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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (January 2020): Kino have transferred Bryan Forbes's The Whisperers to Blu-ray. It is advertised as being from a "Brand New 2K Master". It has close-ups that look almost 'demo' they are so crisp and tight with a beautiful fine grain being exported by the dual-layered transfer with a max'ed out bitrate. This 1080P image is highly remarkable - great contrast and a very appealing texture. Big thumbs up for the image.

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (16-bit) in the original English language. There are many silent, empty pauses, in the film and an less-utilized score by the iconic John Barry (Boom, Deadfall, The Chase, Midnight Cowboy, Dances With Wolves, Inside Moves and the Bond themes among his many credits) that advanced the dour and melancholy atmosphere. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new audio commentary by Kat Ellinger. She brings up the empty street scenes with cats and dogs roaming about, how it is reminiscent of the TV series Coronation Street which she sees the long-running series as imbuing a sense of community. I always found it heavy on class structure and how no one can seemingly rise above their station. She discusses Dame Edith Evans, director Forbes, his wife Nanette Newman, barely in the film, and many of the supportive cast including Eric Portman, Leonard Rossiter (Rising Damp) and Ronald Fraser. Her comments certainly added to my film experience although I may have seen things even more, appallingly, grim. There are also a handful of trailers but none for The Whisperers.

Well, let's just say The Whisperers won't be used as an advertisement for immigration to the UK. It is so defeatist dealing with themes of survival, the trappings of an ineffectual bureaucracy dolling out just enough to survive, corruption, loss of morality, human indifference, mercenary lifestyles, isolation, mental health - and I think this all may have been a very negative political inference by Forbes. It's a film I am so glad to have seen and was getting very keen on as it progressed - it was beautifully shot, expertly directed and filled with a great lead, and supportive, performances. I was fascinated and so glad to have watched it on Blu-ray with the Ellinger commentary option. Strongly recommended! 

Gary Tooze