Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Le Magnifique Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 11, 2021

Philippe de Broca's "Le Magnifique" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new audio commentary by critics Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson, as well a vintage trailer. In French or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Superagent Bob

Some of the most spectacular and most ridiculous executions ever captured by a film camera can be seen in Philippe de Broca’s film Le Magnifique. For example, in its opening sequence a team of professional killers disguised as construction workers use a chopper to lift up a phone booth occupied by an unknown double agent and then drop it deep into the ocean. But this isn’t how the agent dies. After the booth sinks to the bottom of the ocean, a second team of divers attach a long retractable cage to its door so that the double agent can’t leave without being stuck inside it. On the opposite end of the cage is a big white shark waiting for the sucker, so while he is drowning the predator begins ripping him apart as well. Approximately forty-five minutes later, the main protagonist, an extra-special agent named Bob Saint-Clar (Jean-Paul Belmondo), prepares to produce a ton of fireworks with the stunningly beautiful femme fatale Tatiana (Jacqueline Bisset) in her exotic lair on the beach in sunny Acapulco. But his perfect plan to get laid is put on hold when more than two dozen killers storm the beach and begin unloading thousands of bullets into the exotic lair, hoping that at least a couple of them will reach Bob’s perfect body. Bob fires back and when he is done exterminating the attackers the beach looks exactly like D-day Normandy.

But none of the mayhem is real. It exists only in the mind of Francois Merlin (Belmondo again), a divorced writer living in a lousy apartment somewhere in Paris who is desperately trying to finish his latest novel on time. He has modeled the extra-special agent Bob after himself and his muse Tatiana after his attractive English neighbor Christine (Bisset again), who is so busy with her studies that rarely even notices his presence. Francois would have preferred that she does, but the way his alter ego is handling her replica in the novel has more than made up for the disappointment. You see, on the other side no one can compete with superagent Bob, absolutely no one -- he always overpowers his enemies and elegant seductresses like his neighbor can’t stop begging for his attention. Alright, a small correction. Perhaps there is someone that can destroy superagent Bob, but only if he allows him to do it. It is a notoriously elusive Albanian terrorist whose one and only friend is a cranky black Persian cat.

Broca’s Le Magnifique (also known as The Man From Acapulco) offers the type of outrageous fun you would get from the various Eurospy films with Ken Clark, but with one significant adjustment – everything in it is ten times bigger, louder, and crazier. Also, Le Magnifique takes its humor very, very seriously, which is why the great deal of mocking that is at heart of its story is so effective. Yes, it does help that the actors doing the mocking are much better than the ones assisting Agent 077 as well, but there is a different type of attitude in Le Magnifique that is instantly felt, and it is what ultimately makes the biggest difference.

Belmondo is completely unleashed and his adventures in Acapulco are a feast for the eyes. But it is pointless trying to describe what he does so well while dealing with the armies of killers the Albanian terrorist dispatches after him because each adventure is a complete act in which he reveals different personalities. He is an action hero, a seducer, a lover, a comedian, even a clueless fool. Then in the present, he is the shy loner who desperately wants to impress the perfect single girl who thinks that he is moving way too fast. It is just a giant mish-mash of ideas and situations that can only make sense while one is in Belmondo’s company, so trying to pinpoint exactly why the end product works is essentially impossible. (Just to be perfectly clear, the film isn’t a one-man show either. Belmondo shines bright, but Bisset is terrific as well, and there are plenty of ‘small’ contributions from other actors that make the mayhem as attractive as it is).

*Whenever Le Magnifique is discussed its stunt work is rarely addressed, but there are actually a few outstanding sequences in it. As usual, Belmondo did his own stunts.

Le Magnifique Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.661:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Le Magnifique arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by StudioCanal. Unfortunately, this master is problematic. I was hoping that it would be as attractive as the older masters that were used for the recent releases of The Professional and The Outsider, but there are some very obvious traces of digital corrections on it that give Le Magnefique are very smeary digital appearance. Many backgrounds with darker nuances, for instance, are missing plenty of information, and in areas where light is significantly restricted instead of proper detail(s) there are basically large chunks of blacks. Grain is completely eliminated and in certain areas there is actually foreign electronic noise that produces plenty of harshness. This mix of harshness and smearing can be quite annoying, and on a larger screen it can be seriously distracting as well. You can see examples in screencapture #10 and 11. The color grading job is good. In fact, without the digital anomalies that are described above, this master would have offered a great example how Philippe de Broca's films ought to look in high-definition. (You can see how they should not look in high-definition if you test the restored That Man from Rio). Image stability is very good. The entire film looks clean as well. My score is 2.25/5.00. (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).

Le Magnifique Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the French track.

I viewed the film with the French audio track. Clarity and sharpness were very good. Balance was convincing as well. Dynamic intensity was very good as well. However, I think that there are a few areas where the action footage could have a bit more depth. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Le Magnifique Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson. As usual, these gentlemen share plenty of interesting information about the era in which Le Magnifique was produced and the type of fun it offers, the careers of some of the principal actors, and a few trends in cinema at the time.

• Trailer - vintage trailer for Le Magnifique. In French, with English subtitles. (3 min, 480/60i).

Le Magnifique Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Le Magnifique is a perfect summer film. It's got all the exotic action and humor you might require to be entertained the right way, plus a decent dose of romance for your partner as well. Unfortunately, this Blu-ray release is sourced from an old and quite problematic master that gives the film a very unattractive digital appearance. I expected this master to be comparable to the ones StudioCanal supplied for The Professional and The Outsider, but sadly it isn't. If you really want to have Le Magnifique in your library, you should try to get yourself a copy when the release is heavily discounted.