OSS 117 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

OSS 117 Blu-ray Movie Review

Missed it by *that* much.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 18, 2023

Bath. Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath.

Yeah, that probably doesn't have quite the same ring to it as "Bond, James Bond", but for those who might think that the OSS 117 "franchise" in all of its many forms was a blatant rip off of Ian Fleming's work, here's a little disabusing of that notion: French writer Jean Bruce's first novel featuring French spy Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, AKA OSS 117, actually pre-dates Fleming's premiere tale featuring 007, Casino Royale, by several years! It may beg credulity to think that Fleming didn't know of 117 when he "demoted" the ones to zeroes for his spy, but in a way it kind of doesn't matter who came first with regard to the reboots under discussion, since they're intentionally seemingly ersatz from the get go, trying perhaps fitfully to mimic the plethora of spy spoofs that came out in the wake of Dr. No and the other early-ish Sean Connery classics. In that regard, it's kind of interesting that the first batch of OSS 117 films evidently played it much, much straighter. As with the release timings of Bruce's and Fleming's book versions, the debut OSS 117 film, OSS 117 n'est pas mort, came out in 1957, several years before the first Connery effort hit the big screen. One way or the other, though, the creatives behind these "newer" OSS 117 films decided to make Bath a Get Smart-esque buffoon a la Maxwell Smart, to arguably inconsistent comedic effect.

For reviews of the films in this set, please click on the following links:

OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies Blu-ray review

OSS 117: Lost in Rio Blu-ray review

OSS 117 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Video quality is assessed in the above linked reviews.

OSS 117 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality is assessed in the above linked reviews.

OSS 117 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Supplements on each disc are detailed in the above linked reviews. Additionally this comes packaged in a very handsome DigiPack with key art and stills, but with some of the most insanely "tight" sleeves I've ever encountered, which actually made getting the discs out more than a bit of a challenge.

OSS 117 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies didn't exactly set the box office on fire, but it did well enough to engender OSS 117: Lost in Rio, though both of these earlier Dujardin - Hazanavicius may have ultimately been eclipsed reputation wise by The Artist. A lot of people seem to really like the first film at least, but I personally found both of these to be lacking in the humor department, with Dujardin in particular trying way too hard to deliver laughs, making things seem almost desperate at times. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements enjoyable for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.