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

ADDITION: Arrow Blu-ray (February 2024): Arrow have transferred Michael Tuchner's Fear Is the Key to Blu-ray. It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. The 1080P looks great - bright primary colors (red 1972 Gran Torino, blue denims), consistent grain, occasional depth and pleasing detail in close-ups. The HD presentation was quite strong considering the film's over 50-year age. See our captures below to give you an idea of what it will look like on your system.

NOTE: We have added 44 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Arrow use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Fear Is the Key has plenty of action - guns, fights, underwater exploration in a  'submersible' etc. that come through fairly flat in the uncompressed. The score was by Roy Budd (Kidnapped, Soldier Blue, Get Carter, The Carey Treatment, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, The Wild Geese, Get Carter) adding further excitement to the bold action sequences. Most of the music is credited to Budd and his orchestra, with a notable saxophone solo in the car chase scene by Ronnie Scott. Like the video - all good. Arrow offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Arrow Blu-ray offers a new commentary by filmmaker and critic Howard S. Berger - one of our favorites. He states how one of his favorite producers is Elliott Kastner and how Fear Is the Key doesn't start out as a typical Alistair MacLean plot, he talks about Michael Tuchner's previous film Villain with Richard Burton - actor Barry Newman's concentrated moment of stardom, the 'nothing to lose' John Talbot character's similarity to Kowalski in Vanishing Point. Howard discusses the widescreen, DoP Alex Thomson, stunt coordinator Carey Loftin and much more. It's at Howard's usual high standard. A Different Kind of Spy Game is a new 23-minute visual essay by film critic and author Scout Tafoya taking a closer look at Fear is the Key, its place in 70's cinema, and how it sits with other adaptations of novels by Alastair MacLean. It was produced exclusively for Arrow Films in 2023. Fear in the Key of Budd, a new 16-minute appreciation of composer Roy Budd and his score for Fear Is the Key by film and music historian Neil Brand. Bayou to Bray, an 40-minute archival featurette in which crew members look back on the making of the film and Producing the Action, is an archival 1/2 hour interview with associate producer Gavrik Losey. The supplements also include a theatrical trailer.

The package has a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh, a double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Marsh and a 16-page illustrated collector’s booklet with new writing by filmmaker and critic Sean Hogan.

Michael Tuchner's Fear Is the Key is based on Alistair MacLean novel published in 1961. Conflicts concern $80 million in uncut diamonds - payment from the Colombian government to buy arms during a revolution - coinciding with the protagonist's, three-years-in-the-making, revenge plot over the murders of his wife, toddler son and brother. Barry Newman is excellent as the dangerous and mysterious 'loose cannon' (a former black-ops specialist) taking chances... because 'he has nothing to lose'. We don't get enough of Suzy Kendall and it was cool to see Ben Kingsley's feature debut. People talk about the extensive car chase but this neglected film offers much more.  The Arrow Blu-ray is at their usual perfection standard - excellent a/v, commentary, visual essay, interviews, poster, booklet etc.. Positively recommended!

Gary Tooze