House of Cards Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

House of Cards Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 12, 2026

John Guillermin's "House of Cards" (1968) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critic and screenwriter Gary Gerani and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

"What round is this?" "Still the first."

Consider the following scenario: It is 1968, and instead of directing Toby Dammit, Federico Fellini becomes fascinated with a much bigger project. A very different one, too. It is a lavish action film at the center of which is a complex conspiracy whose deranged mastermind’s lair happens to be in Fellini’s favorite city, Rome. Instead of having an Englishman (Terence Stamp) do the main protagonist in the film, Fellini chooses an American (George Peppard), then shortly after, welcomes Orson Welles and, while dining together at his favorite restaurant on Via Veneto, asks him to play the deranged mastermind. Born and raised in Genoa, Piero Portalupi is a great choice to lense the film, so Fellini hires him. Nino Rota is busy working on another project, so someone suggests that Fellini tries Frenchman Francis Lai. Why not? Lai has already scored Claude Lelouch’s Oscar-winning A Man and a Woman.

Does this sound like an utterly ridiculous scenario? Of course, it does, but only because you have not seen John Guillermin’s House of Cards. I will explain what I mean, but first I would like to give you a good summation of its plot.

Peppard plays lousy American boxer Reno Davis, who has run out of luck in Paris. After Davis nearly gets his face destroyed in the first round of his final match, his corner throws in the towel, and he is sent back to the dressing room. Later that night, Davis and his best pal agree to pack up their bags and leave the city. However, while passing through a very affluent neighborhood, they have an unusual experience -- a boy empties his gun into their car and nearly kills Davis. He chases him back to his home, a massive gated mansion, walks in, and meets his mother, Anne de Villemont (Inger Stevens), as well as other members of the family residing there. After the boy is forced to apologize and his mother accepts responsibility for his ‘mistake’, Davis leaves. A few days later, as he is leaving the city, Davis has a second encounter with Mrs. Villemont, who invites him in her Rolls-Royce and offers him the position of her son’s tutor. If Davis accepts the position, he will teach him how to be like other boys his age in America. Davis is broke, and all of his belongings are in an old duffel bag, so he accepts on the spot.

While working inside the gated mansion, however, Davis discovers that Mrs. Villemont isn't just a heartbroken widow, but a prisoner who has an extremely complicated relationship with the other members of her family, and that they are all nostalgic about pre-independence Algeria. Davis also learns that, for some unknown reason, the man who used to have his job unexpectedly turned up dead in the Seine. Soon after, while teaching Mrs. Villemont’s son how to play baseball and trying to avoid trouble with her family, Davis almost gets a bullet in his head. He promptly deals with the shooter, but instantly finds himself sinking into a rabbit hole where life is as cheap as a pack of cigarettes.

Based on Stanley Ellin’s novel of the same name, House of Cards is one of those transitional action films from the late 1960s with roots that are easily traceable back to the classic film noirs, but boasting an appearance and attitude that make it unmistakably modern. Needless to say, its stylistic identity is very interesting because while in many ways it reminds of that of the trendy early James Bond and Eruospy films, it emphasizes vintage European glamour that feels very authentic. This is precisely the reason I speculated above that it would have been the type of project a grandmaster like Fellini quite easily could have directed.

The plot is so unhinged it feels surreal, but it is definitely right for the type of thrills House of Cards was conceived to deliver. Virtually all of them are thrills that emerge from the unusual reality in which Peppard and Stevens are forced to survive, so the exceptional locations and terrific emphasis on period detail are truly quite impressive. (If there were any sets or even structures that were built specifically for House of Cards on the lots at Cinecitta, it is impossible to tell).

Peppard gives a very interesting performance that makes his failed boxer look like one of those reluctant bad-turned-good loners American action films loved promoting during the late 1970s and 1980s, but instead of jeans, he wears a suit. He is a straight shooter with a great arsenal of catchy lines, too. Welles had clearly figured out that he was in a ‘different’ film as well because he looks genuinely unhinged and spooky.

Lai’s score is a minor masterpiece, so critic Scott Harrison is right to point out in his commentary for this release of House of Cards that at times it actually makes it awfully difficult to concentrate on the visuals.

House of Cards Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, House of Cards arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

In 2022, we reviewed this Australian release of House of Cards, produced by local label Imprint Films, which was sourced from an older master supplied by Universal Pictures. Kino Lorber's upcoming release is sourced from the same master.

My take on the quality of the visuals that this master produces remains the same. There are traces of very small sharpening corrections, which are most prominent during bright daylight footage. However, these corrections do not overwhelm the visuals, and many, particularly close-ups, tend to look quite good. Most of the darker material, in particular, hides the corrections very well, and the retained organic qualities of these visuals become very easy to appreciate. Color balance and reproduction are convincing. However, a proper new 2K or 4K master can easily introduce meaningful improvements. Some will strengthen existing darker nuances, and some will help highlights appear more nature. Image stability is good. A few nicks and blemishes remain, but there are no large cuts, marks, warped or torn frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

House of Cards 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 English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

I like this lossless track a lot. In a few areas, some minor fluctuations affecting the roundness of the audio can be noticed, but I suspect that they are inherited. The music sounds very good. The shootouts and seemingly random noises and effects during the chases are fine, too. All exchanges are clear and easy to follow. As a result, I do not think that there is any room for big and meaningful improvements.

House of Cards Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this new audio commentary was recorded by critic and screenwriter Gary Gerani.

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for House of Cards. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

House of Cards Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Some people insist that Michelangelo Antonioni's first English language film, Blow-Up, was conceived to be multiple things at once, one of which is a good old-fashioned thriller. To be honest, I feel that John Guillermin's House of Cards was conceived to be something very similar. In fact, had it been directed by Federico Fellini, I would have sworn that Antonioni's film was its inspiration. House of Cards is a very surreal film that does things the trendy early James Bond and Eurospy films do not, folks, and I found this incredibly attractive. George Peppard is very much in his element, and there is a pretty unhinged cameo by Orson Welles, so there are plenty of fireworks as well. On top of this, House of Cards benefits a great deal from yet another sublime soundtrack composed by Francis Lai.

Kino Lorber's upcoming release is sourced from the same older master that Australian label Imprint Films worked with to give House of Crads its high-definition debut several years ago. This master has some issues, but I still think that it makes it easy to enjoy House of Cards. (In 1968, Peppard and Guillermin teamed up for another very wild film, P.J., which was recently restored and made available on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. If you do not yet have it in your library, consider picking it up as well). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.