NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (May 2019): K1969's light-hearted, globe-trotting heist film "Midas Run" comes to Blu-ray thanks to Kino Lorber. The film is housed on single-layered disc with a modest bitrate. The outfits and surroundings are certainly of the late 60's era, yet as dated as they may look, there does seem to be a faithful fidelity of color. Black levels are sturdy, with certain darker scenes showing a fair amount of range. There are occasional shots that seem to be from a rougher film source, not a fault of the transfer and most likely due to the stock used in production. This appears to be a modest 1080p transfer, with the 1.85:1 HD image doing a decent job of recreating the theatrical experience.

The score from Elmer Bernstein (Report to the Commissioner, Kings of the Sun, Hud, To Kill a Mockingbird, Summer and Smoke) is pretty bombastic and truly anything but subtle. The Kino Blu-ray has a 2.0 16-bit DTS-HD Master audio track, which is serviceable, though dialogue can be a little muffled at times. This is especially true when the score is also playing. Unfortunately there are no subtitles on this Region 'A' Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

Kino Lorber treat us to another informative audio commentary, this time featuring film historians and critics, Lee Gambin and Emma Westwood. The two cinemaficionados dive right into the star-powered cast and crew of the film, with Gambin noting the various musical contributions of lyricist Don Black (let alone the composer Elmer Bernstein). The film, as Westwood argues, "takes a lot of influence from the James Bond-ification of cinema at the time" while taking "more of a lighter approach to crime, and more of a glamour approach to crime." This is all just within the first few minutes, so you know you're in for a fun and fact-filled track. Things get even more interesting later in the film, with Westwood quoting Crenna saying the original script was great, "its probably surprising the movie didn't turn out worse, considering the script changes our leading lady made". It is this kind of trivia that I can't get enough of. Also on the Blu-ray is the film's trailer, as well as trailers for' "Robbery", "The High Commissioner", "Cop-Out", and "Street People".

The inimitable Roger Ebert once said in his review of "Midas Run", referring to the cast, that Richard Crenna is "the Spiro Agnew of leading men". It is hard to disagree. Though this film definitely doesn't take itself to seriously, it is a somewhat fascinating curiosity if nothing else. The commentary track with Gambin and Westwood is quite telling, yet breezy and fun at the same time. Not everyone's cup-of-tea but may have some nostalgic value.

Colin Zavitz