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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Jack Smight
USA 1968

 

From Jack Smight, the acclaimed director of Harper, Kaleidoscope, No Way to Treat a Lady and The Traveling Executioner, comes this wacky comedy starring screen legend Paul Newman (The Hustler, The Sting). The Secret War of Harry Frigg tells the story of a good-for-nothing goldbrick whose only talent is escaping from the Army stockade. Sent behind enemy lines to free five Allied generals held prisoner in an Italian villa, Harry Frigg (Newman), hardly the dedicated type, becomes sidetracked from his zany mission by a sexy Italian Contessa (Sylva Koscina, Deadlier Than the Male, Lisa and the Devil). He finally uses his talent to escape, and his new rank of Major General to create havoc in this wild and brilliantly satirical tale of World War II. Beautifully shot in CinemaScope by the great Russell Metty (Spartacus) and featuring a hilarious supporting cast that includes Tom Bosley (Love with the Proper Stranger), Norman Fell (Charley Varrick) and Buck Henry (The Man Who Fell to Earth).

***

When 5 allied generals are captured in Italy in WWII, it is a propaganda nightmare for the allies. The generals are all 1 star and refuse to take orders from each other in order to plan an escape. Harry Frigg is a private who has escaped from the guard house dozens of times. He is promoted to Major General and ordered to get the generals out once he is captured. Harry is willing to escape, but then he meets the countess...

Posters

Theatrical Release: January 28th, 1968

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

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Bonus Captures:

Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:50:08.602        
Video

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 36,297,995,045 bytes

Feature: 34,533,697,536 bytes

Video Bitrate: 37.92 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1555 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1555 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps

Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio:
Kino

 

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 36,297,995,045 bytes

Feature: 34,533,697,536 bytes

Video Bitrate: 37.92 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Filmmaker Daniel Kremer and Film Historian/Biographer Nat Segaloff
Theatrical Trailer (01:10)


Blu-ray Release Date:
January 5th, 2021
Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 10

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (January 2021): Kino Lorber have released Jack Smight's "The Secret War of Harry Frigg'' on an all-new, dual-layered Blu-ray. The film was shot in Techniscope (much like Kino's other current release of "Texas Across the River") and shows a healthy amount of grain. The 2.35:1 HD image features a wide representation of color, with lush greens and reds in particular, some frames do look a little bland, but they are rare. There is a fairly robust contrast as well, which comes in handy during the finale caper's nighttime shots. There is a moderate amount of discernible detail within the frame, though the image looks to be on the softer side. This is all rather interesting given that Roger Ebert once wrote (in his review of 'Counterpoint') that "the movie is shot in Techniscope, a process designed to give a wide-screen picture while saving film and avoiding payment of royalties to the patented processes like Panavision. In this film, as in "Harry Frigg," Techniscope causes washed-out color and a loss of detail. Universal shouldn't be so cheap." This seems to not always be the case here, so perhaps this transfer shows a deeper range of colors than what Ebert viewed. This Ebert quote is also mentioned in the fabulous audio commentary mentioned below.

NOTE: We have added 28 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

Kino Lorber's Blu-ray features a 16-bit 2.0 DTS-HD Master audio track. This is a pretty clean sounding track, lacking any distracting audio degradations, which helps to make the dialogue more intelligible. The tense final act of the picture especially relies on the score from Carlo Rustichelli (Night Ripper, The Long Hair of Death, The Whip and the Body, Seduced and Abandoned, Divorce - Italian Style, 1974's Ten Little Indians). There are optional English SDH subtitles on this Region 'A' Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

Kino Lorber's Blu-ray of Jack Smight's "The Secret War of Harry Frigg'' features a new audio commentary by film historian/filmmaker Daniel Kremer and film historian/biographer Nat Segaloff. They start out the track by mentioning that the film has many detractors, and later on they mention Tarantino's disregard for the picture. Kremer and Segaloff prove to be an exceptional pair, when discussing this film and the cast/crew involved. They even slide down some particularly interesting rabbit holes, such as when they mention that the film's Italian villa was actually shot in Sierra Madre, CA (only a short drive from my childhood home). I also particularly appreciated Segaloff furthering my knowledge of the oft-maligned 'Techniscope' format. Raw stock was one of the cheapest aspects of a Hollywood picture's budget, but one of the advantages of a director working with 2-perf Technicsope was, as Nat Segaloff explains, they could shoot "without having to shoot with the same kind of anamorphic lens, you give yourself another F-stop, you don't have to put another big gob of glass in front of your prime lens. You could get a lot more exposure and a lot more freedom in lighting your sets." Very interesting. Many more topics are discussed within the commentary and I really look forward to listening to more from the two film historians. The only other extra included on Kino's Blu-ray is the film's trailer, and a handful of trailers for other films.

"The Secret War of Harry Frigg'' perhaps took some people aback, with Paul Newman making his first outing into a comedic role. As Kremer and Segaloff mention in their commentary, it is hard for Newman to play this somewhat aloof, silly character, without his intelligence shining through. Kino's
Blu-ray certainly benefits from said commentary, and features a solid transfer of the picture. While personally I found it to drag in sections, it is worth seeing for Paul Newman trying something different. The cast is also full of superb comedic character actors.

Colin Zavitz

 


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Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray


 


 

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