Set in North Africa and Europe immediately following World War II, The Hell with Heroes centers on two former U.S. Air Force pilots played by Rod Taylor (The High Commissioner) and Pete Duel (Cannon for Cordoba). Brynie MacKay (Taylor) and Mike Brewer (Duel) are forced to work for ruthless international smuggler Lee Harris (Harry Guardino, Madigan) to get money needed for their return to civilian life. But when Brynie learns he is flying contraband cigarettes, he extracts a larger fee from Harris, who retaliates by hiding narcotics in Brynie’s plane and then reporting him to Colonel Wilson of U.S. Counterintelligence (Kevin McCarthy, Invasion of the Body Snatchers). With Brynie’s aircraft and money now seized, the beautiful Elena (Claudia Cardinale, Cartouche), Harris’s mistress, comes to Brynie’s aid. Featuring a lush score by music legend Quincy Jones (In the Heat of the Night), this post-WWII drama is shot through with action, adventure and romance, courtesy of director Joseph Sargent (White Lightning, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, MacArthur).

For thoughts on The Hell with Heroes, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/yU3bl8Lufgs?si=eyyODY0-o4dIRMRa&t=1757]

Video Quality

Kino Classics presents The Hell with Heroes with a lovely new 1080p transfer sourced from a 2K scan of the 35mm Interpositive. The level of detail and clarity is a welcome sight with a consistent amount of natural film grain intact and resolved without issues of swarming or clumping. The film features some deep, bold colors in the landscapes and within the costumes. Black levels are robust with strong stability throughout, and the highlights are contained at the appropriate level. There do not appear to be any unwarranted digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding, or any other such nuisances. The film appears to be mostly free of dirt and damage, but some small deficiencies remain. This presentation is a win for this film.

Audio Quality

The film has been given a mighty DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio presentation that accomplishes everything that is asked of it. Dialogue comes through crisp and clear throughout without being burdened by any competing elements. The rousing Quincy Jones score maintains a pleasing fidelity with no faltering in the stability. The track balances vocals with the kinetic environmental sounds with favorable clarity. Even with a feature of this age, there are very few moments when the track shows any issues. Kino Classics has provided a wonderful audio presentation that showcases the film well. The disc also comes with optional English (SDH) subtitles.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Filmmaker/Historian Steve Mitchell and Combat Films: American Realism Author Steven Jay Rubin provide a very informative commentary track in which they discuss the background details of this film, the backgrounds of the various performers we see on screen, the authentic elements incorporated into the production, the thematic details of the story and more.

Trailers: The two-and-a-half-minute trailer for The Hell with Heroes is provided here. There are also trailers provided for The Great Escape, The Train, The Devil’s Brigade, Kill A Dragon, The Pink Jungle, White Lightning, and The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three.

Final Thoughts

The Hell with Heroes is an exciting post-war adventure with morally complex protagonists up against a more thinly drawn villain to keep things in perspective. The drama is straightforward yet executed with care. The performance from Rod Taylor is inviting, but it is the beguiling Claudia Cardinale who makes the biggest impression. This is the type of film that capital “D” Dads will love on a lazy weekend afternoon. This new Blu-Ray release from Kino Classics offers a great A/V presentation and a welcome commentary track. Recommended

The Hell with Heroes will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray on January 9, 2024.

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.