Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Code 7, Victim 5 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 12, 2016

Robert Lynn's "Code 7, Victim 5" a.k.a. "Victim Five" (1964) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Blue Underground. The only bonus feature on the disc is an original trailer for the film, but on the same disc you will also find Lynn's film "Mozambique" (1964). In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

"Here's your bonus. Doubled."

American detective Steve Martin (Lex Barker, Winnetou Trilogy, La Dolce Vita) is hired by South African millionaire Wexler (Walter Rilla, Day of Anger) to find the killer of his trusted butler. Wexler wants Martin to do it quickly because he is afraid that he could be the mysterious killer’s next target.

At the airport in Cape Town, Martin is picked up by Helga (Ann Smyrner, The Black Cobra), a Danish beauty who keeps the paperwork in Wexler’s office organized and handles most of his correspondence. Before the two reach Wexler’s luxurious mansion in the hills, they barely escape a maniac who tries to kill them but drives his fast car off a cliff. Martin immediately concludes that Wexler isn’t the only person in town that knows about his ‘secret mission’.

While working on the case Martin meets Inspector Lean (Ronald Fraser, The Killing of Sister George), a bubbly middle-aged gentleman whose obsession with beautiful girls routinely interferes with his professional duties. The inspector gives Martin an old war photograph that was discovered next to the body of the butler and suggests that the killer could be someone who knows plenty about Wexler’s murky past. When Martin begins asking questions about the men from the picture, once again someone attempts to kill him.

Meanwhile, Helga falls madly in love with Martin. Despite the fact that she has been secretly seeing her father’s personal doctor (Dietmar Schönherr, Mozambique), Wexler’s spoiled daughter Gina (Véronique Vendell, Barbarella) also shows interest in him.

Robert Lynn’s Code 7, Victim 5 was clearly inspired by the early James Bond films, but it fits somewhere between Jack Cardiff’s The Liquidator and Ralph Thomas' Deadlier Than the Male. Some serious talent contributed to it, but the end result is unquestionably a “B” film that is well aware of its limitations.

The most important one is the script Lynn had to work with. It came from Peter Yeldham who adapted an original story by the prolific Harry Alan Towers. These two gentlemen had a soft spot for lush exotic films and Towers actually produced a large number of them. (Many of cult Spanish director Jess Franco’s best films, for instance, were produced by him). So the key reason why the script isn’t overly impressive is because it only gives a structure to what is basically a show-off piece with a ‘proper’ exotic appearance.

The tone of the film is also slightly unconvincing. Indeed, certain parts favor a darker, more intense atmosphere, but elsewhere there is lightness that does not feel right for it. Interestingly, when the shift occurs, which is typically when the playful inspector steps in front of the camera, the film is most effective.

Nic Roeg (Don't Look Now, Bad Timing) was brought on board to lense the film and he was unquestionably the right man for the job. It is because of him that film looks incredibly stylish and far more ambitious than it actually is.

Code 7, Victim 5 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Robert Lynn's Code 7, Victim 5 arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground.

The film has a slightly dated but very stable organic appearance. The majority of it was shot in and around Cape Town and the daylight panoramic footage frequently impresses with lovely depth and fluidity. The nighttime footage and the darker footage from the cave also boasts nice shadow definition, though it isn't difficult to see that there is room for improvement. There are no traces of problematic degraining and sharpening adjustments. Grain could be better resolved, but it appears unmolested. This said, some very light compression artifacts occasionally sneak in and cause some anomalies, though during normal playback on average size screens they are essentially impossible to detect. Colors look natural and remain stable. Overall image stability is very good. Lastly, there are no large damage marks, debris, cuts, stains, or torn frames to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Code 7, Victim 5 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

The lossless track does not appear to have been recently remastered, but depth and clarity are excellent. Johnny Douglas' jazzy score easily shines in all the right places and there are a few action sequences where the dynamic intensity is well above average. The film's original sound design, however, has plenty of native limitations (see the mass scenes from the parade where separation and balance are not overly impressive). The dialog is stable, clean, and easy to follow.

Code 7, Victim 5 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Code 7, Victim 5. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

Code 7, Victim 5 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I love to watch these types of films very late at night. They don't always have great stories to tell -- and when they do they are really very special -- but the overwhelming majority of them visit exotic places that quite simply no longer exist. Code 7, Victim 5 is set in beautiful Cape Town during the early '60s and follows closely a handsome American detective who is hired by a local millionaire to track down an elusive killer. It is basically an exotic show-off piece that was inspired by the success of the early James Bond films. I would not recommend it to Bond fans, but if you have seen and enjoyed the likes of Bang! Bang! You're Dead!, The Liquidator, and Deadlier Than the Male, you don't want to miss it. I guarantee you will have a great time with it. Code 7, Victim 5 is included in this upcoming release together with Mozambique, which is produced by Blue Underground. RECOMMENDED.