6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A CIA agent tries to infiltrate Soviet intelligence to stop a murderous diabolical plot.
Starring: Martin Sheen, Brigitte Fossey, Sam Neill, Derek Jacobi, Michael LonsdaleThriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-2
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (192 kbps)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 2.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
The peculiarities of Russian orthography and the Cyrillic alphabet have led to some memorable key art for films like The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming , where trivia fans will know the “R” in Russians is reversed, a la Cyrillic, and the “G” in “Coming” is transformed into a hammer and sickle. It might be just one indication of a certain derivative quality that runs through Enigma that it copies that same conceit with regard to the “G” in its title, though this film is obviously not a raucous comedy about a perceived Soviet invasion of the United States. Instead, Martin Sheen portrays an East German dissident named Alex Holbeck who is kind of strangely recruited by the CIA in order to steal an artifact from the World War II era, or least its 1982 updated version — an Enigma code descrambling machine, which the CIA has deemed necessary to prevent a huge assassination plot in the Soviet Union.
Enigma is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD Marquee Collection, an imprint of MVD Visual, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is a pretty dated and at times rough looking presentation. There's considerable wobble during the opening credits, which may indicate a lack of restoration, and the grain field is often very gritty, to the point that it looks downright noisy at times. A lot of the transfer seems curiously skewed toward blues and purples, so that things like flesh tones can look pretty unnatural. Things get a good deal warmer after about the 30 minute mark, but even there there are some oddly "cool" blue looking undertones to the palette. Occasional minor age related wear and tear like dirt and white flecks are also apparent. In decent lighting conditions, detail levels are at least passable, and in some close-ups, rather good. Blacks can be downright milky at times, as in a late scene inside a darkened car, where an almost hazy white overlays the sequence. The film does have an unusually high amount of opticals due to printed explanatory titles identifying locales and times that occur frequently, and that might be a contributing factor to some of the rough looking quality of this transfer.
This is another release that disappointingly only includes a lossy Dolby 2.0 mono track. Within that context, everything here is listenable, but lacking considerable energy, especially in the midrange and low end. Dialogue and an at times effective score both are presented without any inherent damage or distortion. Optional English subtitles are available.
Enigma tries to work up both suspense and romance, but it never really manages to do either, let alone both. Performances are generally winning, and the film does have a notable cast that also includes Derek Jacobi, so those hard pressed for a time killer during this era of quarantine may find this an acceptable enough diversion, but technical merits might be deemed to need improvement even by diehard fans of the cast.
1967
1965
Ten Years a Counterspy
1960
1973
1982
1965
L'affaire Farewell
2009
Hot Enough for June
1964
2010
1968
2014
1966
Limited Edition to 3000
1959
Werk ohne Autor
2018
2012
1977
Limited Edition to 3000
1966
2013
Limited Edition to 3000
1954
1940