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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
Directed by Dick Clement
UK 1969
Gerry Otley (Tom Courtenay
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner,
Billy Liar,
45 Years) is a charming scrounger who stumbles
unwittingly into espionage, murder, espionage and double
crossing as he is mistaken for a spy, kidnapped, and
becomes romantically embroiled with a sexy foreign
agent, played by Romy Schneider (Purple
Noon,
Ludwig,
Death Watch). Adeptly balancing thrills and laughs, this Sixties comic spy thriller from writer-director Dick Clement (TV s The Likely Lads, Porridge, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet) is a stellar addition to the British canon of post-Bond spy flicks. *** Tom Courtenay plays Gerald Arthur "Gerry" Otley, a charming but feckless young drifter who scrapes a living from selling antiques in trendy 1960s London. Gerry's responsibility-free life suddenly takes a serious turn, when he finds himself caught up in a round of murder, espionage and quadruple crossing. He is mistaken for a spy; is kidnapped and detained several times; and becomes romantically involved with a foreign agent (Romy Schneider) working for British Intelligence. |
Posters etc.
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Theatrical Release: March 11th, 1969
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Review:
Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-rayBox Cover |
|
Distribution |
Indicator |
Runtime |
1:30:58.244 |
Video |
Disc Size: 35,790,577,529 bytes Feature Size: 29,153,216,064 bytes Average Bitrate: 38.01 MbpsDual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video |
Bitrate:
Indicator Blu-ray
|
|
Audio |
LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps /
24-bit
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192
kbps Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps |
Subtitles | English (SDH), None |
Features |
Release
Information: Studio: Indicator
Disc Size: 35,790,577,529 bytes Feature Size: 29,153,216,064 bytes Average Bitrate: 38.01 MbpsDual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details: Chapters: 10 |
Comments |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Indicator's Blu-ray transfer is in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio and looks thick, film-like and pleasing. I only noticed one inconsistency - at around the 46-minute mark the quality changes when they enter the subway (Underground), it reverts back, and then gets poor again in, what appears to be, the same, shooting sequence.Michael Brooke tells us in FB that "In the commentary Dick Clement explains why the visual quality changed during the Underground sequence - in a nutshell, he needed a different film stock for lighting reasons (I suspect to avoid the usual strong green colour cast that you get from indoor locations lit with fluorescent tubes, and it was most likely a much faster film stock, hence the increased grain)." (Thanks Michael!)
I
have put a sample at the very bottom of this review. It
certainly was not the fault of the transfer -
which is again
dual-layered with a max'ed out bitrate. The 1080P looks
solid showcasing rich colors and a generally strong HD presentation.
The audio transfer is in another authentic linear PCM mono track -
24-bit - in the original English language. Modest effects exist and a score by Stanley Myers (The
Wilby Conspiracy,
Eureka,
Cimino's
The Deer Hunter, Roeg's
Insignificance, Harold Becker's
The Boost, Pete Walker
House of Mortal Sin and
Frightmare, etc.) and it supports the film well with a lighter
tone. The audio sounds clean in the uncompressed. Indicator add optional English (SDH)
subtitles on their Region FREE
Blu-ray disc.
Indicator add a new audio commentary with director Dick Clement and film
historian Sam Dunn and Clement is quite open about this being his first
film, and some of the things he noted as different from working in
television. He also describes his very first shot scene, discusses the
theme of 'class consciousness' in Otley - with Dunn plus the
director identifying actors in the film like Richard Harris' son played
the obnoxious boy... and much more. It's very interesting. There is also
the option, while watching the film, to listen to a 'Guardian Lecture'
with Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais from 2008. It is archival audio
recording of an interview conducted by Dick Fiddy at London’s National
Film Theatre running about 1-hour 17-minutes. There is a brief 6-minute
interview with Tom Courtenay on 'Otley' and a 15-minute piece with
co-writer of Otley Ian La Frenais on 'Otley'. Included are an
original theatrical trailer, an image gallery: on-set and promotional
photography and the package has a limited edition exclusive 40-page
booklet with a new essay by Laura Mayne, an extract from Martin
Waddell’s original novel, location reports, archival interviews with Tom
Courtenay, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film
credits.
A very cute spy-cum-comedy with Tom Courtenay as the everyman who gets
caught up in the espionage - a kind of poor man's
North By NorthWest. Loved the brief Leonard Rossiter. It was fun
and a delight to see the UK street locales used in the film. Indicator's - Gary Tooze |
Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray
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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |