer.
Guns for San Sebastian is an excellent Western with a solid cast, superb cinematography, and a great musical score. The audio and video quality are of the usual Warner Archive quality and is recommended!
Guns for San Sebastian
Director- Henri Verneuil
Cast-Anthony Quinn, Anjanette Comer, Charles Bronson
Country of Origin- US, France, Italy, Mexico
Distributor –Warner Archive Collection / Warner Brothers
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date-7/20/21