Fitzwilly Blu-ray - Dick Van Dyke / Barbara Feldon

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Directed by Delbert Mann
USA 1967

This comic confection from director Delbert Mann (Marty, Separate Tables) stars the incomparable Dick Van Dyke (Mary Poppins, The Art of Love) as butler-turned-thief Claude R. Fitzwilliam, known to his friends as Fitzwilly. The once-sizable fortune of elderly philanthropist Miss Vicki (Edith Evans, The Chalk Garden, The Whisperers) has dried up, and in order to keep the daily charity checks from bouncing, her loyal servant Fitzwilly enlists the aid of the household staff to commit a series of robberies. It’s all working out quite nicely until the nosy Juliet (Barbara Feldon, TV’s Get Smart) comes to work as Miss Vicki’s personal secretary and senses something fishy about Fitzwilly. Alternately madcap and touching, this comedy classic features a score by the great John Williams (Star Wars) and co-stars John McGiver (Midnight Cowboy), John Fiedler (The Odd Couple), Anne Seymour (Mirage), Norman Fell (Charley Varrick) and Cecil Kellaway (Harvey).

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When Miss Vicki's father dies, she becomes the world's greatest philanthropist. Unfortunately, she is flat broke! Her loyal butler, Claude Fitzwilliam, leads the household staff to rob from various businesses by charging goods to various wealthy people and misdirecting the shipments, all to keep Miss Vicki's standard of living.

Posters

Theatrical Release: December 20th, 1967

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:42:52.291
Video	2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 35,465,868,485 bytes Feature: 32,253,462,528 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.91 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1556 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1556 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino 2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 35,465,868,485 bytes Feature: 32,253,462,528 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.91 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • NEW Audio Commentary by Filmmaker/Historian Michael Schlesinger and Film Archivist Stan Taffel • Theatrical Trailer (2:33) Blu-ray Release Date: August 17th, 2021 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 10

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (August 2021): Kino have transferred Delbert Mann's Fitzwilly to Blu-ray. The source looks to have lost some density over time - with the 1080P image appearing pale-ish. It has scenes that can look slightly unstable. This isn't fatal just an observation as compared to the usual pleasing quality in this higher resolution. Still, highly watchable and the inconsistencies are minor.

NOTE: We have added 34 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (16-bit) in the original English language. Fitzwilly has few aggressive moments with a score by the iconic John Williams (The Eiger Sanction, The Secret Ways, The Rare Breed, The Missouri Breaks, War Horse, The Fury, Images, Sleepers, The Cowboys, Conrack, 1979's Dracula), plus some Christmas standards, sounding light and supportive in the lossless transfer. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by filmmaker/historian Michael Schlesinger and film archivist Stan Taffel. They discuss director Delbert Mann, Dick Van Dyke, gorgeous Barbara Feldon, cinematographer Joseph F. Biroc and almost all the cast and crew with many references to other work - and many who are not credited. These guys know and appreciate this genre of fun, nostalgic, film. They termed Fitzwilly as the Christmas version of Ocean's 11. It's a fun and enjoyable commentary with plenty of information. There is also a trailer for Fitzwilly any other films.

Delbert Mann's Fitzwilly is quite good in an 'Ealing Studio' way. It has a great supporting cast and the expressive Dick Van Dyke is excellent, ditto for desirable 'Agent 99', regal Edith Evans etc. It is easy to watch yet hard to believe it's over 50-years old! So there nostalgia-value here for some. I am very happy to have revisited Fitzwilly via the Kino Blu-ray and the commentary addition makes it a keeper. Ohhhh to be back in those days.

Gary Tooze

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Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

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