6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.4 |
Frank Ryan is a soldier of fortune hired by a powerful organisation to infiltrate a volatile Mid East country. His job will be to locate jailed rebel leader Petros Rallis, then free him - or kill him.
Starring: Brian Thompson, Oliver Reed (I), George Kennedy, José Ferrer, Michelle MoffettThriller | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 2.0
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Even lovers of (relatively) short lived cult television series may have a hard time recalling Cover Up, a show that ran for a season in 1984-85, and if they do remember it, it’s probably for a tragedy that visited the set rather than for any inherent aspect of the actual premise of the series. That tragedy was the shocking death of handsome young co-star Jon-Erik Hexum, who in a questionable display of judgment played around with what he thought was a toy gun one day and managed to severely injure himself to the point that he was declared brain dead and soon taken off of life support. The show limped along in the aftermath of that horrifying development but was shuffled off the broadcast coil after only one year. The setup of Cover Up dealt with a famous fashion photographer (played by erstwhile famous fashion model Jennifer O’Neill) who discovers that her late husband was a secret CIA operative. In the sort of preposterous machination that only a screenwriter could formulate, O’Neill’s character is offered her late husband’s job, with the understanding that she’ll continue to masquerade as a fashion photographer and that she’ll be accompanied by an impossibly good looking CIA agent (initially played by Hexum, later by Antony Hamilton) who would similarly pretend to be a model. In a way, Cover Up simply shifted I Spy’s tennis setting to the world of haute couture, but it was an ill fitting idea that never really panned out into anything overly exciting. The same might be said for the at least somewhat similar Hired to Kill, a film that kind of plays on the same general concept as Cover Up, albeit with genders reversed. In this version, it’s a male operative (more of a mercenary than an actual bona fide agent) who is paired up with a gaggle of women fighters, with the guy pretending to be a famous fashion designer (who also photographs) and the girls as his bevy of gorgeous (but deadly) models. Hired to Kill is a pretty lame exercise in action adventure filmmaking, and like some other Arrow releases (Blood Bath), the real interest for at least some fans will be not so much in the film itself but in some of the background of the production as detailed in an appealing supplementary package.
Hired to Kill is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Once again as with Arrow's release of Mastorakis' The Zero Boys, a 4K scan off a 35mm interpositive provide the source for this transfer. This is by and large a great looking release, one that benefits from the sun drenched climes of the location shoot in Corfu, Greece. In fact, things are so sun drenched at times that brightness may seem to be a trifle too pumped, but contrast generally keeps things within acceptable norms. The palette is not overly suffused, and may tip ever so slightly toward the pink end of things, but looks healthy. Detail levels are very good to excellent, with fine detail popping quite well in some of the many close-ups (see screenshot 3). Damage is virtually negligible, and there are no issues with image instability. Grain resolves naturally and is unencumbered by any compression anomalies.
Hired to Kill features a robust sounding LPCM 2.0 mix (the advertised DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix actually turns out to be a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, at least going by what two players/receivers I used said). The stereo track provides plenty of oomph in the low end, giving some resonance to the action elements. Dialogue and score come through cleanly and clearly and with excellent prioritization. There is no age related damage of any kind to report.
Hired to Kill seems to want to make some kind of statement about gender roles, but it doesn't seem to know whether that statement is male chauvinist or feminist, leading to a kind of philosophical disconnect that makes some of the proceedings a little hard to swallow. The film does better in its brainless action element, and some of the fashion sidebars are amusing in their own dated way. While the film is no great shakes, Arrow has assembled a nice supplementary package, and technical merits are strong for those considering a purchase.
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1973
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