Directed by Sergio Sollima, the same man who gave us The Big Gundown and Run, Man, Run comes 1967's Face To Face presented here on Blu-ray from Kino in its U.S. theatrical version (more on that later).

The story revolves around a history professor named Brad Fletcher (Gian Maria Volonte) whose health problems have required him to retire from his teaching position. As such, he decides that a relocation might be in order, and so he moves to the warmer locales of Texas where he is promptly captured and held hostage by Solomon 'Beauregard' Bennett (Tomas Milian), a bandito who is, like many banditos, seemingly always on the run from the law. As the aggressive and violent Bennett leads Fletcher, essentially a pacifist, through the desert the two men begin to develop a begrudging appreciation for one another and find that they have more in common than either of them initially realized.

Eventually, after Fletcher saves Bennett's life, their bond becomes stronger and soon enough, the former educator is feeling quite comfortable with Bennett and the rest of his gang. The more time he spends with them, the more the fit feels right and before you know it he's even running alongside them and helping them commit robberies. Tensions between Bennett and Fletcher start to rise when the new recruit seems to be on the verge of usurping power from the bandit king, all of which obviously leads to conflict. And we'll leave it at that.

The right mix of style and substance, Face To Face is as much about the relationship that develops between its too leads as it is about shoot outs and horse based chase scenes and for that reason, it's obviously important that the two leads be up to snuff. Thankfully, when you've got actors like Milian and Volonte cast, it's pretty much a given that they will be… and they are. Milian is admirably restrained in spots and wildly manic in others and it's a blast to watch his character's mood shift as the storyline calls for it. Milian has long excelled playing eccentric types and can sometimes overdo it but here, it works. He's perfect in the role and the back and forth between he and the older, wiser and more subdued Volonte provides foundation for Solima to build his story upon. Supporting work from William Berger as a Pinkteron and Nello Pazzafini as one of Bennett's thugs are solid as well, but it's Milian and Volonte that do the bulk of the heavy lifting here, it really is their show the vast majority of the time.

The movie is beautifully shot with stunning cinematography on hand that rivals what you'd see in the lauded Morricone Spaghetti Westerns made around the same time. Long, sweeping shots of the desert landscape are plentiful with close up shots used to highlight action, tension and facial expressions. Given how dusty and earthy the locations used for the shoot really are, there's good use of color here too. Sometimes it's a splash of blood, the aftermath of conflict, but other times it's costume and wardrobe or room décor but Solima and company ensure that there's always something interesting to look at, to keep your eyes busy. But it never distracts from the way that the story is unfolding, the way that the characters are developing or the way that the actors are delivering their very fine performances.

Wrap all of this up in a gorgeous score from Ennio Morricone and it's clear that Face To Face comes out a winner, an underappreciated gem of a western that fires on all cylinders from its crazy and colorful opening credits to its thrilling conclusion.

Video:

Face To Face arrives on Blu-ray framed at 2.35.1 in AVC encoded 1080p high definition. This offers quite a noticeable upgrade over past DVD releases from the UK and Germany particularly when it comes to fine detail. Some scenes do look a little soft but these are the exception and not the rule. Brightness has been increased a bit here over what we've seen in the past but it doesn't wash out the picture or feel inappropriate to the look of the movie, in fact it looks more natural. Colors are reproduced quite well and while a bit of minor print damage and the occasional teeny-tiny scratch can easily be spotted, serious print damage isn't really a big problem here. This a little bit too rough around the edges to score really high marks but it is definitely a solid looking picture.