Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Lady Ice Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 19, 2019

Tom Gries' "Lady Ice" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Scorpion Releasing. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive new video interview with composer Perry Botkin Jr. and a collection of vintage trailers. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The mechanic

MTV changed a lot of perceptions, but the trend started and picked up steam in the ‘70s after Hollywood ditched the auteurs. This was the crucial event that did the big and permanent damage. By the early ‘80s, the new mainstream standard was more or less established and the masses were very much on board with the concept that slow films were bad films. Then as filming technology became even more advanced hordes of different directors, and not only in the United States, began shooting their films as if they were unusually long music videos. Predictably, it was only a matter of time before things started falling apart, and by the time the first Bourne film arrived in 2002, it was plain as day how bad it would get. Even the contemporary Bond films caught the bug and embraced the craze with open arms -- the more cuts and zooms some of these films packed, and the ‘faster’ they became, the more their creators thought that they were on the right track. But the men behind the camera were wrong. Fast was never a substitute for good, and, sadly, it took a couple of essentially unwatchable films by Paul Greengrass to make the obvious so painfully obvious that it was undeniable.

Tom Gries’ film Lady Ice is from the old days, when most directors understood that it is a good thing to give their characters plenty of time to get to know each other, and also offer them an atmosphere in which they felt comfortable. It opens up in Miami where a fat guy (a terrific Buffy Dee) working for some shady characters in Chicago is expected to finalize a deal with a prominent businessman (Patrick Magee) that controls the area’s traffic of stolen jewels. But instead of meeting the buyer, the fat man has a quick encounter with undercover insurance agent Andy Hammon (Donald Sutherland), who picks up the expensive diamonds he carries and then leaves him chained to the toilet seat in his fancy hotel room. Soon after, while working as a car mechanic in a garage owned by the buyer, Hammon attracts the attention of his beautiful daughter, Paula Booth (Jennifer O’Neill), who is a diamond expert and her father’s most trusted business partner, and then makes her realize that he is aware of her illegal work. Hammond’s personality intrigues Paula, but she correctly determines that he is a chameleon that needs to be taken very seriously. Meanwhile, the Chicago boys arrive in town looking for their stolen diamonds and quickly complicate Hammon’s life so much that another senior detective (Robert Duvall) who can’t tolerate his working methods nearly terminates his mission. But Hammon keeps his cool, and eventually sets a brilliant trap that would deliver the result his employers expect.

There isn’t a shortage of high-octane action in this film, but its strength is its genuine appreciation of beauty, elegance, and style. It is precisely the reason why some viewers that approach it expecting a conventional action thriller walk away from it disappointed -- Gries does not rush things and pays as much attention to the chic locations where the good and bad guys meet as he does to their intentions. So, it is an old-fashioned film, but a very, very cool one.

The romantic attraction between Hammon and Paula is guaranteed from the moment she turns around, looks straight into his eyes, and utters You wish. (The entire sequence, which should not be spoiled, is hilarious). But Gries does not overdo it, and instead keeps the two leads refreshingly suspicious of each other for as long as possible. This particular aspect of the narrative makes it rather easy to view his film as a distant relative of Norman Jewison’s classic The Thomas Crown Affair.

Like virtually all other similarly themed films from the era, Gries’ film benefits tremendously from a wonderful chamber score by Perry Botkin Jr. The music adds another layer of warmth and atmosphere on top of what the film already has. It is wonderful.

Lady Ice Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Tom Gries' Lady Ice arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Scorpion Releasing.

The release is sourced from an exclusive new remaster which presents the film in a proper widescreen format for the first time in the United States. I like the remaster quite a lot. There are certain areas where it becomes obvious that it was struck from an interpositive and as a result density, sharpness, and even shadow definition are not optimal -- the OCN would have produced better results -- but overall the visuals are very nice. Predictably, the daylight footage boasts the best delineation and depth (see screencapture #3). However, indoor close-ups also tend to look very strong (see screencapture #4). The best news is that there are no traces of digital tinkering, so even though grain exposure could be slightly uneven at times it is always proper and free of distracting anomalies. Also, there are no traces of sharpening adjustments or other similarly annoying digital enhancements. The color grading job has ensured a good range of solid primaries, as well as an equally convincing range of healthy nuances. Image stability is very good. A few specks and some tiny vertical lines remain, but there are no large damage marks, cuts, or torn frames to report. All in all, while there is still room for some cosmetic improvements, the current presentation is indeed very satisfying. Well done. (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).

Lady Ice 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.

The audio needs some additional work so that it can be as good as it should be. Indeed, from time to time there is some light background hum plus some unevenness and light pops that together tend to have a small but noticeable negative effect on the quality of the audio. All of these limitations are fairly common in older films, so a proper remix would have easily eliminated them. On the other hand, they never became distracting. Yes, you will notice them, but they will not take you out of your viewing experience. The wonderful period music score is handled quite well.

Lady Ice Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Composer Perry Botkin Jr. - in this video interview, composer Perry Botkin Jr. recalls how he was hired to score Lady Ice and discusses some of the key qualities that he wanted the music to convey, and addresses the evolution of his career and the film industry since the release of Tom Gries' film. The interview was shot and edited by Damon Packard for Scorpion Releasing in 2018. In English, not subtitled. (13 min, 480/60i).

• Trailers - a collection of trailers for other titles from Scorpion Releasing's Blu-ray catalog.

Lady Ice Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Lady Ice is my kind of '70s caper -- very relaxed, stylish, and oozing retro atmosphere of the type that used to make my trips to the local theater exciting. This recent release from Scorpion Releasing is sourced from an exclusive new remaster that presents the film in its proper widescreen format for the first time in the United States. It also features a very nice exclusive interview with Perry Botkin Jr., who composed the cool score for the film. I think that Lady Ice is a great addition to Scorpion Releasing's catalog, so if you enjoy these types of genre films get a copy for your collection. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. (For a double dose of exotic fun with an equally solid music score, also consider Burt Brinckerhoff's Acapulco Gold).