Play It Cool Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.5

Play It Cool Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 12, 2020

Michael Winner's "Play It Cool" (1962) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Network Releasing. The supplemental features on the release include an original trailer for the film and large collection of promotional and production materials for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The most surprising thing about Billy Fury is that he was a pretty darn good replica of Elvis Presley. The hairstyle, the body moves, and, yes, even the velvety voice easily could have belonged to The King. With good makeup and better lighting, this guy could have jumped on the stage and fooled all sorts of different folks that he was, in fact, The King.

Singer Billy Universe (Fury) and his band are heading to Brussels to participate in a tiny show that could put them on the radar of scouts looking for future stars. But shortly after the band boards the plane to the Belgian capital, the captain announces that the flight will be delayed a couple of hours due to bad weather on the continent. This proves to be a deal-breaker for the boys because they have to be back in England and working on the following day. A quick decision is made to cancel the entire trip and, with the refunded money for the tickets, have a very special night in London. Billy also convinces the young, beautiful, and wealthy traveler Ann Bryant (Anna Palk) to join the party.

Once in the city, Billy and the boys decide to help Ann find her boyfriend, Larry Granger (Maurice Kaufmann), a top-selling singer, who has recently upset her father (Dennis Price). Shortly after, they begin scouting the city’s best nightclubs and eventually bump into the star, but discover that he has been cheating on Ann with another girl. Billy, who has been struggling to resist Ann’s charm, and his bandmates, then come up with a clever plan to convince the heartbroken girl that she deserves better.

The manner in which Michael Winner’s film Play It Cool balances music, comedy, and action is so impressive that from time to time it actually feels a bit surreal. Remember, this is the same man who made Death Wish and The Mechanic with Charles Bronson, both rightfully considered genre classics, and next to Play It Cool these films look like they have been delivered from another galaxy. Indeed, there isn’t a single quality between them that could hypothetically point to some stylistic evolution in the director’s oeuvre. Simply put, all three films are very good for drastically different reasons.

The back cover of Network’s new release of Play It Cool describes the film as a “charming, pre-Beatles musical feature”, but this is only partially true. Why? Because as the youngsters move from one club to another, some really good but perhaps forgotten performers from the Sixties step in front of the camera and deliver absolutely amazing performances. (Alvin Stardust’s piece, for instance, is pure perfection, though Fury rocking the club with “Twist Kid” and forcing that extremely enthusiastic girl to drop her pants is unquestionably the highlight of the film). So yes, there is plenty of singing and dancing to describe the film as a “musical feature”, but what happens between the musical acts is not just filler material. There is a very good story in progress as well, with lovely character arcs that make it very easy to accept that the wild night in London is entirely organic.

One final thing that absolutely has to be mentioned when Play It Cool is critiqued is the energy of the big crowds in the clubs -- it is off the charts. It is too bad that Network’s release does not have any vintage material revealing how the footage was shot, because it is pretty obvious that the ‘actors’ in the crowds are not acting at all. All over the place, people are just having a ball.

*Play It Cool was scanned in 2K from the original 35mm camera negative and extensively restored in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1.

Play It Cool Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Play It Cool arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Network Releasing.

The release is sourced from an immaculate new 2K master that was struck from the original 35mm camera negative. On my system, this film looks so good that it almost feels like it was shot a few months ago. Yes, there are a few areas with small density fluctuations, but they are introduced by lighting choices and lensing preferences that are part of the original cinematography. The overall depth, delineation, and stability of the visuals are terrific, plus fluidity is rather impressive as well. The new master was also very carefully graded, which is why there is a wonderful range of nuances. A few minor encoding optimizations could have been made so that the film looks even 'tighter', but even on a large screen, everything looks really, really good. There are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, stains, warped or torn frames to report. My score is 4.75/5.00. (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).

Play It Cool 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.

The audio is clean, nicely rounded, and with lovely depth. During the club footage balance is also surprisingly good. I also liked dynamic intensity, which for a film from the early 1960s is about is good as it can possibly be. It was quite a treat to see

Play It Cool Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Play It Cool. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Image Gallery - a very large collection of vintage promotional and production materials for the film.

• Booklet - booklet with vintage promotional and production materials for the film.

Play It Cool Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Right at this moment, I think that Play It Cool is a better film than A Hard Day's Night. Perhaps I won't be as enthusiastic about it a few weeks from now, but last night I saw it for the first time and was floored. It is decisively more organic, oozing incredible energy, and its main man, Billy Fury, was no doubt the real deal. This guy clearly imitated The King, and he did it in a way that actually made him look and sound great. It is an act that is awfully difficult to pull off, folks. Network Releasing's Blu-ray release is sourced from a beautiful, exclusive new 2K restoration. If you decide to add it to your library, keep in mind that it is Region-B "locked". VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.