6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
During a scuba diving in Corsica, an American agent disappears. The Secret Service sends Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath to investigate and report.
Starring: Kerwin Mathews, Nadia Sanders, Irina Demick, Henri-Jacques Huet, Jacques HardenForeign | 100% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Kino Lorber's OSS 117: Five Film Collection release.
Someone thought it would be a good idea to reinvent Jean Bruce's iconic spy OSS 117 as a blundering oaf, with the result being what I
personally found to be the surprisingly unfunny
OSS
117: Cairo, Nest of Spies and OSS 117: Lost in
Rio. As I mentioned in my OSS 117 Blu-ray
review,
while anyone who sees a spy with two repeated digits and then a seven in their codename might naturally instantly think of, um, someone else, Bruce's creation actually predates Ian Fleming's work both in
the
book arena and the film world. Perhaps for licensing issues, the very first OSS 117 film, 1957's
OSS 117 n'est pas mort, is not included here (and just as weirdly, it's not even in
our
database, which is why I linked to its IMDb listing). That particular outing featured Ivan Desny as Bruce's perhaps unfortunately named spy
(officially
Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath), but starting with 1963's OSS 117 se déchaîne, Kerwin Mathews took over the role for two films, followed
by
lookalike Frederick Stafford for the next two, and then by stalwart John Gavin for the final film in this collection, 1968's Pas de roses pour OSS
117. (Kind of interestingly in the trivia department, both Stafford and Gavin seem to be relatively "forgotten" Hitchcock actors.)
OSS 117 Is Unleashed is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. (This film and OSS 117: Panic in Bangkok are paired on one disc.) The sole black and white entry in the Kino Lorber OSS 117 collection looks rather nice in high definition, though aspects like a lot of pretty low grade stock footage in the opening moments and some later occasional murkiness in a number of underwater sequences may lessen the overall appeal. Detail levels are typically quite good, and actually excellent in some close-ups (see screenshot 8 for one example). Contrast is mostly solid, arguably faltering just a bit in those aforementioned underwater moments and a few other dimly lit interior scenes. Grain can be rather heavy at times, but encounters no real resolution issues. My score is 3.75.
OSS 117 Is Unleashed features a fine sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track. There's no bombastic John Barry music, and in fact the score is kind of jazz combo-esque a lot of the time, but everything boasts decent fidelity if not huge dynamic range. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. It appeared to me that Mathews is probably dubbed, though to my somewhat French attuned eyes, it kind of looks like he actually was speaking French on set, at least at times, judging by his lip movements. Perhaps his accent wasn't all that it should have been, but there is definitely some loose sync with regard to his dialogue in particular. All of that said, dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
The only supplements included in this collection are some trailers found on OSS 117: Double Agent. See that review for details.
If one agrees with my assessment above that the success of Dr. No may have helped spark a new interest in OSS 117, it's maybe just a little odd that this film was shot in black and white and doesn't offer the same whiz bang gadgetry that tends to make so many of the Connery Bond outings in particular so enjoyable. Taken on its own merits, though, this provides some fun plotting and the scenery is often quite sumptuous. Technical merits are generally solid, and OSS 117 Is Unleashed comes Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Banco à Bangkok pour OSS 117 / Shadow of Evil
1964
Furia à Bahia pour OSS 117
1965
Goliathon / Xing xing wang
1977
Shen jian zhen jiang hu / San kim jan kong woo / 神劍震江湖
1967
Bai yu lao hu / 白玉老虎
1977
Huang jiang nu xia / Fong kong lui hap / 荒江女俠
1970
Palace Carnage / Can ku da ci sha / Qing gong da ci sha / 清宮大刺殺
1978
龍拳秘功
1988
2017
5 Masters of Death
1974
Nan Shao Lin yu bei Shao Lin / 南少林與北少林
1978
帰って来た女必殺拳
1975
女必殺五段拳
1976
女必殺拳 危機一発
1974
The Fall of Ako Castle / Akô-jô danzetsu / 赤穂城断絶
1978
Duo qing jian ke wu qing jian / 多情劍客無情劍
1977
E ke / 惡客
1972
She diao ying xiong zhuan di san ji / Se diu ying hung juen dai sam jaap / 射鵰英雄傳第三集
1981
She diao ying xiong zhuan xu ji / Se diu ying hung juen chuk chap / 射鵰英雄傳續集
1978
Da ci ke / 大刺客
1967