Mister Jerico Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Mister Jerico Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 8, 2023

Sidney Hayers' "Mister Jericho" (1970) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films. The supplemental features on the release include new program with restoration colorist and film historian Jonathan Wood; new audio commentary by television historians Dick Fiddy and Henry Holland; vintage promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Reigon-Free.

It should be immediately obvious why Mister Jericho appears in The Avengers: The Tara King Collection box set. Several people who contributed to the iconic TV series worked on Mister Jericho as well. However, instead of colorful spies, Mister Jericho has several very colorful thieves.

The internationally renowned thief Dudley Jericho (Patrick Macnee) and his trusted assistant Wally (Marty Allen) land somewhere in the Mediterranean to do one last job that will enable them to retire in style. Jericho plans to sell a perfect copy of the elusive twin brother of the notorious Gemini diamond to the extravagant South American millionaire Victor Rosso (Herbert Lom), who has been obsessed with it for decades. Rosso has in its collection the notorious Gemini diamond, but wants both stones and is ready to pay half a million American dollars to acquire the elusive twin brother. However, Rosso knows how Jericho thinks and works because he has done business with him. Over the years, Rosso has also paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to diamond hunters around the world and they have told him that the twin brother he desires for his collection no longer exists. So, if Jericho wants to do business with Rosso again, he would have to present evidence that the precious diamond he is bringing to him is authentic.

Jericho agrees to do precisely that, but requests a $10,000 advance from Rosso to begin preparations for the transfer of the elusive twin brother. While arrangements for the advance are made, Jericho and Wally figure out a way for the former to enter Rosso’s heavily guarded mansion, break into his ultra-modern vault, and replace the notorious Gemini diamond with the fake diamond they have brought. Then, back at the hotel, Jericho phones Rosso and informs him that he is ready to authenticate the twin brother before him and finalize its sale.

It all goes exactly as Jericho has planned until another internationally renowned thief, a stunning French beauty named Georgina, contacts Rosso and informs him that she is also bringing the elusive twin brother to him. Intrigued to discover who is trying to cheat him, Rosso delays the sale, while Jericho, with plenty of help from Wally, begins improvising to avoid a disaster with unpredictable consequences. Somewhere along the way, and much to everyone’s surprise, however, Jericho begins falling for Rosso’s very attractive secretary, Susan (Connie Stevens), and when Georgina appears and presents the authentic twin brother, all hell breaks loose.

Based on an original story by Philip Levene, who penned numerous episodes of The Avengers, and directed by Sidney Hayers, who also directed several episodes of the iconic TV series, Mister Jericho is a small yet quite spectacular caper that is just as effective as a romantic comedy. Even though it was shot with a modest budget, it is an unusually good looking film, too.

Like virtually all capers, Mister Jericho operates with a big bag of tricks that produce wonderful surprises, so if one wishes to guess correctly the true intentions of its characters, one should pay close attention to what is said and how it is being sad as they begin to engage each other. But even then, one will almost certainly misread several crucial developments because the twists and turns that precede them are wonderfully scripted and executed.

Unlike conventional capers, however, Mister Jericho does a lot of work to charm as well. It is this work rather than all the twists and turns that ends up giving it its identity. For this reason, the film’s unrestrained appreciation of beauty and style feels most appropriate as well.

The leads are very, very good. All of them treat Mister Jericho as a much bigger project than it was and as a result one can just about be tricked into believing it, too.

Hayers’ director of photography was Alan Hume, who in addition to lensing multiple episodes of The Avengers worked on such box office hits as For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, and Runaway Train.

This brand new release presents two versions of Mister Jericho -- the original TV version, in a 1.33:1 ratio, and a theatrical version, in a 1.66:1 ratio. Mister Jericho was restored in 2K from the original camera negative.

Mister Jerico Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Mister Jericho arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films.

The back cover of this release clarifies that Imprint Films prepared a new 2K master from the original camera for Mister Jericho in 2023, which was used to source it. Also, there are two versions of the film on the release -- the original TV version, in a 1.33:1 ratio, and a theatrical version, in a 1.66:1 ratio. I viewed the TV version.

I thought that Mister Jericho looked outstanding on my system. In a few segments, density levels could be a tad better, but delineation, clarity, and depth were always very pleasing. Ideally, in a couple of shots highlights could have been managed slightly better, but I did not see anything that can be considered distracting. On the contrary, during indoor and outdoor various ranges of nuances were very impressive. Color balance is very convincing, too. It may seem like saturation levels could be improved in a few spots, but I think that in 1080p they are about as good as they can be. Unsurprisingly, the dynamic range of the visuals is impressive as well. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is very good. All in all, I think that the folks at Imprint Films did a terrific job with the new 2K master that they created for Mister Jericho. (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).

Mister Jerico Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is very healthy. All exchanges are crystal-clear, sharp, and very easy to follow. Stability is excellent, too. Mister Jericho has plenty of interesting music that creates good dynamic contrasts as well. However, you should not expect it to match the quality of the biggest productions from the same era. There are no audio dropouts or transfer-specific anomalies to report in our review.

Mister Jerico Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Widescreen Version - presented here is the widescreen version of Mister Jericho in 1.66:1 ratio. In English, (86 min).

• Mister Jericho: Damage Limitation - this new program highlights some of the challenges that the folks that restored Mister Jericho had to overcome. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

• The Road to Mister Jericho in High Definition - in this new program, restoration colorist and film historian Jonathan Wood discusses the production of Mister Jericho, the two versions of it and some of the cuts that were considered, its publicity campaign and critical reception, as well as its new restoration. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by television historians Dick Fiddy and Henry Holland. The commentators discuss in great detail the obvious relationship between Mister Jericho and The Avengers, the characters of Mister Jericho and what makes them unique, the comedy material, the particular casting choices that were made (and could have been made), the unusually great scenery, etc.

• Isolated Score by Laurie Johnson - presented as LPCM 2.0.

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

• Textless Titles - presented with music, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Photo Gallery - a collection of stills from Mister Jericho. Presented with music. (7 min).

Mister Jerico Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is a bit strange that Mister Jericho turned out such a terrific film because it was conceived only as a pilot for a supposedly quite ambitious TV series that never materialized. I am not exaggerating when I write that it can easily compete with some classic capers from the same period, like Deadfall and The Brain. Several of its tricks surprised me a lot, and I could not predict correctly its finale. Mister Jericho has been beautifully restored in 2K by Imprint Films and is included in The Avengers: The Tara King Collection, a wonderful eleven-disc box set. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.