Take Me High Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Take Me High Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 17, 2019

David Askey's "Take Me High" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Network Releasing. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; vintage interview with Cliff Richard; promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Reigon-B "locked".

The rivals

When earlier this year British label Network announced its upcoming release of David Askey’s Take Me High I immediately attempted to remember if I had seen it, and the more I did, the more uncertain and even confused I became. I could recall some details from the sequence where Cliff Richard and Deborah Watling’s characters go out on a date with the boat and throw out the lousy hamburgers, but the plot description that was supplied with the press release sounded completely unfamiliar to me. I have now seen the film and I can confirm that I was unaware of the rivalry between Richard’s banker and his competitor from Birmingham, which is a major element of the plot, and this makes me wonder if I had seen the boat footage somewhere else. Could it be that someone did a music program with Richard’s music and this particular footage was used in it, and this is the reason why I am getting confused? I would love to find out because there are other segments that are quite similar, and if such a program exists, I would like to revisit it.

The ambitious merchant banker Tim Mathews (Richard) is convinced that he has secured a dream promotion -- a move to New York City where he will be working with some of his bank’s most prestigious clients. But on the day when he breaks up with his girlfriend because she opposes the move, he is informed by his boss that the deal is off and now the bank needs him to relocate to Birmingham, so he reluctantly rearranges his plans, jumps in his car, and heads in an entirely new direction. Soon after, Tim discovers that the ‘new promotion’ is even lousier because he is expected to compete with old rival Hugo Flaxman (Anthony Andrews), who is also eyeing the same position that he was promised in London. While setting the terms of the competition with Hugo, Tim meets Sarah Jones (Debbie Watling), whose application for a business loan has just been thrown in the garbage can. He takes an interest in Sarah and visits her struggling restaurant to get a clearer idea how she would have invested the money from the loan, and while doing his research work becomes attracted to her. When later on Tim moves in a boat in the heart of the city and it turns out that it is where Sarah was raised, he also becomes convinced that fate has a plan for them.

The film does not even pretend to hide that Richard and his music are the main attraction. As a result, it frequently looks like director Askey shot a large collection of music clips and then together with editor Richard Best arranged them to get the feature film that he was hired to do. Unsurprisingly, the subplot about the new burger restaurant never really introduces any meaningful surprises, it only places Richard and Watling’s characters in situations where the former can actually continue to sing and please his fans.

Considering Richard’s image at the time, however, it is fair to say that this was likely the exact type of entertainment that the overwhelming majority of people that went to see the film expected. So, the film has a big soundtrack with popular tracks that Richard sings at the right time and then the rest is basically casual material where attempts to make his banker look as legit as possible.

Today some older viewers will almost certainly consider the film an interesting trip down memory lane because it visits a few interesting locations from Birmingham that have changed a lot.

*Network’s recent release of Take Me High is sourced from a new 2K remaster that was struck from the original 35mm camera negative. During the restoration process, the film’s original theatrical ratio of 1.75:1 was preserved.

Take Me High Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, David Askey's Take Me High arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Network Releasing.

The release is sourced from a brand new 2K remaster that was apparently struck from the original 35mm camera negative. Overall the film looks healthy, though there are traces of some surface work -- which was likely done to rebalance some areas -- that I think was not needed because it appears that it picked up a bit of grain that should have been retained. (Network's restoration of The Professionals: MkI looks very similar, so I would not be surprised if the same team that did it worked on this project). On the other hand, delineation and depth remain very good; fluidity is also very pleasing. The color grading is convincing, but from time to time there is some light black crush that sneaks in (see example in screencapture #3). Image stability is excellent. All in all, the film could have looked slightly better, but I think that the end result is still very nice. 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).

Take Me High Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. Also, Network have two additional options to view the film with music and vocals as well as with music without vocals.

The lossless track is outstanding. Even during the opening credits it is already obvious that the audio was fully remastered because clarity and stability are as good as they could be. Also, there is a lot of music throughout the film and dynamic balance as well as transitions are terrific.

Take Me High Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - vintage trailer for Take Me High. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Textless Titles - music only (4 min).

• Russell Harty Interview - presented here is an archival video interview with Cliff Richard in which he discusses the critical reception of his work (TV and music), his success, and his involvement with Take Me High. In English, not subtitled. (22 min).

• Image Gallery - a collection of vintage promotional materials for the film.

• PDF Material - music only (4 min).

• Booklet - 10-page booklet with reprinted materials about Take Me High.

Take Me High Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you are not a big fan of Cliff Richard and his music and approach Take Me High expecting a solid period romantic film, I would have to say that more than likely you will end up being disappointed by it. This film was conceived to appeal to a very specific audience, which was actually very big during the '70s (and it remained big in the decades that followed). Cliff and his music are the main attraction in it and everything else is just filler material. I enjoyed it a lot and thought that it was a very attractive time capsule, but I am very rarely disappointed by these types of older films. Network's recent release is sourced from a good new 2K remaster. RECOMMENDED.