Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		2.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		2.5

North Sea Hijack Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 30, 2020

Andrew V. McLaglen's "North Sea Hijack" a.k.a. "ffolkes" (1980) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new video interviews with special effects supervisor John Richardson, actors David Wood and Jeremy Clyde; vintage trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

It would have been very easy to explain Roger Moore’s appearance in Andrew V. McLaglen’s North Sea Hijack (also distributed under the alternative title ffolkes) if an year earlier the legendary actor had not played Agent 007 in Moonraker. And it would have been even easier to do so if he had not done the same in The Spy Who Loved Me a couple of years before Moonraker. And without having his name attached to The Man With the Golden Gun and Live and Let Die it would have been plain as day that Moore was just desperate to get noticed and get paid, which is why he would have teamed up with McLanglen. But in 1980, when North Sea Hijack was released, Moore was neither a nobody nor struggling to make ends meet, and yet for some reason he decided to do the film. It was a very odd, simply impossible to rationalize decision because North Sea Hijack is an awful film and the character that Moore plays might be the worst in his entire body of work. This isn’t an exaggeration. The film is a genuine stinker and does to Moore’s reputation what Battlefield Earth did to John Travolta’s in the early 2000.

When a group of international terrorists take over two massive oil rigs that are operated by the British government and declare that they will blow them up unless they are paid a huge amount of money, the prime minister (Faith Brook) holds an emergency cabinet meeting and one of her trusted advisors convinces her that the only man that can figure out a way out of the mess is Ffolkes (Moore). Shortly after, Admiral Brinsden (James Mason) travels to a remote area where Ffolkes and his men are training hard to stay fit and convinces him to do the job. In a matter of hours Ffolkes then delivers a plan that would free the rigs from the terrorists and help the prime minister avoid a massive blow to her public image. Not too long after that, however, Admiral Brinsden becomes seriously concerned with Ffolkes’ working methods and dependence on alcohol.

The amount of utterly ludicrous and frankly flat-out amateurish material in North Sea Hijack is staggering, which is a real shame because the talent that was gathered for it is rather impressive. Consider this: The character that Moore plays is an unapologetic alcoholic who hates women and is proud of it but loves kittens and does a lot of knitting whenever he wishes to gather his thoughts. To make him appear even more idiotic, however, the script demands that he also fires off macho lines as often as possible and in a way that basically transforms his entire mission into a giant parody. But the people around him behave as if he is the most rational human being to ever put on a uniform, so the more flamboyant he becomes, the more convinced they become that they have the right man for the job.

Now consider this: The leader of the terrorists (Anthony Perkins) is another awful character that is out of his element as well. He is a psychopath with incredible instincts but awful strategist that cannot deconstruct properly a single risky situation. (Needless to say, he looks suspicious as a leader from the get-go). So, to impose and maintain his authority over everyone else he does his best to look and sound scary. In other words, it is the reversed setting in which Ffolkes is left to impress, with this ‘scary’ terrorist doing just as much awful posturing to impress.

The long buildup and laughably short finale are just a mixture of various meaningless exchanges and occasional shootouts. Characters are simply wandering around the rigs and sporadically getting involved in pointless confrontations whose one and only purpose is to prolong the inevitable, and when eventually Ffolkes faces off his main nemesis it all ends in a matter of seconds. Indeed, an instantly forgettable film.

North Sea Hijack Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, North Sea Hijack arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films.

The release is sourced from the same old master that Kino Lorber worked with to produce this Region-A release. This is a poor master with a number of very serious issues. The biggest one is the harsh digital appearance which compromises all of the native qualities that make the film look like film. For example, the digital adjustments that were applied to the master have introduced awful smearing that collapses delineation and depth. The elevated sharpness levels have also introduced various anomalies, including DVD era conventional edge-enhancement. (Of course, this is hardly surprising because the master probably does come from the DVD era). Needless to say, on a larger screen the visuals can become quite distracting. In darker areas there is plenty of digital smearing as well, which further breaks down all sorts of different native nuances. Even the color balance suffers because the smearing actually exacerbates the ranges of blacks and in the process destroys many supporting nuances. The master is clean, but this is truly the only good thing that can be said about it. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

North Sea Hijack Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release English DTS HD Master Audio Mono. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I like the lossless track a lot. As soon as the opening credits appear it becomes crystal clear that the audio was remastered and is very healthy (listen to the terrific orchestral sound). Balance and overall stability are outstanding as well. There are no encoding anomalies to report.

North Sea Hijack Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for North Sea Hijack. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Alternate Title Sequence - an alternate title sequence displaying ffolkes. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Rigging the Explosives - in this new video interview, special effects supervisor John Richardson explains how some of the more elaborate action sequences in North Sea Hijack were done. There are some particularly interesting comments about the models that were done as well as the footage that was shot on the West Coast of Ireland. In English, not subtitled. (11 min).

• The Ffall Guy - in this new video interview, stuntman Dinny Powell recalls his contribution to North Sea Hijack and discusses a few dangerous moments that should have been avoided while shooting key action sequences. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• North Atlantic High Jinks - in this new video interview, actor David Wood remembers how he was offered the opportunity to appear in North Sea Hijack and what it was like to be around and work with its stars. Also, there is a rather peculiar comment about the IRA activity at the time and the bomb scares that the film crew had to overcome. In English, not subtitled. (31 min).

• A Meat and Potatoes Movie - in this new video interview, actor Jeremy Clyde remembers how he was cast to play the character of Tipping, Roger Moore's working methods and presence before the camera, Andrew V. McLaglen's fondness for 'take one', etc. In English, not subtitled. (12 min).

• Booklet - 36-page illustrated booklet featuring critic James Oliver's essay "The Fantastic Mr. ffolkes" and vintage stills and promotional materials.

• Cover - a reversible cover with vintage poster art.

North Sea Hijack Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This release of North Sea Hijack is sourced from the same old master that Kino Lorber worked with to produce their release of the film in the United States. I don't like the master at all because it is problematic even for a DVD release. The 88 Films crew did a lot of work to make their release very attractive -- it has plenty of exclusive new bonus features with people that contributed to the film, plus a wonderful booklet with vintage promotional materials -- but I cannot recommended it because the film simply does not look as it should. (For what it's worth, I actually do not like the film either, but I would have recommended the release to its fans if the technical presentation was solid). Universal should have never licensed this master to the boutique labels.