Disc Dispatch: The Belle Starr Story Has Never Looked Better

 Movie Jawn

By Billy Russell

April 4, 2023

Directed by Lina Wertmüller

Written by Lina Wertmüller

Starring Elsa Martinelli, George Eastman, Robert Woods

MPAA Rating - Unrated

Runtime: 103 minutes

Available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber here.

Synopsis of The Belle Starr Story per Letterboxd:

Dominated by men in her youth, Belle Starr now out-shoots and out-gambles them as she makes her way around the West. One man who’s her equal is Larry Blackie with whom she has an on-again, off-again relationship. Together they become involved in a robbery which goes awry…

I had heard of the legend of Belle Starr throughout the years, in various shows and movies.  The true story is rarely ever on the table.  Belle Starr, like Jesse James, has outgrown fact.  She’s a legend.  Her life and story is as interchangeable as the writer inspired by her.  The only constant in these stories is that she can hold her own with the most hardened criminals.

What features make it special?

Special features on The Belle Starr Story are limited, but the audio commentary by film historian Samm Deighan is a must listen for fans of this film, or spaghetti westerns in general.  Deighan proves to be a wealth of knowledge and delves into The Belle Starr Story’s production history. 

Unlisted from the special features on the packaging, but also available is an un-remastered version of the film, with its English-dub track.  A quick explanation text appears and explains that the English dub was not ported over to the remastered version (which features only the Italian language track) because both versions of the movie differ in small, subtle ways–certain edits, certain sequences appearing in a different order, overall run time differing about three minutes–which made porting the English dub impossible.

Why you need to add it to your video library:

The Belle Starr Story is, amazingly, the only spaghetti western ever directed by a woman.  As such, it has a unique look at its characters, in a way films rarely did, or even do today, with an eye for commentary on sexuality and gender. 

 

The biggest reason to own this Blu-ray, by Raro Video and Kino Lorber, is the new, gorgeous transfer it has received. In MovieJawn’s own essay on the film, Ryan Silberstein laments that the only version available at the time was a DVD which appeared to be nothing more than a transfer from the VHS. The un-remastered version can be viewed as a special feature, and the difference is night and day. The new transfer brings out the lush, luminous colors in a way you never would have known even existed. Gone are the muted grays and drab palettes.

 

The audio track is also given an upgrade, presented in DTS 2.0.  I have a Samsung soundbar that is DTS compatible and the film sounded great.  The score thunders triumphantly, horse hooves pound with heft, and the 1960s gunshots ricochet and whine, all with crystal clarity.