Our Man in Havana Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Carol Reed
UK 1959

Alex Guinness stars in this sly satire of spy movies and espionage culture itself. Like The Third Man, it's directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene

Having found so much success with his adaptations of Graham Greene novels The Fallen Idol (1948) and The Third Man (1949), Carol Reed revisited the author's oeuvre with this fabulous satirical spy story.

Ex-pat vacuum salesman Jim Wormold (Guinness) is roped into Britain's Cuban espionage division. Paid per item of intelligence, and desperate to send daughter Milly (Morrow) to an expensive European school, Wormold embellishes his reports with daring falsification. But the ruse has uneasy consequences, especially when his activities arouse the suspicions of police chief Captain Segura (Kovacs) suspicion.

Guinness plays his part to perfection, an Everyman paddling furiously against the tide, and excellent support comes from Ralph Richardson (as the obsessive MI6 boss), Burl Ives and Paul Rogers (as rival agent). But Coward steals the show as his patrician spymaster.

Excerpt from Channel 4 located HERE

Poster

Theatrical Release: January 1959

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Comparison:

Sony Pictures Home Ent. UK - Region 2,4,5 - PAL vs. Sony Pictures - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Covers			Coming to Blu-ray in the UK by Mediumrare in October 2023:
Distribution	Sony Pictures Home Ent. UK - Region 2,4,5 - PAL	Sony Pictures - Region 1 - NTSC	Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:43:04 (4% PAL speedup)	1:47:08	1:47:18.473
Video	2.35:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.41 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	2.35:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.78 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	Disc Size: 29,541,776,584 bytes Feature Size: 28,706,770,944 bytes Total Bitrate: 29.99 Mbps Single-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: UK
Bitrate: US
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0) DUBs: German, Italian, Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0)	English (Dolby Digital 2.0)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1769 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1769 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Isolated Score: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1809 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1809 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	English, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Arabic, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Portuguese, Romanian, Turkish, None	English, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent. UK Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Edition Details: • none DVD Release Date: December 26th, 2005 Keep Case Chapters: 24	Release Information: Studio: Sony Pictures Home Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Martini Minutes DVD Release Date: February 3rd, 2009 Keep Case Chapters: 12	Release Information: Studio: Twilight Time Disc Size: 29,541,776,584 bytes Feature Size: 28,706,770,944 bytes Total Bitrate: 29.99 Mbps Single-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC Edition Details: • Isolated Score Track • Original Theatrical Trailer (3:07) • 8-page liner notes by Julie Kirgo Limited to 3,000 units Blu-ray Release Date: March, 2017 Transparent Blu-ray case Chapters 24

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray March 17': The new Twilight Time Blu-ray is another strong transfer from them. It looks fabulous beside the inferior DVDs - the PAL's vertical squishing is more prominent by comparison and the ridiculously green Sony takes it right out of contention. Dual-layered, high bitrate, layered contrast and pleasing grain textures. Very film like and looks sweet in-motion via the 2.35:1 AR.

Audio get a solid DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel (24-bit) which sounds crisp, clear and consistent with few effects. The, uncredited, score is by Frank and Laurence Deniz (their only film credits) plus some Cuban street music adding atmosphere and mood. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles and the Blu-ray disc is region FREE - playable world-wide.

No extras save the usual Isolated Score Track option, an original theatrical trailer and some liner notes by Julie Kirgo. As usual, this is limited to 3,000 units.

This is a typically fine Brit comedy of its time - Guinness and Ernie Kovacs are in top form and there is nothing to really dislike about this affable film. It even works partially as a suspense thriller. Absolutely recommended!

***

ADDITION: Sony NTSC - January 09': The new Sony seems to have a dimming greenish infiltration into the image. Where the PAL version may be boosted - it still shows more detail than the muddier US edition. Now though, the UK transfer looks to have vertically squished the image (faces look disproportionally fatter) and the NTSC shows more information in the frame sides (quite a bit). Sheeesh.

With all the subtitle and DUB options it appears that the PAL edition is the 'international' one for many different languages of Europe. Both have English subtitles - with the US in a large, gaudy yellow font. The new US edition has some extras - those silly, and very short, Martini Minutes (I still don't understand their purpose).

While both transfers are problematic but offered at a similar price, it seems a personal choice - basing on the preferred image quality. I prefer the UK release but won't be able to forget the squished image now that I've seen the 'green' US side-by-side. It's cheap enough and a worthy film to own, though not of masterpiece status - so probably the easiest to obtain, geographically, will be your best bet.

***

ON THE PAL: NOTE: At the time of this review this DVD has been marked down 54% to only £5.97.

This image looks exceptionally good which is surprising as there is a fairly large black border circumventing the frame - hence limiting horizontal resolution. If this was transferred tighter to the edges it could have looked even better. Contrast and grey-tones seem fine - detail is above average and audio and subtitles are clear and consistent. I see no signs of manipulation (perhaps some boosting) and very few artifacts. There are no extras but the DVD is region-coded to sell in other parts of the world (namely Australia and Russia) and has sub and DUB options that make is viable across Europe as well. The 2.35 has been closely maintained and the anamorphic DVD is excellent for a bare-bones offering.

This is a typically fine Brit comedy of the time - Guinness and Ernie Kovacs are in top form and there is nothing to really dislike about this affable film. It even works partially as a suspense thriller.

Gary W. Tooze

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(Sony Pictures Home Ent. UK - Region 2,4,5 - PAL LEFT vs. Sony Pictures - Region 1 - NTSC RIGHT)