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(aka "Attack of the Robots")
Directed by Jesús Franco (as J. Franco)
France /
Spain 1966
At once an homage to classical Hollywood thrillers and a playful riff on the newly-popular James Bond films, Attack of the Robots (Cartes sur table) stars Eddie Constantine as a wise-cracking superspy investigating a series of assassinations being performed by ruthless killers with bronze skin and horn-rimmed glasses. The trail of these mindless automata leads him to the lair of a seductive villainess (Françoise Brion, L’Immortelle) who has formulated a computer-powered plot to overthrow the governments of Europe. Constantine, who was popular in France for his two-fisted Lemmy Caution films (including Jean-Luc Godard’s Alphaville), had begun to tire of playing the hardboiled detective, and welcomed the opportunity to take a more light-hearted approach to the genre film. Reflecting director Jess Franco’s passion for jazz (he appears in two scenes as a nightclub pianist), Attack of the Robots has a spontaneity and playfulness that make it one of his most entertaining films, even as it embraces themes of sadomasochism and mind control that were so integral to his work. *** This entertaining spy comedy marks the first appearance of suave secret agent Al Pereira, portrayed here by actor-singer Eddie Constantine, best known as the similar Lemmy Caution in Alphaville and other films. Cult director Jesus Franco's final black-and-white film has Pereira on the trail of robotic hitmen murdering a series of important people. The agent romances a go-go dancer (Sophie Hardy) and breaks a Chinese espionage syndicate headed by the wily Lee Wee (Vicente Roca) before being kidnapped. The real culprits are Sir Percy (Fernando Rey) and his lover Lady Cecilia (Francoise Brion), who plan to turn their Rh-negative victims, including Pereira, into robot assassins. This clever, fast-paced adventure was revamped by acclaimed screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, whose witty dialogue enhances the film greatly. The Al Pereira character returned in Franco's Les Ebranlees (1972) and numerous other films. Excerpt from B+N located HERE |
Posters
Theatrical Release: April 27th, 1966
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Review: Kino (Redemption) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray | |
Runtime | 1:32:46.208 | |
Video |
1. 66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 20,150,789,585 bytesFeature: 19,393,977,792 bytes Video Bitrate: 22.06 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate Blu-ray: |
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Audio |
LPCM Audio French
1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit LPCM Audio English
2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps |
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Subtitles | English, None | |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Kino
1. 66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 20,150,789,585 bytesFeature: 19,393,977,792 bytes Video Bitrate: 22.06 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details: • Audio commentary by Tim Lucas, co-author of Obsession: The Films of Jess Franco,• Original theatrical trailer (3:23)
Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 9 |
Comments: |
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
NOTE: We have added 50 more large
resolution Criterion
Blu-ray
captures for DVDBeaver Patrons
HERE.
On their
Blu-ray,
Redemption offer linear PCM 2.0 channel mono tracks in both the original
French (at 16-bit) and the English DUB (24-bit). The DUB is imperfect
with some minor hiss now and again but it has a
delightfully light score
credited to
Paul Misraki (Le
Doulos,
Atoll
K,
Bunuel's Death
in the Garden, Godard's Alphaville,
Jean-Pierre Melville's Le
Doulos, Orson Welles's
Mr. Arkadin)
where the, repeated, main theme consistently reminded me of "On A
Clear Day...". He uses a lounge-y sound at times - but it all suits
the 'fun' and 'adventure' sides of the film. Redemption offer optional English
subtitles on their Region 'A'
Blu-ray.
Kino add another wonderful audio commentary
by Tim Lucas (co-author of
Obsession: The Films
of Jess Franco) who discusses how certain scenes evoke James
Bond, Godard, Dr. Goldfoot and even The Third Man among
other references with cast links to Leone westerns and much more about
Eddie Constantine. He describes that this was Franco's last feature film
to be shot in black and white (and why it was shot in B+W - a
camera trick for a robot skin-color-shift effect). It's at his usual
impressive standard and he definitely helps appreciation of Attack of the Robots
(Cartes sur table)
noting many of Franco's subtle touches as well as observantly noting a
scene that shows the name of one of the Producers, Serge Silberman, (as
a missing character in a computer printout used in the film):
and another scene that identifies writer/director
Franco, in a cameo, on the keyboard:
There is also a lengthy original theatrical
trailer.
To be honest, I feel like most of the Jess
Franco films I have seen have not been to my taste - frequently
appearing to me with sophomoric production values. But Attack of the Robots
(Cartes sur table) was great actually reminding me of the
OSS117 series. This looks great and is a heap of fun. The Lucas
commentary gives it further value. It's a film I am very happy
to revisit on Blu-ray
in the future.
A not-so-subtle recommendation!
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Distribution | Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
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