Movie Reviews

‘Coogan’s Bluff’ Special Edition Blu-Ray Review – Rough-And-Tumble Clint Eastwood Crime Thriller Packs A Punch

By Dillon Gonzales
July 14, 2021
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The period of the late 1960s was a transitional time for legendary performer Clint Eastwood. While he had made quite an impact in the cultural landscape with his Spaghetti Westerns such as A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, he still needed to show what he could do in a broader sense. The man that was integral in helping him achieve that goal was the great Don Siegel (Riot In Cell Block 11, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers). As a creative force, the pair would go on to create films such as The Beguiled and later on his iconic detective film Dirty Harry. The first step in their journey was the 1968 crime thriller Coogan’s Bluff. This particular film was not the apex of either’s career, but as a bridge to a larger cinematic world it worked quite effectively. Plus, even if you do not appreciate it for its historical significance, the piece works as an occasionally dated piece of tough-cop drama that should entertain audience members looking for extra testosterone in their fiction.

The film opens in a very knowing way that would read as familiar to any Eastwood fans of the time. The nondescript desert scenery is completely out of time as you see a Native American individual waiting patiently amongst the cliffs. You are only clued into the “modern” nature of the time period by the sudden appearance of an old dusty jeep flying down the road. The Native American gentleman is looking to evade capture for a crime he committed, but after some clever maneuvering he finds himself shackled on the wrong side of the law. Our lawman is Arizona deputy sheriff Walt Coogan (Clint Eastwood), a wise-cracking man who seems to fall into time with the ladies and raises the ire of his superiors. As a bit of a passing of the torch between his past and his future, Eastwood trades the “western” Arizona setting for the fast-paced ways of New York City. He is set to extradite a killer, James Ringerman (Don Stroud), who escaped while trying to navigate the tangled New York bureaucracy.

Much of the enjoyment of this particular film comes from the fish-out-of-water aspect of Coogan’s time in the city. When a talkative cab driver tries to make jabs about his attire, Coogan tears him down with hilarious quips while also pointing out the ways in which he knows he was trying to scam him out of extra money. This is a continuous bit with Coogan, as he points out all the ways in which he is getting screwed like the inflated cost of his hotel room. While no stranger to the ways of the world, he often approaches New York City as if it is a small town. He continually marches to the beat of his own drum, earning contempt from the brass (Lee. J. Cobb) as quickly as he does back at home. He develops a relationship with probation officer Julie Roth (Susan Clark, Webster) which, not unexpectedly, becomes physical sooner rather than later. She is one of the few allies he has in the city as he tries to take hold of Ringerman, who makes a violent escape on the way to the plane. Coogan goes to great lengths to make sure that Ringerman will not be able to run free for long.

Action fans who go into Coogan’s Bluff may find themselves disappointed by the lack of consistent action set pieces. For the most part, these are relegated to a few specific instances with Coogan’s detective skills making up the remainder of the film. The action scenes that are present are pretty thrilling, though, with a climactic bike pursuit ranking as one of the most exciting put to film since the epic chase in Bullitt. They may not be as numerous as some pictures, but the action counts when it shows up here. The violence in the film was a bit off-putting to certain audience members of the time, but it is nothing that most are not familiar with through a modern context. There are a whole slew of problematic elements throughout the film from casual racism to depictions of women, but at some point you have to ask yourself how hard you are going to go after a film of this sort made during this time. Those who love these films will forgive it, and those who are likely to be offended already know what is in store. The movie is perfectly entertaining for what it is. The performances are pretty solid and the story gets the job done in only 90 minutes.

Video Quality

Coogan’s Bluff comes to Blu-Ray with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1 and is not advertised as being from a new scan, leading me to believe it is derived from the same master Universal used on their previous release. The presentation is a bit inconsistent with soft long shots and a bit of flicker in the early “western” section, but after Coogan gets to New York City the transfer is pretty gorgeous throughout the runtime. The release does not appear to be plagued by digital tinkering, as this transfer maintains the natural film grain of the presentation. As mentioned, the picture occasionally runs slightly on the soft side, most likely due to limitations of the original source material. Colors are well saturated in a pleasing way, and instances of print damage do not serve as a major issue with only the occasional specks and marks visible. Overall clarity and detail is stunning, and skin tones are natural and consistent with subtle facial features easily noticeable in closeup. Black levels hold up well with crush not serving as an overwhelming issue. This new presentation from Kino Classics is quite impressive, which should please fans of the film.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that perfectly preserves the artistic intention of the film. The pleasing score from Lalo Schifrin sounds great throughout the duration of the film, as it creates a sparse, menacing tone for the film. There is never a moment where it threatens to overwhelm competing sounds, and it maintains a good balance so that dialogue comes through clearly. Environmental sounds such as the stillness of the wind in the desert are rendered well alongside the bustling New York City streets. There does not seem to be any majorly noticeable instances of age-related wear and tear. Kino Classics has given this film the perfectly preserved, faithful audio presentation it deserves.

Special Features

Audio Commentary #1: Filmmaker Alex Cox (Repo Man) provides an informative commentary track in which he discusses the transitional nature of this film in Eastwood’s filmography, Eastwood’s relationship with director Don Siegel, the similarities to Madigan, the fish-out-of-water nature of the story, the gritty look of the film and more. There are patches of noticeable silence, but overall this is a well delivered and worthwhile commentary track.

Audio Commentary #2: Sledge Hammer! creator Alan Spencer provides a lively and very entertaining commentary track which covers some of the information from the previous track but is very much a different animal and worth a listen. After listening to Spencer on the Marty Feldman movies The Last Remake of Beau Geste and In God We Trust earlier this year, he is becoming one of my favorites from which to gain insight.

The Killer Is Loose – An Interview with Don Stroud: A new nine-minute interview with actor Don Stroud in which he discusses his work with Don Siegel, his backstory for the character, shooting the bike chase scene, his friendship with Clint Eastwood, memories of the ensemble and much more that is a lot of fun.

At Home with Clint – Vintage Candid Interviews with Clint Eastwood: An eight-minute vintage piece which gets up close and personal with Eastwood where he talks about his career in Hollywood and abroad, the antihero nature of some of his characters, the catharsis present in some of his films and more.

Image & Poster Gallery: A collection of promotional material and stills from the film provided in slideshow form.

Radio Spots: A minute-long collection of radio spots for the film.

Trailers: There is a Teaser Trailer (0:58) and Trailer (2:12) provided for Coogan’s Bluff. There are also trailers provided for A Fistfull of Dollars, The Good The Bad And The Ugly, Two Mules For Sister Sara, The Beguiled, Play Misty For Me, Joe Kidd, High Plains Drifter, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot and The Eiger Sanction.

Final Thoughts

Coogan’s Bluff is a crime drama with little in the way of surprises but plenty of attitude and charisma thanks to the great Clint Eastwood. The movie is unabashedly driven by testosterone which comes in the form of over-the-top violence and careless sexism. If you accept the film for what it is, you will be entertained watching Coogan make wisecracks and smack around those individuals who get in his way in the pursuit of justice. Kino Classics has released a new Special Edition Blu-Ray featuring a solid A/V presentation and a pleasing assortment of special features. If you are an Eastwood fan and need to add this one to your collection, this is the disc to grab. Recommended

Coogan’s Bluff (Special Edition) will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray on August 3, 2021.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.