Fragment of Fear Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Fragment of Fear Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 8, 2018

Richard Sarafian's "Fragment of Fear" (1970) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; vintage radio spots; original promotional materials; exclusive new video interview with first assistant director William P. Cartlidge; and more. The release also arrives with a 36-page illustrated booklet featuring new essay by Johnny Mains; extracts from a previously unpublished interview with composer Johnny Harris; overview of contemporary critical responses; technical credits; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The day that everything stopped making sense

There are plenty of clues very early into the film and you don’t have to catch all of them to quickly figure out exactly what is going on. You only have to place a few in the proper context and then just about everything will begin to make perfect sense to you. (I say “just about” because there are still a few meaningful details that are revealed only moments before the end credits appear).

It all begins in sunny Italy where writer and former drug addict Tim Brett (David Hemmings) is shocked to discover that his elderly aunt has been brutally murdered. After the local authorities struggle to produce any possible motives for the murder, Tim vows to get to the bottom of the mystery and quickly heads back to London where he believes the information he needs is. Almost immediately after that, however, his life begins to spiral out of control -- a mysterious woman attempts to pass to him what appears to be an important message, but when Tim attempts to find why he discovers that she has been killed and he is emerging as a prime suspect; someone breaks into his apartment and later on he is told in the local police department that the officer that met him and gathered information is actually not one of their own; a stranger also repeatedly phones and harasses him with some very bizarre warnings. In the middle of it all Tim also does his best to maintain a healthy relationship with the beautiful and very supportive Juliet (Gayle Hunnicutt), whom he intends to marry as soon as he solves the mystery behind the murder of his aunt. But the more it looks like he is getting closer to arranging its scattered pieces in the right order, the harder his detective work becomes because the people that could help him do so start to lose interest in his findings.

There is a very large portion of Richard Sarafian’s film that functions a bit like a classic Agatha Christie novel. Indeed, initially it leaves the impression that there is a trail that Tim has to follow and in time, after he collects enough evidence, a proper bigger picture will emerge that will produce all of the answers that he has been searching for. The trail, however, turns out to be a major distraction and Tim’s ‘discoveries’ while on it a substantial element of an entirely different story.

*Spoiler alert.

How the second story shapes up is essentially what makes this film unique. There is a good buildup that leads to a moment where the trail is effectively altered to reveal an entirely different point of view that affects Tim’s interpretations of the chaos in his life that emerges after the murder. Admittedly, if some of the clues that were mentioned earlier are identified the shift is hardly surprising, but the whole process also relies on a heavy atmosphere that ensures a rather special viewing experience.

Much of the film has a quasi-noirish appearance that promotes plenty of layered shadows and interesting ranges of subdued and cold colors. The blend seems very appropriate for the maddening reality in which Tim is forced to operate. The film was lensed by Oscar winner Oswald Morris (Fiddler on the Roof, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold).

Fragment of Fear 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, Richard Sarafian's Fragment of Fear arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

The release is sourced from an old remaster, but generally speaking the overwhelming majority of the film looks rather good in high-definition. A lot of the most obvious source limitations are visible during the darker/indoor footage where shadow definition is clearly not optimal and some important nuances are lost. There is also room for improvements in terms of color stability and balance. The grain does not have the nice even exposure that new masters prepared with modern equipment typically reveal, but there are no traces of problematic digital tweaking and this makes a crucial difference. (To put things in the proper context, a similar old master from Universal's vaults almost certainly would have been unusable). Image stability is very good. Lastly, there are a few minor flecks popping up, but there are no distracting large cuts, debris, stains, or torn/warped frames to report. (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. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Fragment of Fear 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 basic characteristics of the lossless track are good. Clarity and stability remain solid throughout the entire film and there is proper dynamic balance for a period film of this caliber. If the volume is tuned up enough some extremely light background hiss attempts to sneak in, but it is not in any way distracting. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report.

Fragment of Fear Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

NOTE: All of the supplemental features on this Blu-ray release are perfectly playable on North American Blu-ray players, including the PS3.

• Trailer - original trailer for Fragment of Fear. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Radio Spots - a collection of archival U.S. radio spots for Fragment of Fear. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Image Gallery - a collection of vintage promotional materials for Fragment of Fear.

• First Assistant Director William P. Cartlidge on Fragment of Fear - in this new video interview, William P. Cartlidge recalls how he became involved with Fragment of Fear and shares some pretty interesting stories from the shooting of the film on the Amalfi Coast. (There is a particularly funny one about a drunk David Hemmings making an early morning phone call and offering an opinion on the script for the film). The interview was conducted exclusively for Indicator/Powerhouse Films. In English, not subtitled. 10 min).

• Paul Dehn: The Writer as Auteur - in this new featurette, David Kipen, author of The Schreiber Theory, discusses the interesting life, career and work of writer Paul Dehn, as well as his involvement with Fragment of Fear. The featurette was produced exclusively for Indicator/Powerhouse Films. (14 min.)

• Booklet - 36-page illustrated booklet featuring: "Fragment of Fear, Fragment of Facts" by Johnny Mains; extracts from a previously unpublished interview with composer Johnny Harris; overview of contemporary critical responses; technical credits; and more.

Fragment of Fear Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It appears that a lot of people that were involved with Richard Sarafian's Fragment of Fear thought that it was a poor project -- there is a new interview with first assistant director William P. Cartlidge on this release and in it he says so, and then he describes a similar take on the original script for the film delivered by a reportedly drunk David Hemmings. My take on this film is very different. It is a fairly small project with a very dated appearance, but I think that it is structured and executed really well. It is a bit like an odd reimagining of Memento, delivered in a unique period setting. Indicator/Powerhouse Films' recent Blu-ray release of Fragment of Fear is sourced from an old but quite good master and is Region-Free. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.