Customer Reviews

Charro [VHS]

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Elvis' last few movies seem to be among the better of the lot, and "Charro" is one of them. An obvious attempt to cash in on the "spaghetti western" phenomenon of the late 60's, "Charro" isn't half bad. I get the feeling the original storyline was more mature and more violent, but was watered down to play to Elvis' "family-friendly" audience. Also, it feels as though some scenes were edited out that might have helped the story progress, but were sacrificed either by an inept editor or an attempt to keep the film G-rated. I wager that had the film kept that harder edge, it would have rivaled "Flaming Star" as Elvis' best western film. As it is, though, it's still a valiant effort by a man who so dearly wanted to be taken seriously as an actor but was never given a chance because of a manager who was more concerned with dollar signs than the ambitions of his client. *A NOTE TO THOSE CONCERNED WITH FILM QUALITY* My copy of "Charro" was put out by Warner Bros. and is arguably the best version available, although the "pan & scan" is painfully obvious sometimes. I have seen versions of "Charro" put out by other video companies and they are horrible! If possible, get the Warner Bros. release and no other.

This DVD should never have been released like this. The picture is really bad and the sound, it sounds like a record. Some places seem like the tracking is out of order and others you can't make out the pictures. It looks like the movie was taped off tv in wide screen format than it looks as though someone took a camera and put it in front of the tv screen and did a pan and scan version of it. There are lines (like that of a vcr recording) all the way through the movie.The sound drove me up the wall it was so bad. The reason I say it was recorded off tv is because the beginning and the end are cut and before the end theme is over there's a warner television distribution logo. Maybe I'm wrong but the quality just flat out sucks.

The packaging looked great and official. This film was
by National General Pictures in conjuction with NBC and it was great to think this hard-to-find Elvis film would finally be available on DVD. The joy was short lived when I played it. It is my opinion that this DVD is a BOOTLEG made off the worst video tape ever found in someone's possession. If this is not an illegal copy, then the individual(s) should be horse whipped. Somebody please release this film properly!

I read all the reviews about how poor the quality of this DVD was.Yes- they are absolutely correct.I refused to buy it until such time a quality dvd was released.But I was in an oddlot closeout-type store and guess what was sitting in their "bargain dvd" bin? You guessed it- a brand new,factory-sealed copy of Charro!I grabbed it and saw the price sticker: [$]I own it.It [stinks].The guy who said it looks like they used a camcorder to tape it off a TV screen was pretty accurate.It is hard to believe but I've NEVER seen a VHS tape as bad as this dvd.I can't imagine they went all through the trouble to get licensing rights,copy the film to DVD,design packaging,and set up distribution for something that, when viewed, assaults and insults simultaneously.I spent 2 weeks contacting everyone who would take my call at Graceland,NBC,RCA,Westlake,etc. and the best I could discover was nobody knows the whereabouts of the original print and negative.Perhaps Elvis,not liking what he saw,had them destroyed?This one should win an award for sheer ,unmitigated gall.

I'm afraid this movie is one big [bad deal]. Its like someone recorded the film on their portable tv on the cheapest vcr ever made!Its amazing the company had the cheek to put their name on the box- AVOID!!!!

Even for a video tape this is bad quality. There are no extra's that make this DVD worth it's money. The sound is terrible. There are no subtitles so you can't check if they put the right sound with the right movie, well it sounds like Elvis. Elvis presence makes this movie earn one star. Hopefully this is the last release of this quality, and somebody with the right knowledge will release the movie again in the right quality.

Please rerelease this Elvis classic"Charro" at a more modest price so that humble people can afford it!!So spread the word!!!!!!!!

This film shows that Elvis had the ability to act beyond the "typical Elvis" boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl movies that Col. Parker set up for him. Knowing that Col. Parker denied him opportunities to move forward in a career he loved is sad. "Charro" is every bit as good as any Clint Eastwood "Oater" western that flooded the movies. I read that Elvis was up for a part in "The Rainman" and "A Star Is Born", and both scripts were denied not by Elvis but by Col. Parker. It makes you wonder what might have happened had that road not been blocked. I loved Elvis when he was the new and bright star to a 14 year old teen who had to sneak out of the house to him in concert in Chicago. I still love him and introduce him through music and movies to my 10 grandchildren. Charro is a good movie and you can tell Elvis is having a really good time doing something he really loves. Grandma J.

At this point of his career Elvis was indeed frustrated and bombarded with just bad ideas and scripts for movies.In an obvious attempt to cash in on the Clint Eastwood experience and western genre,..Elvis was cast in "Charro!"I saw this movie in it's first run in 1969 at my local hometown theater,...I was 12 years old and you can believe that true to the time,..Elvis was in fine form.I had never saw a movie that he had not sung in,(san the title song in the opening credits,..that was done offscreen,)and I had found it very interesting to see him in these different surroundings,..basicly unshaven and unkempt for the most part."Charro!" has the elements that most films of the time contained,..the choice between "good" and that of "evil."An anti-hero in Jess Wade,..the man with the "scar on his neck,...and vengeance on his hip,..proved a substantial change-up to the Elvis character's portrayed in lighter fare of the past.In retrospect I can certainly see the flaws that one might see with 35 years of hindsight into production values and writing capabilities and what a great director could do.But in 1969 when I was 12 sitting in that dark theater with a bag of dime popcorn,...you can bet I did not care.

Charro

The Movie
Here we have Elvis as a gunfighter in the old west. Now let it be said that I am not a big fan of the king but if u read my other reviews I love westerns, that said here we have a very good western. So good in fact I have been disappointed he didn't make another. He plays Jess Wade who is falsely accused of stealing a Golden cannon and goes in search of the band really responsible. You will notice that Victor French known to most of us as Mr. Edwards from Little House on the Prairie plays a very good villain in this tale of betrayal and love. Of course there a love interest Tracie Winters played by Ina Balin.

The Video
Here where they fixed it, the first DVD release of this movie was horrid. It jumped it faded in and out it was orange and tainted. This release fixed it, It has a touch of grain but lets be honest this wasn't a movie they expected to be a hit let alone be around 39 years later so they didn't try and preserve it. Al in all its very watch able as I am doing so on a 42 inch Hitachi plasma TV playing thru the HDMI on a Sony 400 disc DVD changer, It doesn't jump at all it is remastered.

The Audio
Here it is mono 1.0 but it was shot n 1969 so they weren't thinking 7.1 digital surround sound...lol. I have it running thru a 1000 watt Sony surround sound system. There is no hiss no distortion the music is loud crisp and clear the voices are steady and clear awesome for mono.

The Extras
The Theatrical Trailer
Here is where a lot of these DVD lose out not that I really want to see the trailer but if your going to give it too us at least remaster it so its clear. Its not really worth watching but its there.