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Frisco Kid (The) AKA No Knife
R4 - Australia - Warner Home Video Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak and Chrisana Love (13th July 2007). |
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The Film
 I have to be honest. To me, 1979's The Frisco Kid began looking like a predictable piece of 70's slapstick. I was all too easily fooled that I was going to be watching a Blazing Saddles (1974) rip off and in some ways the films are similar, but in a good way. The surprisingly insightful comments on race and early America built into the comedy are what made Blazing Saddles and it surfaces in The Frisco Kid. Never judge a DVD by its cover, even if hot-era Harrison Ford is on there. (Interestingly Ford's chiseled cheekbones take up more space on the cover, despite the fact it's really Gene Wilder's film). I should know better, most 70's American films have a strong understanding of the opportunity to put across a subversive message (a well documented fact. For anyone who has not read Peter Bisken's Easy Riders Raging Bulls, do you self a favour and check it out. It's one of the modern classics of film writing, eased along by some tasty gossip from this period in American filmmaking). It's 1850 and naïve, clumsy rabbi Avram Belinski (Gene Wilder) is sent fresh from Rabbi school in Poland to America to lead a synagogue in San Francisco. Once in America he almost immediately falls for an obvious scam where he is robbed, beaten and left on a dusty path. Welcome to America, kid. Harrison Ford's bank robbing, whore mongering classic cowboy robs a bank with Avram in tow, and the two men are set upon by the townsfolk forcing them to set off to San Fransisco together. It's part buddy movie, part western. The Frisco Kid's slap-shtick makes way for an interesting clash of ideologies in early America. Wilder's fish out of water Jew in Settlers America sets up most of the (now predictable) gags, but it's his run ins with all the classic stereo types of settlers America which provide some surprising and thoughtful substance to the film, which could have been bogged down by Jew and cowboy jokes. A scene near the end of the film really speaks of its intention. The two friends are captured by a group of Indians (they been s**t on by white men they don't ask questions no more) and the chief engages in a conversation with the rabbi over the Indian chiefs understanding the Torah's symbolic meaning. He doesn't understand what the Torah is, but he relates to what it means to the rabbi. The tribe asks Avram how his people dance, and he shows them: his people dance like they dance. Proving that no matter what tribe you belong to, when you all get together you dance like a pack of drunken fools (memories of wedding parties come to mind). Although the who's god/s is/are better is a little on the nose, it's an interesting moment. A little trivia for yah: According to Wilder's autobiography, John Wayne was offered the part that was eventually played by Ford. However an agent tried to offer Wayne less than his usual fee and he turned the film down. Wilder and Ford (to my surprise) actually worked well together. They were well cast, (if not a little type cast) but I can't imagine Wilder competing with John Wayne. Because its Wilder's understanding of the hidden depth in the broad comedy that really makes The Frisco Kid stand out.
Video
Presented in a widescreen ratio of 1.78:1, this anamorphic transfer is good but has a few flaws that basically shows this film's age. The overall image is a bit flat and on the soft side especially in wider shots, close-ups and mid-shots hold up well and maintain sharpness. Film grain is evident throughout the print and colours don't appear as vibrant as they should be especially in night scenes and dimly lit scenarios (this may be attributed to the film stock used during that time). Blacks are a bit on the murky side and some dirt does appear on screen a few times throughout the course of the film. Still despite these problems it's still very watchable and the problems don't really take away form the viewing experience.
Audio
Three audio tracks are included on this disc all of which are in Dolby Digital 1.0 mono, they are in English, French and Italian. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its English soundtrack. As far as mono tracks go this is suitable, dialogue is presented clearly and without distortion. As expected the track's range and depth are limited, but the score is mixed well and the effect sounds come off well if not sounding a bit tinny (especially gun shots). Optional subtitles are included in English, English for the hearing impaired, Arabic, Bulgarian, Dutch, French, Italian, Italian for the hearing impaired and Romanian.
Extras
Warner Brothers has released this film with only the film's original theatrical trailer as it’s supplement, the trailer for 1 minute 9 seconds.
Overall
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