Review by Gary Tooze

 

Production:

Theatrical: William N. Boyle Productions

Video: Olive Films

 

Disc:

Region: 'A' (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player)

Runtime: 1:15:39.368

Disc Size: 22,417,419,354 bytes

Feature Size: 22,252,990,464 bytes

Video Bitrate: 35.40 Mbps

Chapters: 8

Case: Standard Blu-ray case

Release date: January 20th, 2015

 

Video:

Aspect ratio: 1.66:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Audio:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1867 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1867 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)

 

Subtitles:

• None

 

Extras:

• None

 

Bitrate:

 

 

Description: In this crime drama, the trouble begins when a crook cheats his buddies at a dog track, stuffs his loot into a suitcase, and flees. He then gives the suitcase to his lover who in turn gives it to her sister just before she takes a bus to the coast. Her actions rouse the suspicions of an observant reporter. Later the crook manages to catch up with the sisters. Unfortunately, the sisters catch them at the same time and justice prevails.

 

 

The Film:

After the robbery of a dog-racing track goes awry, a hoodlum (George Rose) scrambles to evade the police and a gang of criminals, while maintaining control of a satchel of stolen funds. The loot falls into the hands of his girlfriend (Ursula Howells), then her sister (Petula Clark), who carries it on a long bus trip. Along the way, her path converges with that of an aging actress (Renee Houston), a snitch (Kenneth Griffith), and a story-hungry reporter (Kent Taylor). They end up confined in a deserted boathouse, where the fate of the money and the people pursuing it are resolved.

The melodramatic crime caper centers on a robbery at a greyhound racetrack that results in the unintentional murder of a guard. The perpetrator leaves the loot with his girl friend, commandeers a motorcoach bound for Southampton, and holds hostage its diverse array of passengers, including an American newspaper reporter and the girl friend's resourceful sister. The film, the second made by Republic Pictures' UK production company, makes good use of London's Victoria Station and locations along the banks of the River Thames.

Excerpt from Wikipedia located HERE

 

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

Track the Man Down has similar issues to The Weapon. It is predictably, single-layered, bare-bones, Blu-ray transfer from Olive Films. It has a max'ed out bitrate. The film is filled with speckles (almost every frame) and a small amount of, less-noticeable, damage marks. It is transferred in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio. The black levels appear acceptable - occasionally strong - but there is a softness that connotes a heaviness and while it can look a bit waxy - I don't suspect DNR. Overall it can tend to look flat and thick. The 1080P Blu-ray is based on a unrestored source but it is not a film that will receive any extensive film-level work. I suspect this is the best it will ever look for your home viewing pleasure.

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio :

Stable audio throughout most of the film. Olive's DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel at 1867 kbps seems to export as well as could be expected. There are minor issues but nothing untoward.  Lambert Williamson (Michael Powell's magnificent The Edge of the World his first composure credit!) composed the score for Track the Man Down and it is unremarkable with some limited flavor in the atmosphere. There are a few aggressive effects but that don't pack much punch in the lossless. There are no subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.

 

 

Extras :

No supplements - not even a trailer which is the bare-bones route that Olive are going with most of their Blu-ray releases.

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
Track the Man Down is not A-list material but has few desirable Noir-ish touches. I liked how the robbery implications were infused into the drama. It did keep my attention. The bare-bones Olive Blu-ray does its usual unmanipulated presentation in 1080P, it's just a shame that the condition of the source was sub-par although I wasn't overly deterred by that aspect. I'm going to suggest a 'pass' as the value doesn't appear to be here for a mediocre film in a weak-ish presentation. 

Gary Tooze

January 27th, 2015