Orders to Kill Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Orders to Kill Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 20, 2022

Anthony Asquith's "Orders to Kill" (1958) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the release include new program with critic Matthew Sweet; archival audio recording featuring producer Anthony Havelock-Allan; short film; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

If at the end of Anthony Asquith’s Orders to Kill you feel comfortable summarizing the actions of its main protagonist as either right or wrong, you missed what this film is about. He and his actions are tiny pieces in a much bigger picture.

The latter days of WWII. American Air Force pilot Gene Summers (Paul Massie) is summoned and told that he is the right man for a complicated mission. If carried out successfully, the mission could have a dramatic impact on future developments in Europe and even determine how the war ends. After Summers reveals that he is willing to meet the challenge, his superiors begin describing the mission to him.

Summers will change identities and travel to Paris to kill Marcel Lafitte (Leslie French), a veteran lawyer and member of the French Resistance who has become a traitor. In Paris, his main contact will be a businesswoman, Leonie (Irene Worth), who will provide him with detailed information about Lafitte’s daily activities and after the mission is completed arrange his safe return. If needed, Leonie will be able to organize an urgent rescue operation as well. Summers is then briefed on how American intelligence operatives and their contacts in France were able to determine that Lafitte had been secretly leaking crucial information to Gestapo and its proxies.

After completing a quick and brutal training program, Summers is given a French passport and flown to England, and from there smuggled into France.

Shortly after meeting Leonie, Summers establishes contact with Lafitte and begins working on a plan to kill him. However, during his short interactions with Lafitte, Summers begins to doubt the validity of the intelligence information he has been given and eventually concludes that he is not a traitor. Nevertheless, Summers informs Leonie that he is ready to carry out the mission and requests that she arranges his return home.

Orders to Kill is based on a real story by real-life spy Donald Downes, which was co-scripted by another real-life spy, Paul Dehn. A few years after it, Dehn worked with Guy Trosper and adapted John le Carre’s bestseller "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold" and Martin Ritt produced a brilliant film that earned two Oscar nominations.

While there is certainly a great deal of intimate drama in it, Summer/Downes’ story is about a couple of simple rules that determine whether a war is won or lost. Instead of naming them, and by doing so spoiling Orders to Kill, here are a couple of questions that will help you identify them.

After entering Paris, Summers is presented with two choices. If his target is a traitor, he kills him and prevents Gestapo and its proxies from eliminating active agents supplying crucial information to the Allies. The leak is plugged and the mission is a success. If he assumes that his target is not a traitor, he walks away from him and spares his life. But he is guessing and his refusal to carry out the mission allows Gestapo and its proxies to continue weeding out the agents that are needed to win the war. Which of the two choices is the rational one? If you consider the big picture, the answer is very easy. Everything that happens after that is largely irrelevant so long as you embrace the idea that a war cannot be won with moral choices.

The final third of the film could have been handled better. The moral dilemma that overwhelms Summers produces melodrama that clearly hurts the authenticity of the story. Either some specific changes should have been made in the screenplay to avoid it, or Massie’s performance should have been different. A restrained, minimalistic drama of the kind that decades later was common in many Cold War films would have been far more appropriate.

Orders to Kill Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.65:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Orders to Kill arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

I quite liked the look of the film, though I could tell that some extremely light denoising corrections were applied. Delineation, clarity, and depth are still very good. The grayscale is very convincing as well. I noticed a few quick skips. Some are obviously caused by missing frames, but there is one that looked very suspicious and since I don't have a market copy of this release, I am unsure whether it is only on my disc. Basic small but noticeable frame instability can be spotted as well. (Good examples can be seen around the 1:47.00 mark during the footage from the hospital). The film looked healthy. All in all, excluding the skips, I think that this is a fine presentation of the film. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Orders to Kill Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio was very clear, sharp, and easy to follow. Balance was good, too. The upper register was very healthy, though I did notice minor unevenness during a couple of scenes in the second half of the film. So, I think that the overall quality of the lossless track is very good.

Orders to Kill Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Matthew Sweet: Open Wounds - in this new program, critic Matthew Sweet discusses Orders to Kill. In English, not subtitled. (25 min).

• Trailer - original trailer for Orders to Kill. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Image Gallery -
  
  1. Promotional and publicity material
  2. Original story treatment

• The BEHP Interview with Anthony Havelock-Allan - archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the producer in conversation with Linda Wood and Dave Robson. The recording was done during the summer of 1990.

• Two Fathers (1944) - this short film was directed by Anthony Asquith for the Ministry of Information,and features Bernard Miles and Paul Bonifas. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (14 min).

Orders to Kill Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In a time of war, every decision that is made comes with some sort of moral violation. This is inevitable. Why? Because war and morality are incompatible. Once you understand and accept that it is so, the drama that is at the center of Anthony Asquith's Orders to Kill becomes quite ordinary. I like this film, but I think that it would have been much better if the melodrama that flourishes in its final third was either significantly toned down or completely eliminated. Indicator/Powerhouse Films' Blu-ray release is sourced from a good master. If you decide to pick it up for your library, please keep in mind that it is Region-A "locked". RECOMMENDED.