Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Charley Varrick Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 20, 2018

Don Siegel's "Charlie Varrick" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; archival audio lecture with Don Siegel; archival audio lecture with Walter Matthau; Robert Fischer's documentary "Last of the Independents: Don Siegel and the Making of Charley Varrick"; vintage stills and promotional materials; and more. The release also arrives with a 40-page illustrated booklet featuring new essay by author and critic Richard Combs, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and historic articles on the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Partners

It would have been perfect if Don Siegel had kept the original title for this film, The Last of the Independents, because there is no doubt now that at the time he knew where the industry was heading. It really was only a matter of time before a film like Jaws changed everything.

In a sleepy town in New Mexico, a trio of robbers hit a small bank but only two of them get away with the loot, Charley Varrick (Walther Matthau) and Harman Sullivan (Andy Robinson). A few hours after they count the money, however, Charley realizes that they are not as lucky as they had assumed because there is too much money in their bags that most likely belongs to the mafia. While the local authorities begin investigating the robbery, Charley is proven right and a crooked banker sends sadistic mafia hitman Molly (a superb Joe Don Baker) to recover the money.

At first, it seems like tracking down Charley and his partner would be just another standard job for Molly, but when the retired stunt pilot-turned-robber evades him with a few nifty moves the gorilla gets seriously upset. Meanwhile, Harman, who does not appreciate Charley’s working methods, threatens to pocket his share and try his luck alone in a different part of the country.

Matthau left an incredible legacy of films and the general consensus appears to be that he was at his very best when he played conventional funny characters like the ones seen in The Odd Couple and A New Leaf, but this writer believes that his most refined performance was actually in this edgy crime thriller. The casual manner in which Matthau switches between being an intelligent robber and a sleek player with an endless bag of tricks is just incredibly entertaining to behold, and the best part is that it actually has this contagious effect on the rest of the actors and as a result they also do a lot of brilliant little things that ultimately make the film special.

But it is Siegel’s direction that gives the film its unique identity because it allows its story to flourish with that unmistakable pure energy that all of his famous films are known for. Indeed, despite the almost documentary-like type of fluidity the action has a hidden very consistent rhythm that makes every single sequence look essential. This is classic Siegel. (Do a direct comparison with any similarly themed action film from the ‘80s and ‘90s and you will instantly recognize how they have multiple sequences that stick out like sore thumbs because they are nothing more than show-off pieces. In Siegel’s films the action always emerges as a natural element of a meaningful process that occurs as part of a special journey).

A predictably brilliant score from the legendary Lalo Schifrin (Dirty Harry) mixes cool jazzy harmonies with exotic rhythms and provides the film with a superb ‘70s vibe.

Charley Varrick Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Don Siegel's Charley Varrick arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

The release is sourced from an old and quite problematic master that possesses just about all of the conventional shortcomings that old masters that emerge from Universal's vaults are known for. Indeed, it appears that some sort of a denoising work was done on the entire film and then sharpening was applied to give it a more 'polished' appearance. Predictably, the end result is actually a very harsh looking film with seemingly endless anomalies. For example, take a look at screencapture #3 where the effects of the filtering and the sharpening can be observed on the hand in the right side. On a larger screen many of these these effects can be quite distracting because every time the camera moves, it looks and feels like there is an entirely new layer of artificial grain on top of the natural grain. During outdoor and indoor footage highlights repeatedly appear problematic as well, and in some cases actually interfere with and destabilize proper nuances (see screencaptures #5 and 7). Overall color saturation should be quite a bit better as well. Image stability is good. There are no large debris or torn frames, but a few white flecks and dirt spots remain. All in all, in order to have a stable organic appearance and really look as it should this film needs to be fully remastered from a proper source. (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).

Charley Varrick 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 lossless audio must have been remixed at some point because it is very healthy. Indeed, there is proper depth, clarity is very good, and the existing range of dynamic nuances is most appropriate for a '70s film of this caliber. Balance is very good as well. The backgrounds are clean and there are no distortions in the high-frequencies.

Charley Varrick Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Vintage Trailer - original American trailer for Charley Varrick. In English. (3 min).

• Trailers From Hell - in this archival episode of Trailers From Hell, screenwriters Josh Olson and Howard Rodman quickly discuss their love for Charley Varrick and the impact the film had on them some years ago. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Super 8 Version - presented here is a Super 8 version of Charley Varrick in 1.33:1 ratio. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (18 min).

• The Guardian Lecture with Walter Matthau - presented here is a recorded lecture with Walter Matthau that was conducted by Tony Sloman at the National Film Theatre in London in 1988. The legendary actor discusses some of the more interesting role that he played throughout his career, actors that he worked with, an interesting phone call he received from Burt Lancaster, his contribution to Vincente Minnelli's Goodbye Charlie, etc. Very funny session. Audio only. In English. (89 min).

• The John Player Lecture with Don Siegel - presented here is a recorded lecture with Don Siegel that was conducted by Tony Slowman at the National Film Theatre in London in 1973. The director discusses how he prefers to build tension in his films and how he releases it (typically with a laugh), the type of pacing he likes, moving from the bottom of the film business toward the top as well as the montages that he did for other people's films, a few of the lucky breaks that he had throughout his career, at what point he took control of his own material, the important role that Madigan had in as he became more independent, etc. Audio only. In English. (75 min).

• Last of the Independents: Don Siegel and the Making of 'Charley Varrick' - this documentary takes a closer look at the evolution of Don Siegel's career and style as well as the production history of Charley Varrick. There are also some very interesting comments about Walter Matthau and his notorious gambling problems, and how they actually profoundly altered his acting career. Included in are clips from recent interviews with actors Andrew Robinson, Jacqueline Scott, and Craig R. Baxley, screenwriter Howard A. Rodman, composer Lalo Schifrin, and Don Siegel's son, Kristoffer Tabori. The documentary was produced by Robert Fischer for Fiction Factory in 2015. In English. (76 min).

• Stills Gallery - a collection of vintage stills and promotional materials for Charley Varrick.

• Booklet - 40-page illustrated booklet featuring new essay by author and critic Richard Combs, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and historic articles on the film.

Charley Varrick Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This cult crime thriller from director Don Siegel will only get bigger as time passes because it effectively promotes all of the great qualities that American films had before Jaws and Star Wars. Walther Matthau also gives one of those truly special performances that once witnessed are never forgotten. Indicator/Powerhouse Films' recent Blu-ray release of Charley Varrick is sourced from an older and regrettably quite problematic master that possesses just about all of the conventional shortcomings that old masters that emerge from Universal's vaults are known for, so if you decide to pick it up for your collection it will have to be for its good selection of bonus features. I really hope that in the United States the film is acquired by the folks at Criterion, and they invest in a proper 2K or 4K restoration that will make it shine again.