The Man Who Had Power Over Women Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

The Man Who Had Power Over Women Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 23, 2024

John Krish's "The Man Who Had Power Over Women" (1970) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the release include new program with screenwriter Allan Scott; archival audio program with John Krish; two short films; and vintage promotional materials for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region A/B "locked".

The hunk

There is a great deal of irony in John Krish’s film The Man Who Had Power Over Women, which can be detected in the humor that gives it its identity. This humor is routinely very witty and often requires a fair bit of deconstructive work to appreciate its brilliance. More importantly, it is adult humor, delivered by authentic adult characters, which means that it can describe all sorts of different truths very well.

But The Man Who Had Power Over Women is not one of those pseudo-intellectual films that try hard to be illuminating. You know them well. In these films, every sequence, every sentence, and most camera moves and angles are carefully constructed and controlled to deliver the crucial messages that reveal the truths. The Man Who Had Power Over Women is a casual film that does not telegraph its revelations from above and demand that they are appreciated. They are just there, and it is up to the viewer to spot their existence, which is almost certainly the reason The Man Who Had Power Over Women never resonated with the important critics of its decade, the 1970s.

The man that is singled out in the title is Peter Reaney (Rod Taylor), a tall, muscular, very handsome, and very successful record company executive in his late forties, who is supposed to be living the type of life every ambitious, red-blooded man dreams about. Half the time Reaney’s job is to party hard with gorgeous women who want to sleep with him, drink top-quality booze, and eat the best stakes in town -- and it is all paid by the record company he represents. On top of this, Reaney is married to Angela (Penelope Horner), who is several years younger than him and could be a model. What else could Reaney want?

But after an exhausting trip to France, Reaney returns home to London half-drunk and before he can fall asleep discovers that Angela wants a divorce, effectively collapsing his perfect life. On the following morning, while still enduring the effects of the booze that his liver has processed, Reaney lets Angela walk away from him. After that, The Man Who Had Power Over Women becomes a very interesting film. It gets wilder and funnier, but the irony that permeates it produces the various truths that are mentioned earlier.

One of these truths is that Reaney, and by default the type of successful guy he represents, does not have any power over the women who approach him and try to sleep with him. He is being used by them in a variety of different ways, and the rest of the perfect life he is living is slowly destroying him, too. Reaney is essentially an expensive teddy bear that various attractive women forward to each other. In the beginning, The Man Who Had Power Over Women creates the exact opposite impression, which is that Reaney treats the attractive women like objects.

All of the attractive women who gravitate around Reaeny, however, are living a lie, too. In fact, their lie is much uglier and evolving a lot faster. The older ones are either partially or fully aware of it, which is why they are desperate to find a ‘good man’. Alexandra Stewart’s character is the most desperate one, but at the right moment, even Reaney’s supposedly liberated housewife capitulates with a most revealing confession.

Reaney’s best pal and colleague at the record company, Val (James Booth), is stuck in another lie too, though his marriage to Jody (Carol White) has been a lost cause for years. It is why Val has been dedicating as much time as he could to the record company’s biggest star, while Jody has tried to attract Reaney’s attention. They have been performing in a bad theater play that has fooled only their young children.

The final fifteen or so minutes are quite cynical, but understandably so because the irony is no longer needed there. And yet, there are still some funny moments. This isn’t surprising either because during its most awful moments real life does not stop producing tremendous, frequently hilarious contrasts.

The Man Who Had Power Over Women Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Man Who Had Power Over Women arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

The release introduces a recent 4K restoration of the film, which I liked a lot. While viewing it, I spotted only a few areas where it is easy to tell that density levels could be a little bit better. In backgrounds, there are small but noticeable grains pulsations that are too loose. (For what it's worth, I think that in native 4K these pulsations will not be an issue at all). The rest is great. Delineation, clarity, and depth are wonderful, though you should keep in mind that some footage is a bit uneven because of specific lensing preferences. Color balance is outstanding. All primaries look very healthy and lush but never boosted, while the supporting nuances are balances with great care. Image stability is excellent. I did not see any surface anomalies introduced by aging to report in our review, either. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A/B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A, Region-B, or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Man Who Had Power Over Women 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.

Early in the film, but in a random spots later as well, some sections of the dialog sound oddly compressed and flat. I am going to speculate that time has done some irreversible damage in these areas/spots and this is the best that the audio quality can be. You do have to be concerned, though. All exchanges are still perfectly easy to follow, and you won't miss anything that is being said. However, you will notice thinning and flattening that are introduced by the aging. Dynamic contrasts are, as you can expect, quite modest.

The Man Who Had Power Over Women Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The BEHP Interview with John Krish - in this archival audio-only program, John Krish discusses his background and career in the film industry. The program combines material from interviews conducted by Rodney Giesler in London on March 22 and May 4, 1994. In English, not subtitled.

• Allan Scott: A Bad Marriage - in this exclusive new program, screenwriter Allan Scott discusses his work on the screenplay for The Man Who Had Power Over Women, which came from a novel written by Gordon Williams. Some of the comments that are shared are quite odd -- for example. Mr. Scott declares that the film is just about a bad marriage, which is clearly not true -- and in some ways misleading as well. In English, not subtitled. (11 min).

• Image Gallery - presented here is a collection of original promotional materials for The Man Who Had Power Over Women.

• Break-In (1956) - a short film, directed by John Krish, about a break-in at the NAAFI. Remastered. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. (44 min).

• Let My People Go (1961) - a short film, directed by John Krish, about the Sharpville massacre of protesters in South Africa. Remastered. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. (24 min).

• Booklet - al imited edition exclusive 40-page booklet with a new essay by Vic Pratt, archival interviews with Rod Taylor and John Krish, new writing on Break-In, Patrick Russell on Let My People Go, and film credits.

The Man Who Had Power Over Women Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The world is a tragedy to the man who feels, a comedy to the man who thinks." This timeless quote from English writer Horace Walpole sums up pretty well John Krish's film The Man Who Had Power Over Women, which is a decent comedy, a fine drama, and a lovely truth-telling dramedy. Yes, it is certainly a product of its time too, but I consider this a very good thing. This release, which introduces a wonderful new 4K restoration, was initially available only in the UK and only via Indicator/Powerhouse Films' site. Now, you can purchase it in the U.S. and via Amazon. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.