Some Girls Do Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Some Girls Do Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 8, 2020

Ralph Thomas' "Some Girls Do" (1969) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Network Releasing. The supplemental features on the disc include a vintage trailer for the film as well as extensive image galleries with promotional materials. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Rub the Bulldog

Before Blu-ray, Network Releasing did not have an individual DVD release of Ralph Thomas’ film Some Girls Do. If one wanted to see it on DVD, one had to purchase a double pack that also included Thomas’ Deadlier Than the Male, which actually made perfect sense because in both films Richard Johnson plays the same character, British agent Hugh 'Bulldog' Drummond. Some Girls Do was released two years after Deadlier Than the Male, and while the two are not thematically related, they offer the exact same type of entertainment -- a mix of Eurospy action and Swinging Sixties comedy.

When a series of ‘accidents’ slows down the development of a giant supersonic aircraft that the British government has invested in, Drummond is dispatched to figure out what is going on. While digging for information, Drummond bumps into Flicky (Sydne Rome), a hottie who finds spies irresistibly attractive, and together they end up in Morocco to attend a party hosted by someone with important information to share. Soon after, Drummond discovers that Carl Petersen (James Villiers), a brilliant developer, has hatched a plan to sabotage the supersonic aircraft's launch and get rich by extorting the British government. With time running out, Drummond reaches Petersen’s lavish compound in Spain, but immediately becomes a target for the developer’s super sexy female robots.

Two of the three writers who were hired to do the script for Deadlier Than the Male were brought back for Some Girls Do, so it should not be surprising that the quality of the entertainment the latter offers is the same. What makes Some Girls Do a slightly different film is the delivery of this entertainment -- it is significantly faster and sexier, at times unapologetically kitschy, too.

The other small yet unmissable change in Some Girls Do is the transformation of Johnson’s character. In Deadlier Than the Male, Sylva Koscina and Elke Sommer have plenty of star power that raises them to the same level as the agent, which is a development that does have an impact on the quality of the action. In Some Girls Do, Johnson’s only formidable female rival is Daliah Lavi’s seductress. However, after their initial encounter, she quickly surrenders to his charms, and he emerges as the only star. As a result, it feels like the sexy material in which the agent ‘overpowers’ his opponents is of far greater importance to the story than the action.

Cinematographer Ernest Steward’s lensing style promotes a wide range of simple but interesting lighting choices that make Some Girls Do look like a giant bowl of expensive candy. Indeed, there are too many different colors and flavors to appreciate, and while they don’t always look right, eventually the mind concedes that it is not a bad idea to have them lumped together. Even more importantly, it is painfully obvious that for Some Girls Do Thomas and the producers did a lot of hard work to ensure that the female cast is as attractive as possible, so it is not just the colors and flavors that make it difficult for the mind to concentrate on the story. Of course, this is a common trick that virtually all genre films from the ‘60s and ‘70s utilized. In Some Girls Do, the trick is simply not attached to any silly pretending that the ‘distractions’ are essential for the story. For this reason, most of the time, they are the story.

The terrific title song heard in several variations throughout Some Girls Do is sung by Lee Vanderbilt. The original music is composed by Charles Blackwell (Lost Highway).

*In the late ‘60s, cult Spanish director Jess Franco also caught the Eurospy/swinging psychedelica bug. For a similar dose of entertainment, see The Girl from Rio, Two Undercover Angels, and Kiss Me Monster

Some Girls Do Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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

The release is sourced from a 2K master that was struck from a 35mm interpositive. The film looks a tiny bit softer for my taste, but even when projected it still boasts a very nice and solid organic appearance. (It is extremely close to the type of appearance that interpositives usually deliver). In fact, I think that with a few minor encoding optimizations it would have looked quite spectacular. Some rebalancing work has been done to address minor density fluctuations, but I don't think that it was necessary. In darker areas nuances are typically quite well defined, though from time to time trained eyes will recognize that small layers of minuscule details begin to struggle. The color grading is convincing and on my system the entire film looks very, very lush and vibrant. There are no stability issues. Damage marks, debris, cuts, stains, and other similar age-related anomalies have been removed. My score is 4.25/5.00. (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).

Some Girls Do 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, clear, and very, very nicely balanced. The entire opening sequence where Lee Vanderbilt is heard singing Some Girls Do is quite the revelation now because the fullness of the audio with the proper pitch makes a huge difference. (On the DVD release from the box set the PAL encoding alters the pitch). There are no dropouts or digital distortions.

Some Girls Do Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Some Girls Do. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Vintage Promotional Materials -
  
  1. Image Gallery
  2. Behind the Scene Stills
  3. Artists Tests
  4. Portraits

• Leaflet - with promotional material.

Some Girls Do Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In terms of storytelling, Deadlier Than the Male is unquestionably better than Some Girls Do. However, the strength of these films is in their outrageous personalities, and of the two Some Girls Do is definitely the more exotic and attractive one. I like both, and I can't see how anyone who enjoyed the first film could be disappointed by the second. Network Releasing's Blu-ray release is sourced from a very nice 2K master and comes with a small but good selection of vintage promotional materials. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.