Save the Tiger Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Save the Tiger Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 14, 2025

John G. Avildsen's "Save the Tiger" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include archival audio commentary by John G. Avildsen and producer/writer Steve Shagan; new audio commentary by author and critic Dwayne Epstein; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Note: The text below was first used in our review of Australian label Imprint Films' release of Save the Tiger in 2022.

Bo Hopkins, one of the great American character actors of the last century, passed away earlier this year at the age of 84. Hopkins did not always play what you might consider ‘big’ parts, but his contributions were always invaluable. There are entire ranges of classic genre films from the 1970s, 1980s, and even the 1990s that would not be what they are without Hopkins. The Getaway, The Wild Bunch, White Lightning, Midnight Express, and American Graffiti are just a few of these films. Hopkins also appeared in various made-for-TV films and shows, some really good, like Doc Elliot, that have not been seen in a long time.

You are probably wondering already why I mention Hopkins in an article about John G. Alvidsen’s Save the Tiger. Hopkins did not have a part in it, big or small. I am going to tell you now.

A couple of years ago, Scorpion Releasing produced a lovely release of Jack Starrett’s A Small Town in Texas, a very fine piece of low-budget Americana, and included an excellent exclusive interview with Hopkins. In this interview, Hopkins recalls how he was offered to do the character he plays in A Small Town in Texas, a corrupt sheriff who attempts to destroy an ex-convict after he returns home to reunite with his former girlfriend and child and then move with them to California, and at the end of it describes how American cinema changed over the years. It is one of the most candid and accurate descriptions that an American actor has delivered in a long time. Hopkins states that writers and directors moved away from creating unique characters, which used to make American films special, and focused on visual excess (explosions, computer-generated gimmicks, etc.). At the end of the interview, Hopkins then politely declares what has been crystal clear for a long time: that Hollywood has not been making good films in decades.

While revisiting Alvidsen’s Save the Tiger, my mind kept finding excellent reasons to wholeheartedly agree with Hopkins and repeatedly point out the obvious, which was that this type of film would not even be considered in contemporary Hollywood. Why? Because of its striking simplicity and masterful understanding of character building, and more importantly, because its ultimate goal is to intimately connect with you and make you ponder your chosen path in life, regardless of your age. In other words, Save the Tiger does not want to control your mind; it encourages you to use it and formulate your own conclusions about a wide range of things.

In Save the Tiger, Jack Lemmon plays Harry Stoner, an aging and unsuccessful businessman running a small clothing company with his partner and friend Phil Greene (Jack Gilford). The company is in Los Angeles, but its best clients come from all corners of America. One of them is a wealthy reseller from the Midwest who has stayed with Harry and Phil because each time he visits their office to close a deal, he is entertained by a call girl with years of experience. Harry has been arranging his treats for years and paying for them, too.

But Harry and Phil have finally run out of credit, and if they do not figure out how to meet their financial obligations, they will lose their company. They have been overcooking the books, too, so if an IRS agent even glances at them, they would land in jail. Broke and jailed. Every businessman’s worst nightmare. Only for Harry and Phil, this is a very, very real scenario. To avoid the dreaded scenario, Harry convinces Phil to let him speak to professional arsonist Charlie Robbins (Thayer David), who could ensure that they collect a big fat check from their insurance by destroying their company the right way.

The above description makes it sound like Save the Tiger is about a couple of old crooks who have spent the best years of their lives cheating and reached their day of reckoning. But this is not what Save the Tiger is about. It is about the emotional weight of aging and accepting that, in the process, the joys of life gradually diminish. So, there is certainly more than a whiff of cynicism in it, though not of the kind that makes it depressing.

The grand revelation that emerges from Save the Tiger is that life is unfair in a lot of different ways, so trying to predict and avoid them is practically impossible. Virtually all of its drama is seen through the eyes of Lemmon’s character, who is gradually coming to the realization that, despite his best efforts, he is evolving into a failed businessman and husband. However, deep inside, he does not mind because he is too tired of everything that is required of him to preserve both -- the book cooking, the shady favors, the pressure of keeping the company’s employees working, the pretending that he is still madly in love with his wife. This ongoing balancing act has drained all of his energy and made it impossible for him to enjoy life. He is fully aware that he is running out of time, too. He has another decade left, two at the very best, before it all ends for him.

While unique and interesting, the main characterizations are not flawless, but strangely, it is why Save the Tiger resonated with me. I thought that there was something very authentic in Lemmon’s awkwardness during and after his encounter with the hippie girl (Laurie Heineman). She unintentionally unplugs his mental cord and exposes him as an old and insecure man, a failed dreamer who was too fixated on being successful while wasting his life. The people around Lemmon are deeply flawed human beings, too, driven by their survival instincts, and while pretending to be free to choose, living cycles of various compromises.

Save the Tiger 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, Save the Tiger arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

In 2022, we reviewed this Australian release of Save the Tiger, which was sourced from an older but very nice organic master supplied by Paramount. This upcoming release introduces a new 4K restoration of Save the Tiger, which was completed at Paramount.

The film looks very healthy now. In most areas, delineation and clarity are superior, too, so on a large screen, some visuals look sharper and more attractive. However, the previous presentation still looks very good, and there are some trade-offs that I think should have been avoided. For example, various darker areas with subtle nuances tend to reveal more detail on the previous presentation. I don't think that the difference is substantial, but trained eyes will recognize that these darker areas can look better on the new presentation. Additionally, color balance is convincing, but in random places, some skin tones and select nuances are better on the previous presentation. Interestingly, in other areas, the new presentation strengthens select primaries that I thought looked a tad dated on the previous presentation. To be honest, I cannot see how anyone might be disappointed with these discrepancies because they are quite small and the overall color temperature of the visuals remains very convincing. (You can get a good idea what these discrepancies tend to look like if you compare this screencapture and this screencapture from the previous presentation. Pay attention to the stairs). Image stability is excellent. In some areas, small encoding optimizations could have been made, but I did not encounter any serious anomalies while revisiting the film. (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).

Save the Tiger 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 did not encounter any anomalies to report in our review. I pulled the Australian release of Save the Tiger that I have in my library and tested several areas. I could not hear any meaningful discrepancies to mention in our review. Dynamic intensity is not going to impress folks who enjoy diverse and very active contemporary soundtracks, but this is hardly surprising.

Save the Tiger Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary One - in this archival audio commentary, director John G. Avildsen and producer/writer Steve Shagan go down memory lane and discuss a wide range of topics addressing the production of Save the Tiger, from the casting of Jack Lemmon (whom Avildsen describes as a "peach") to the locations in Southern California that are seen in the film to the intricate balance of dark comedy/cynicism and drama that defines its personality. Also, the two commentators share plenty of interesting anecdotes about Lemmon and some then-popular practices in the film industry.

• Commentary Two - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by author and critic Dwayne Epstein.

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for Save the Tiger. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

Save the Tiger Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In 1974, Save the Tiger earned three Oscar nominations, but only Jack Lemmon won the once prestigious statuette. Lemmon beat Marlon Brando (Last Tango in Paris), Al Pacino (Serpico), Robert Redford (The Sting), and Jack Nicholson (The Last Detail). I think that Lemmon's character is unique and quite interesting to deconstruct, but in my opinion, his competitors were better. Brando and Pacino, in particular, played classic characters that are still vividly remembered for a number of very good reasons. To be honest, I think that the other four films are unquestionably superior to Save the Tiger as well. Kino Lorber's upcoming release introduces a good new 4K restoration of Save the Tiger, prepared at Paramount. RECOMMENDED.