Thanks to the success of our initial cinematic view of Detective Harry Callahan, 1971 became a significant year in the career of Clint Eastwood. However, Eastwood acted in two other movies that year: Play Misty With Me - also his directorial debut – and The Beguiled, the subject of this discussion.

Set during the US Civil War, Martha Farnsworth (Geraldine Page) continues to operate a boarding school for girls. Due to the conflict, “Miss Martha” retains only one teacher, six students and a slave.

Young Amy (Pamelyn Ferdin) finds wounded Union soldier John McBurney (Eastwood) during a walk in the woods, and she brings him back to the school to help him. This creates a real change in the dynamic, as tensions – sexual and otherwise – escalate due to McBurney’s presence.

Thanks to a 2017 flick from Sofia Coppola, this 1971 Beguiled became my second experience with an adaptation of Thomas Cullinan’s 1966 novel. I found Coppola’s take to seem awfully slow, as it took forever to bring us much actual drama.

Of course, it felt possible that this represented an accurate telling of Cullinan’s tale. Because I’ve still not read that work, I don’t know which film more accurately follows the book.

I can say that the 1971 Beguiled offers easily the more intriguing production of the two. While this means it can lean toward melodrama, at least it shows a pulse Coppola’s sluggish version lacks.

Don’t infer this to mean the 1971 Beguiled offers a fast-paced experience. Like the 2017 production, it moves at a gradual rate.

However, the 1971 film develops into a much more compelling little psychological drama. We get a better feel for how McBurney tries to manipulate each of the females at the school to his advantage.

This probably should mean McBurney comes across as sleazy and conniving, but Eastwood plays the role in a subtle manner. This leaves his machinations more up for grabs.

Granted, the movie makes McBurney’s underhanded efforts pretty obvious at times. For instance, when he tries to “bond” with Martha via claims of respect for the land, the film intercuts with flashbacks to the soldier as he burns fields.

The manner in which McBurney schemes also leads to his potential downfall. Hell hath no fury and all that, as romantic jealousies create possible havoc.

Director Don Siegel – who also helmed Dirty Harry - manages to prevent the stagnation that plagues the Coppola production. Like I said, this means the 1971 flick occasionally veers toward an over the top vibe, but this works fine for the material.

Ultimately the 1971 Beguiled delivers a pretty compelling little character drama. With some strong performances and an enjoyably dodgy lead role, the movie hits the mark.

The Beguiled appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The film came with a dated but decent presentation.

Sharpness usually seemed adequate to good, but variations occurred and I found a bit more softness than anticipated. Some moderate edge haloes exacerbate these issues.

No signs of jagged edges or shimmering materialized, and grain seemed heavy, potentially impacted by digital noise as well. While the print showed a few specks, it usually felt clean.

Colors leaned toward ambers/browns as well as some blues or greens dependent on the setting. The hues seemed adequate but not with a lot of impact.

Blacks felt acceptable – albeit somewhat crushed at times – and low-light shots could become a little dense. This wound up as a watchable image but not one that impressed.

As for the movie’s DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack, it seemed perfectly competent given its age. Though speech occasionally betrayed a little edginess, the lines always remained intelligible and they usually seemed reasonably natural.

Though they lacked great range, music and effects both displayed reasonable fidelity, and distortion failed to become a concern. Nothing about the audio impressed but the track worked fine for its vintage.

The disc includes a trailer and no other extras.

As a study of a slippery character and sexual tensions, The Beguiled occasionally veers a bit melodramatic. Nonetheless, it largely becomes a compelling ride, one abetted by a terrific lead performance from Clint Eastwood. The Blu-ray comes with decent but unexceptional picture and audio and it lacks bonus materials. While I like the movie, this Blu-ray comes with issues.