Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Play It Again, Sam Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 17, 2025

Herbert Ross' "Play It Again, Sam" (1972) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films. The supplemental features on the release include the two-part film "Woody Allen: A Documentary"; deleted material; and exclusive new audio commentary by critic Martyn Conterio. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The creep

If you combine Woody Allen’s film critic from Play It Again, Sam and Albert Brooks’ film editor from Modern Romance, you will get a perfect replica of the most dangerous version of the male creep. Both characters are very funny, occasionally charming, and with unstable levels of testosterone. Both are very intelligent and operate with an impressive arsenal of words, easily creating an impression that they are harmless. Both spend a lot of time reciting monologues that capture the essence of their misery. Both are classic psychopaths who use romance as a façade to hide the fact that they are also sexual predators.

Allen’s critic, Allan, is the more brittle and unhinged of the two. After his wife (Susan Anspach) dumps him, he allows Humphrey Bogart (Jerry Lacy) to step out of Casablanca and step into his world to teach him how to talk to women and get them in bed. His excuse is that he is past his prime and has become rusty, but the real reason is that he can no longer suppress the dangerous urges that always force sexual predators out of their protective shells. This is why he begins going on doomed blind dates with single women who are way out of his league – being in their orbit, even for a very short period of time before the inevitable rejection, is a stimulating sensation that he cannot resist.

The blind dates are arranged by Allan’s best (and only) friends, Dick (Tony Roberts) and his wife Linda (Diane Keaton), who genuinely believe he is just another poor chap mistreated by Lady Luck. When they ask him to reveal his perfect partner, he jokingly describes his trigger: “Little blondes with long hair and short skirts and boots, and big chest… bright and witty and perceptive.” Allan then adds another crucial detail. They must have a big behind because he likes to sink his teeth into “it”. It is a fetish but an important one. However, probably not as important as the other one that transforms his perfect partner into a sexual object before he begins slapping her.

While Dick and Linda work hard to arrange the perfect blind date, Bogart does his part to help Allan too. Bogart builds his confidence, and later, after Allan gets rejected and called a creep, even begins teaching him how to talk and move from first to third base. It is all about confidence and properly managed aggression. At the right time, with Bogart right next to him, Allan then makes a move on Linda.

The final twenty minutes of Play It Again, Sam present the sexual predator’s ideal escape scenario. His target reveals that she has enjoyed her experience with him and now has feelings for him, too. But she cannot be with him because what they have shared together has helped her realize how much she is in love with his competitor, who happens to be her husband. Oh, what a shame.

Herbert Ross is the director of Play It Again, Sam, but it is not difficult to conclude that Allen was calling all the shots. His monologues and emotional ups and downs effectively manage the mood(s) and tempo of Play It Again, Sam. The locations, lighting and editing choices, and the music are just secondary details and ornamentation. It is why viewing Play It Again, Sam all these years later is an odd experience. It is a funny film, but given all the real drama Allen has endured since the 1990s, it feels like it goes places that should have been ignored.

Play It Again, Sam Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Play It Again, Sam arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films.

The release introduces an exclusive new 4K makeover, recently prepared at Paramount Pictures. The overall quality of the visuals ranges from good to very good, occasionally even excellent. Indeed, delineation, clarity, and depth are consistently pleasing, while grain exposure is very healthy and stable. In darker areas, finer nuances and shadow details are quite nice, too. Color balance is convincing. There is only one short segment where blue suddenly shifts to light teal, but the rest of the film produces terrific, natural and very nicely balanced primaries and supporting nuances. I think that saturation levels are very good, too. There are no image stability issues. I felt that in a couple of areas small encoding optimizations could have been introduced, but I don't think that there are any serious anomalies. I did not see any large and distracting age-related imperfections, such as cuts, marks, debris, stains, etc. (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).

Play It Again, Sam Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

All exchanges are clear and easy to follow. There are no stability issues, but in some areas slight thinning is easy to notice. Also, while Billy Goldenberg's music adds to the atmosphere of the film, it does not create any memorable dynamic contrasts. So, even though the lossless track is unimpressive, I think that it perfectly reproduces the native qualities of the original soundtrack.

Play It Again, Sam Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Woody Allen: A Documentary - Robert B. Weide's film takes a closer look at Woody Allen's creative and working methods, as well as some of his most successful work. Included in it are clips from interviews with Allen, Martin Scorsese, Mira Sorvino, Richard Schickel, and Diane Keaton, among others. Presented in two parts. In English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Part One. (110 min).
  2. Part Two. (89 min).

• Bonus Documentary Extras - in English, not subtitled.
  
  1. The New Yorrker. (2 min).
  2. Woody Allen in Idaho. (7 min).
  3. 12 Questions. (6 min).
  4. Nettie. (1 min).
  5. Back to Brooklyn. (4 min).
  6. Director Interview (7 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Martyn Conterio.

Play It Again, Sam Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is not easy to be funny, annoying, needy, and creepy at the same time before a rolling film camera and never create the impression that you are pretending to be something you are not. Woody Allen is all of these things while playing a bachelor film critic whose flexibility looks and feels very authentic, and this is the main reason to see Play It Again, Sam. Some of the funny in this film is very, very awkward, and to be honest, it makes me feel rather uncomfortable, but I sort of admire the fact that it tackles risky material nowadays no one would dare touch. Imprint's release is sourced from a good new 4K master, prepared by Paramount Pictures. RECOMMENDED.