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

ADDITION: Film Masters Blu-ray (February 2024): Film Masters have transferred Jack Arnold's The Swiss Conspiracy to Blu-ray. The transfer is cited as "a new 4K restoration from original 35mm archival elements". It does not look particularly dynamic in 1080P. The milky image is flat with uneven textures and colors waver throughout. It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate although it appears that the source has lost density over time.

NOTE: We have added 52 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Film Masters use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (16-bit) in the original English language with some German. The Swiss Conspiracy has gunfire and an exciting race car scenes in the Alps but sound effects are unremarkable. The score is highly inappropriate by Klaus Doldinger (Baal Das Boot) sounding awkward. Film Masters include optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Film Masters Blu-ray offers a commentary by Robert Kelly and Daniel Budnik. They talk about the actors, director Arnold, read some reviews - overall very light - some humor, sarcasm etc.. but still informative. Also included is a 1/2 hour visual essay, 'A Three Dimensional Filmmaker,' by Will Dodson and Ryan Verrill of Someone's Favorite Productions discussing Jack Arnold and his career. There is also a 1/4 hour Daniel Griffith's documentary entitled Jack Arnold - the Lost Years with Ted Newsom and Dana M. Reemes (author of Directed by Jack Arnold) talking about the legacy of the director. Lastly are both restored and original trailers and the package has a color liner notes booklet.

The Swiss Conspiracy stars with a text screen: "Switzerland--a country internationally famous for its fine watches, its great skiing and its luxurious resorts...
but Switzerland's biggest industry is banking. Because Swiss banks are unique in all the world. They have secret numbered accounts and the owner's name is always held in strictest confidence.
This secrecy is protected by the Swiss government. No individual, no corporation, not even the power of a government can discover the name of a depositor.
For this reason, anyone with a great deal of money to hide knows that Switzerland is the safest sanctuary. Criminals, tax evaders and political agents all find Swiss banks the perfect place to conceal their dirty money and their dirty secrets. The system is considered foolproof. Or at least it was..."

Jack Arnold's The Swiss Conspiracy not a very good film... at all. And I am a big fan of David Janssen (The Fugitive, Moon of the Wolf, Warning Shot, Cult of the Cobra) and Elke Sommer (Deadlier Than the Male, Baron Blood, Lisa and the Devil) This was Arnold's last theatrical feature - devolving to ending his career with TV series like The Love Boat. He achieved his greatest success, and a loyal cult following, with 50's sci-fi gems It Came from Outer Space (1953,) Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954,) Tarantula (1955,) The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) and many others. The Swiss Conspiracy would be four years before David Janssen's untimely death at only 48. Elke seems a mere shadow of her height of beauty and playful sexuality. John Saxon (Planet Earth) and Ray Milland (The Lost Weekend to X: The Man With the X-ray Eyes) are present for a cup of coffee and Senta Berger (The Quiller Memorandum) embodies an effective distraction. There is blackmail, murder, uncut diamonds, action... but nothing comes together with any sense of cohesion. Everything - story, dialogue, production - are just substandard. The Film Masters Blu-ray however has great extras - a commentary and featurettes that are of more value than the film, imo. David Janssen fans may wish to give The Swiss Conspiracy a spin but there is little else - nothing we wish to remember Jack Arnold, Elke or Ray for. Pass on this one.

Gary Tooze