Matt Helm Lounge (4-disc)

The Silencers       Murderers Row        The Ambushers        The Wrecking Crew

 

NOTE: This DVD set of Matt Helm Lounge is compared to the Blu-ray Boxset HERE

 

I was quite charmed by the super-swinger spy Matt Helm series of films - I even read a few of the books... and what pubescent lad wouldn't be caught up in the festivities and adventure. The girls were sexy, the plots were sexy, heck - even Deano himself is pretty sexy! I think I may have preferred the Derek Flint variety a shade better as the adventures were a tad more realistic. But realism is not what you wanted from these many Bond-parody's anyway. You gave into the charm of the protagonists and wanted more of what made the super spy so damn super - gadgets and girls... Matt Helm has them both with the latter in abundance.

 

DVD Comments:

This package is quite poor - Two transparent - double slim cases inside a cardboard box. All 4 discs are single layered with cowering bitrates and The Silencers is not even progressively transferred (a duplicate of the original release - see last capture for evident 'combing'). The other 3 look suspiciously like Columbia Tri-Star authoring - gaudy yellow removable subtitles include Japanese as an option and are listed on the main menu - only 12 chapter stops and 'previews' as the only extra feature. These DVDs are anamorphic but the picture is very soft and colors (the one attribute that could have saved them) are pale and washed-out. A big disappointment for the fans who perhaps were anticipating a higher quality.    I guess if you look on the positive they are only about $6 each (purchased in the Boxset), and that is about their realistic value. The Ambushers is not totally unacceptable in appearance but its probably the worst film of the bunch. This set is only recommended for the die-hard Helm fans, who frankly may finds his luster has tarnished severely with age after watching these lackluster DVDs. Gary W. Tooze