Alfie Darling Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		2.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.5

Alfie Darling Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 21, 2020

Ken Hughes' "Alfie Darling" (1975) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Network Releasing. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage promotional materials for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Do not waste your time with Ken Hughes’ Alfie Darling if you are convinced that it was supposed to be a legit sequel of Lewis Gilbert’s Alfie. Regardless of what you might hear from ‘people that know’, it was not meant to be that kind of a film. Yes, the name is the same, but Alan Price isn’t Michael Caine, and wasn’t trying to be.

In Hughes’ film, Alfie is a truck driver who spends the majority of his time on the road with his best pal and partner, Bakey (Paul Copley). The small company that employs them usually asks them to transport loads between England and France, but occasionally they get dispatched to exotic lands like Turkey. They don’t complain. If it pays well, they will do the job.

But driving isn’t the only thing that Alfie is good at. He has a reputation with the ‘birds’ and whenever possible does his best to make them happy. In London, he regularly meets Fay (Joan Collins), a wealthy married lady who needs the type of bedroom entertainment that a lady should never ask for. In his building, Alfie flirts with Claire (Annie Ross), an older widow with a younger heart. Norma (Sheila White) likes his company too, but she wants a serious relationship that culminates with marriage and kids. Then in France there is Louise (Rula Lenska), who helps her older husband run a bistro and welcomes Alfie into her bed whenever he stops by for a meal.

Alfie’s fun existence is altered dramatically when he meets Abby (Jill Townsend), a busy fashion magazine editor, who refuses to succumb to his charm and by doing so inspires him to begin pursuing her. After a series of rejections, however, Abby finally allows Alfie in her life and the two begin seeing each other. Then they begin making plans for the future, but fate interferes and pushes them apart.

Bill Naughton’s novel is cited as an inspiration, but Alfie Daring is an original project that was envisioned and almost entirely shaped up by Hughes. You can’t compare it to Gilbert’s film because it simply does not see the world through the same social prism – it is faster, looser and much, much more candid about the games the two sexes play. The humor that flourishes in it is also of the kind that is incompatible with the thought-provoking socio-cultural overtones that pop up in Gilbert’s film.

Alfie’s communication with the audience makes the fun even more exciting because he utters what is on everyone’s mind. (Well, okay, maybe not everyone. How about the hot-blooded male viewers, and perhaps a some bolder ladies with an old-fashioned sense of humor). No, it isn’t always pretty, but it is the type of straight talk that makes him easy to embrace as the working-class Casanova which Hughes’ screenplay requires him to be.

The finale is unexpected but makes perfect sense because real life is exactly that kind of a roller-coaster. What surprises is that Hughes went with it and did not shoot an alternate sequence for a happier version of the film. It works really well and actually places Alfie’s adventures and entire existence in a proper context.

Price also wrote the title song, “Alfie Darling”, which is beautifully sung by Cilla Black.

*Network’s Blu-ray release of Alfie Darling is sourced from a restored master that was struck from the original 35mm camera negative. The work was carried on behalf of StudioCanal.

Alfie Darling Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Alfie Darling arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Network Releasing.

This release is very frustrating. The master that was created for it is lovely, or at least it was until someone decided to apply various minor but noticeable denosing corrections. Thanks to these poor corrections there are different segments where the gamma levels are destabilized, which is a digital effect that causes some darker areas to look flat. (See an example in screencapture #1 and 7). Also, the encoding is problematic. Different darker and even some daylight footage reveals light macroblocking patterns that easily could have been avoided. Colors are nicely saturated and stable, but the gamma fluctuations that are mentioned above can alter some of the blacks and grays. The entire film looks spotless. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Alfie Darling Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio has been fully restored. It is very clean, sharp, and nicely balanced. I was alone at home when I viewed the film and had the volume turned up a lot. I did not detect any age-related imperfections to report in our review. The music during the opening sequences and elsewhere throughout the film sounded great as well.

Alfie Darling Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - vintage trailer for Alfie Darling. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Gallery - a collection of vintage promotional materials for Alfie Darling.

• Booklet - 12-page illustrated booklet with vintage promotional materials for Alfie Darling.

Alfie Darling Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Well, I think that Ken Hughes' Alfie Darling is a pretty funny film. Its biggest problem is that Bill Naughton's name pops up in its opening credits, which makes a direct comparison with Lewis Gilbert's classic film unavoidable. With a different title and name for Alan Price's truck driver, I guarantee Alfie Darling would have acquired a much better reputation. Network's presentation of the film is very frustrating because it is compromised by a series of errors that easily could have been avoided.