Armageddon Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Armageddon Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 10, 2022

Alain Jessua's "Armageddon" (1977) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive new audio commentary recorded by critics Howard S. Berger, Nathaniel Thompson, and Steve Mitchell, as well as vintage trailer for the film. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

In the early 1960s, Alain Jessua attempted to establish himself as a writer and director with a couple of mostly decent films, but struggled to gain recognition and promptly left the film industry. In the ‘70s, it was because of Alain Delon that he attempted a comeback with Shock Treatment, a pretty good psychological thriller, but this film did not do much to earn him the solid reputation he desired either. Armageddon came a few years after Shock Treatment and reunited Delon and Jessua, but this time, in addition to being one of the stars, the former was a producer as well. Despite a good promotional campaign, Armageddon was another flop for Jessua and turned out to be the last film he made with Delon. There is an old ‘true story’ that Armageddon permanently broke Delon and Jessua’s friendship, but this writer believes that the real story is different.

In the ‘70s, Delon already had a reputation for being an extremely demanding actor who usually did his parts as he wanted. He could afford to do it because in Europe, he was a huge box office magnet that could not be ignored. So, because of his star power, Delon typically chose the directors he wanted to work with and the films he wanted to make. Then, in the early 1970s, Delon began producing a lot of the films he committed to as well, so not only did he do his parts as he wanted, but frequently demanded that the directors he worked with shot their films as he believed they should be made. As a producer of the majority of these films, this was something Delon was able to afford as well.

When Armageddon was greenlighted, it was apparently with the understanding that Delon would help Jessua reset his career, but when production started, the two repeatedly clashed and eventually damaged their friendship beyond repair. After the film failed to meet expectations, Jessua publicly accused Delon of crippling his work because he had refused to do his part as written. (The ensuing feud is what gave birth to the ‘true story’ that is referenced above). Now, Delon probably did try to put his stamp on Armageddon because he was one of its producers as well, but it is unlikely that Jessua was caught off-guard. In fact, such a scenario seems completely unrealistic because just a few years earlier, Jessua had directed Delon in Shock Treatment.

What is the significance of this information?

While Delon almost certainly did make Jessua’s work very difficult, in some ways perhaps even impossible to do right, as it is shot Armageddon reveals a wide range of flaws. Delon’s performance can be linked to only a few of them, too.

Delon plays Dr. Michel Ambrose, a top criminal psychologist who has repeatedly helped Interpol identify and track down some very bad characters. He is contacted with a new request for help when a dangerous maniac who calls himself Armageddon (Jean Yanne) threatens to commit a terrorist act during an upcoming big international conference in Paris. With time running out, Dr. Ambrose begins profiling Armageddon, and Interpol agents set up a trap for him, but they are completely unaware that he has an accomplice (Renato Salvatori).

The original material for Armageddon comes from a novel written by American writer David Lippincot, which was translated and adapted by Jessua. This means that Jessua was directly responsible for the quality of the French dialogue as well as the dramatization. Unfortunately, these are the areas that produce virtually all of the problems that cripple Armageddon, not the acting. For example, the exchanges in the middle area where Yanne is supposed to legitimize the maniac are so basic that the much-needed dramatic buildup does not materialize. And these are crucial exchanges because they are supposed to explain the transformation of Yanne’s maniac, as well as the reasoning behind his actions later on. Unsurprisingly, when eventually Delon lures him into a series of head games, the interactions between them look entirely artificial.

The great Argentine tango composer and bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla created the original soundtrack, which is a minor masterpiece and perhaps the biggest reason Armageddon is still remembered.

Armageddon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Armageddon arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by StudioCanal, which, in an odd sort of way, is actually a good thing. Indeed, even though most of the dark visuals occasionally reveal light crushing, they tend to look quite nice. Delineation and clarity, in particular, can be pretty impressive even on a very big screen. Depth fluctuates a bit, but it is still vastly superior than what is visible on some recent 4K masters (Cartouche) and other similar older masters (Le Magnifique) that were used for Blu-ray releases of European genre films. The master's biggest weakness reveals itself during the daylight footage, where some questionable grading choices produce some minor but noticeable anomalies. Indeed, there are certain areas where the master spikes up light green and greenish hues that essentially overwhelm blues and whites, and then later on replaces them with creamy yellows. (You can see examples in screencaptures #7, 11, and 31). In these areas, the balance is definitely not right, and if the camera remains still for a few seconds, you can actually see how the color grade begins to destabilize various native highlights while turning the original colors into digital neon-esque colors. (You can see an excellent example in the upper right corner of screencapture #17). The good news is that there are only a few such very small areas, and the second half, where most of the darker footage is, looks very good. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is very good. My score is 3.75/5.00. (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).

Armageddon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I did not encounter any technical issues to report in our review. The audio was very clear, sharp, and stable. Balance was excellent, too. I viewed the entire film with the audio turned up quite a bit because I am very familiar with Astor Piazzolla's soundtrack and thought that the dynamic strength of the audio was very good. The English translation is excellent, but I would love to see the size of the subtitles increased.

Armageddon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers - vintage trailer for Armageddon. In French, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Howard S. Berger, Nathaniel Thompson, and Steve Mitchell.

Armageddon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While you may not realize it, you know very well quite a few of the original tracks the great Argentine tango composer and bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla created for Armageddon. These are classic tracks that are often played by various radio stations. What about Armageddon? Well, it is not one of Alain Delon's better films. The dramatic buildup the film needs to be exciting never materializes, and as a result, it feels like all of its stars, not just Delon, fail to impress. Is it possible that you can still have a good time if you choose to spend a night with it? Yes, but it will have to be a night when your mind is tired and you are in the mood to overlook conventional plot holes as well. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an older but mostly good master that was supplied by StudioCanal.