Hell Or High Water [Blu-ray] [Region A] [NTSC]

I'm not always drawn to the Western genre, but a good one will draw me in, and 'Hell or High Water' does fit the bill of a good example. The film follows two brothers (Chris Pine and Ben Foster) who have been, for reasons explained in the film, carrying out a series of armed robberies of banks. Eventually finding a way onto their trail are a veteran lawman (Jeff Bridges) and his partner. Eventually, paths will be crossed but although that's the basic narrative, it's one of those great finds where you can, if you want to, pull much more than that from it. Vast landscapes, people surviving in whatever way they can and making decisions which don't necessarily make them bad, but which have to be reckoned with not nonetheless, coupled with some effective characterisation and great performances, push the film beyond being a run of the mill piece. I found myself really drawn into the characters by the end, and enjoyed it a lot. There's an adequate selection of extras, including a 30 minute Q&A with the director and main cast, featurettes and footage from the premiere in Austin, Texas that all in run around 75 minutes. The featurettes are more interesting than the Q&A but it's an OK package.

This film is one of those rare classic gems that crop up from time to time. Great acting, photography, music and story line with a fantastic script all set in real USA. Without spoiling it for you I will just say 'what don't you want!' Please note for those who may buy the soundtrack that the Gillian Welch song - I'm not afraid to die is not on there, maybe for contractual reasons but can be found on the CD by her called Hell among the yearlings. For those new to Gillian Welch and Townes van Zandt any of their stuff is quite excellent.

Two brothers try to accumulate money by robbing branches of the bank which has cost their recently deceased mother and the family so much that they are in substantial debt. The plan is to pay off the mortgage on their ranch and other debts and for the younger brother Toby (Chris Pine) to hand over the property to his two sons, in trust. The older brother, Tanner (Ben Foster) has had a life of crime and is happy to support his brother but as much for enjoyment of the reckless heists they carry out. This movie is highly atmospheric, set in hot, dusty Texas, with a powerful musical soundtrack, and conveys the sense of decay, failing industry, lack of work, very low incomes, and you sympathise with the brothers' motives, if not their method of fighting back. Central to it all is the performance of Jeff Bridges, as the old school Ranger Hamilton whose attitude to his colleague is unforgivably not pc but who is wily and can outthink his quarry at every turn. The pace is ponderous but it suits the hot, uncomfortable atmosphere, and the ending is thought-provoking, worth the wait.

This is a review of the 4K bluray version of the film Hell or high water is one of the best movies from the last few years. It's a Jeff Bridges movie and how he didn't get an Oscar I'll never know The standard bluray looks like all digitally shot movies. It looks washed out with bland boring colours. The 4K disc is the complete antithesis of the the HD version. Colours are vibrant, accurate and truly beautiful. Now the movie looks like it was shot on celluloid. Isn't it weird that we use a modern technology and use HDR etc to make a movie look like it was shot 75 years ago. The movie itself is marvellous It's cops and robbers of the highest quality. Hell or high water is an essential 4K bluray with a beautiful colour palette and excellent score. Do not miss the 4K bluray but avoid the 1080p bluray.

Make a point and see this well made and acted story of bank heists set in the great state of Texas. Jeff Bridges and his partner are Texas rangers , the story starts with a "bang" and the pace rarely slackens . This is a film that in my view once seen will encourage the viewer to want to see again. In short it's a cracker.

Initially seemed interesting but I have to admit that i got very bored, I even forwarded almost until the end to see some action. I cannot say I didnt like it, but I cannot say I like it neither so I have mixed feelings about this movie.

One of the best films in recent years. Traditional. Veering well away from the now cliche ultra-modern yap yap yap non-stop talking of americanism pish and technological download upload frequency all-knowing I'm so clever crap that pours out like slime from TV and human beings of our current age. Atmospheric. Wild. A reprieve for the human body and soul. Confronting and brave. Forget mobile phones. Back to guns and the pure adrenaline rush of a good bank robbery in the desert of Texas. Jeff bridges and the mean-blue eyed mustache (Wyatt Earp) looking guy are ready to duel. Every actor knows his place and all the actors are picked for force and character not looks. There's a lot of substance here. It's solid. Strong film. Strong dialogue. Less is more. More than ever these days.

I was dubious about buying this movie - thought it might just be a B show with gratuitous violence-, but needed to because I am fascinated by Jeff Bridges acting styles and the characters he plays- great as usual. It seems so many times though other actors just cannot keep pace with his abilities. Not so with this movie... it is brilliant and the setting incredible. It is a modern version of a really good western... I plan watching this at least one more time. Very good value for the money- My rating is 9.8 out of 10.

Superb film - perfect condition and delivered much more quickly than estimated.

No problem whatsoever!!! Thank you.

Manchmal treibt die Verzweiflung seltsame Blüten: Als die beiden Brüder Tanner und Toby Howard erfahren haben, dass sich die Bank demnächst das Grundstück ihrer hoch verschuldet verstorbenen Mutter unter den Nagel reißen will, auf dem sich allerdings einige lohnenswerte Erdölvorkommen befinden, beginnen sie eine Reihe von Banküberfällen, um ausreichend Geld für die Tilgung der Ausstände zusammenzubekommen. Der kurz vor seiner Pensionierung stehende Texas Ranger Hamilton wird jedoch auf die eigentlich recht unbedeutenden Überfälle aufmerksam und heftet sich gemeinsam mit seinem Partner Alberto an die Fersen der beiden Brüder, deren Frist zur Zahlung der Schulden langsam ausläuft. Eine nicht ganz alltägliche Geschichte, ausladend erzählt und mit exzellenten Darstellern (u.a. Jeff Bridges und Ben Foster) besetzt - Zutaten, die schon fast zu klassisch sind, um einen Film für den Mainstream zu generieren, der "Hell or High Water" zum Glück auch absolut nicht sein will. Echte Männer mit all ihren Sorgen und Nöten treffen auf die bittere Realität einer maroden Gesellschaft, die sie zu einer absoluten Gratwanderung zwingt. Dazu gibt es einen herrlichen Soundtrack (Nick Cave!), der dem wunderbaren Neo-Western eine stimmige Note verleiht, die obendrein noch von den Landschaftsaufnahmen aus Texas und Umgebung regelrecht geadelt wird. Es ist ein Streifen mit Ecken und Kanten und aus meiner Sicht der beste der "American Frontier"-Trilogie aus der Feder von Taylor Sheridan. Auch technisch macht der Film eine, für das oft genug stiefmütterlich behandelte, überraschend gute Figur: Das Bild bietet einen hohen Detailgrad, natürliche Farben und passable Schwarzwerte. Die deutsche Tonspur in DTS-HD MA 5.1 kommt recht satt daher, fällt genregemäß aber sehr frontlastig aus und bietet nur selten erwähnenswerte Raumeffekte. Bei den Extras finden sich zahlreiche Einblicke in die Produktion und Konzeption des Filmes, die aber das Rad in Summe nicht neu erfinden. Stilsicher inszenierter Neo-Western, der mit ironischer Authentizität und tollen Darstellern ein dezent klischeebeladenes, aber sicher nicht ganz unwahres, Bild jenes Teiles der USA ins Wohnzimmer zaubert.

A very well done, gripping movie with top-notch actors and scripts and effects. Reasonable price and fast delivery. Highly recommended!