Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.5

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 20, 2022

Guy Hamilton's "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins" (1985) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage promotional materials; archival audio commentary recorded by producers Larry Spiegel and Judy Goldstein; archival programs with actor Joel Grey, composer Craig Safan, and production designer Jackson De Govia; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

New York cop Remo Williams (Fred Ward, Tremors, The Right Stuff) is recruited by a secret organization to take down some really bad men with a lot of money and plenty of important friends. Before Remo is sent to 'clean up', however, he is introduced to a kooky Korean master named Chiun (Joel Grey, Cabaret, Buffalo Bill and the Indians), who teaches him how to fight, how to walk on water, and dodge real bullets. The old man also does his best to convince Remo that fast food isn’t good for him.

When Remo eventually acquires the necessary skills to be a professional hit man, he is ordered by the leader of the organization -- played by the always likeable Wilford Brimley -- to expose and eliminate an obnoxious businessman (Charles Cioffi, Klute, Shaft) whose company supplies the U.S. Army with overpriced defective automatic weapons. Remo begins asking questions and hurting people and the businessman quickly realizes that he isn’t just another dim-witted troublemaker. Meanwhile, an overly ambitious army officer (Kate Mulgrew, Star Trek: Voyager) also begins her own investigation after she witnesses a terrible accident during a field training exercise.

Loosely based on "The Destroyer" book series by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy, Guy Hamilton’s Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins is as bad as advertised. It borrows from a number of good films -- most notably Sydney Pollack's 3 Days of the Condor and Alan J. Pakula’s The Parallax View -- but it looks and feels like an awkward James Bond parody whose creators rushed to finish it once they realized that what they had already filmed was simply irreparable.

The first half of the film is dedicated to Remo’s important training. There are a couple of funny sequences where the eccentric Korean master teaches Remo valuable lessons, but the dull one-liners he constantly utters very quickly turn the entire process into a giant farce. Then Remo gets some real world experience, with the Korean master observing him from afar and intervening when necessary, but the fights are so ridiculous that it actually looks like they might have been misplaced or poorly edited.

The second half is equally disappointing. Now Remo is fully committed to the cause and determined to help the leaders of the secret organization accomplish their goals. At one point he also realizes that he truly cares about the Korean master, though he reveals to him that if things don’t go as planned he might have to eliminate him. There is almost a spark between Remo and Major Rayner Fleming as well, but they never really get enough time to do anything else than exchange a few inviting looks. Too bad, really, as Mulgrew really does look fantastic in a uniform.

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins was lensed by Hungarian cinematographer Andrew Laszlo, who is probably best known for his collaborations with director Walter Hill on the cult hits The Warriors (1979), Southern Comfort (1981), and Streets of Fire (1984). Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, however, does not look anywhere near as stylish as Hill’s films.

The film’s soundtrack was created by Craig Safan (TV’s Cheers: Complete Series, TV’s The Twilight Zone, Matthew Robbins’ The Legend of Billie Jean).

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins 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, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by MGM. In case you are wondering, this is the same master the folks at Arrow Video worked with when they produced this Region-B release in 2014. (Just to be perfectly clear, this master was prepared even earlier).

The good news is that there are no traces of problematic digital work, which means that the visuals retain a fairly decent organic appearance. However, this master has quite a few limitations, so when you sit down to view the film you will quickly conclude that it has a dated appearance and should look quite a bit better. For example, there is plenty of footage where the grain is quite loose and becomes noisy, which means that delineation and depth begin to suffer. Usually, the indoor and nighttime footage is where the limitation is most obviously, but even some daylight footage can look a bit shaky. While stable, color balance could be better as well. Saturation levels, in particular, should be more convincing, though in darker areas the blacks are already a tad too strong and cause crushing. Image stability is good. Finally, there are no large blemishes, cuts, debris, stains, warped or torn frames to report. All in all, this is a mostly decent presentation of the film, but the current master definitely shows its age. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

I think that the lossless track is very nice. Unlike the visuals, it actually does not feel dated at all. It could be because there are some pretty decent audio effects that create the illusion that the film is a lot more recent, but I still think that the overall quality of the quality of the audio is very solid. Is there room for any improvements? Perhaps there is room for some cosmetic room that could even out the mid-/upper registers a bit, but in terms of dynamic adjustments at the moment I would have to say no.

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary - producers Larry Spiegel and Judy Goldstein discuss the production history of Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, and specifically how and where key sequences were filmed (apparently, a large portion of the film was shot in Mexico), Guy Hamilton's directing methods and body of work, the editing of the film, its marketing, etc. The audio commentary was recorded exclusively for the Blu-ray release of Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.

• Theatrical Trailer - original Orion Pictures trailer for Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Radio Spot - a vintage U.S. radio spot for Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. In English, not subtitled. (1 min).

• Stills and Promotional Gallery - a collection of archival production and publicity materials for Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. Presented with music. (8 min).

• Created, the Destroyer: Writing Remo Williams - this archival program takes a closer look at "The Destroyer" book series by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy and how some of the original content is used in Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. Included in it are interviews with Devin Murphy, son of Warren Murphy, and film historian/paperbook collector Chris Poggiali. The program was produced by Ballyhoo Motions Pictures in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).

• Unarmed and Dangerous: Producing Remo Williams - in this archival program, producer Larry Spiegel and co-producer Judy Goldstein discuss the conception of Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins and how the project evolved as after Guy Hamilton committed to it and various actors were cast. There are some very interesting comments about the work of cinematographer Andrew Laszlo and its impact on the film's unique stylistic appearance as well as Peter Ward's performance. The program was produced by Ballyhoo Motions Pictures in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (22 min).

• Secrets of Sinanju: Training Remo Williams - in this archival program, actor Joel Grey recalls how he was approached with an offer to play the character of Chiun, as well as what it was like to work with Guy Hamilton and Fred Ward. Also, there are some quite interesting comments about the type of make-up he had to put on each time he stepped in front of the camera as well as the film's lasting appeal. The program was produced by Ballyhoo Motions Pictures in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (9 min).

• Balance of Power: Designing Remo Williams - in this archival program, production designer Jackson De Govia recalls his involvement with Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins and some of the unique challenges he was presented with. The action footage from the statue footage is discussed in great details. The program was produced by Ballyhoo Motions Pictures in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Assassin's Tune: Composing Remo Williams - in this archival program, composer Craig Safan discusses how the original soundtrack for Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins was put together. Apparently, a lot of research was done to get some of the Koren themes in the soundtrack right yet have unique new qualities. The program was produced by Ballyhoo Motions Pictures in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (14 min).

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Apparently, the original intent was to make Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins look a lot like the James Bond films Guy Hamilton directed. Obviously, this ambitious goal wasn't met, which is precisely why Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins did some pretty underwhelming business at the box office. On the home video market the film has performed quite a bit better and nowadays there are plenty of folks that consider it a minor genre classic, but if you view the bonus features on this release you will hear directly from its producers that they wanted it to be a much bigger and better film. I have never been too fond of it precisely because of the many obvious flaws that damage its atmosphere. I like goofy '80s films too, but Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins just does not do anything for me even when I feel nostalgic about the decade. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by MGM, but has a very nice selection of archival bonus features. If you enjoy Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, you should consider picking it up for your library.