The Amateur 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

The Amateur 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 5, 2025

Charles Jarrott had an interesting if only fitfully notable directing career, beginning with, as tended to be the case with filmmakers of his generation, a number of (British) television directing credits, including an episode of The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre which may (the historical record is a bit unclear) then have been released (probably as a second offering on a double feature) for theatrical exhibition in 1962 under the title Time to Remember. Jarrott's "official" feature film directing debut was the staid and stolid 1969-70 historical epic Anne of the Thousand Days, a film which was feted with an unexpected ten Academy Award nominations, the most for any single film that year (including one for Jarrott himself), under what were somewhat controversial conditions where it was implied Academy voters may have been "bribed" with luxe banquets at screenings in order to secure ticks on ballots. That film was met with a decidedly mixed critical response, but ended up being (unsurprisingly) quite popular in the United Kingdom, if less so elsewhere. Jarrott followed up that film with the probably too similar Mary, Queen of Scots, which like its predecessor was met with some withering critical assessments but which itself managed to wrest five Oscar nominations. What really put Jarrott on the "map", though probably ironically for the wrong reasons, was his next film, Lost Horizon, the infamous 1972 musical version which flopped horribly, led to the "divorce" of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and has entered the all time pantheon of camp "classics" (my Lost Horizon Blu-ray review offers a hopefully loving resassessment). That film pretty much put the kibosh on Jarrott's Hollywood "dreams", whatever they may have been, leading to sporadic and lesser remembered efforts, with his 1977 adaptation of the bestselling novel The Other Side of Midnight entering the annals of film history due to its somewhat comical data point of having been the film 20th Century Fox utilized to guarantee showings for a little production called Star Wars, which at the time was feared to be an imminent flop of, well, stellar proportions. Jarrott nonetheless kind of continued to limp along, which brings us finally to one of (perhaps surprisingly, considering his intermittent filmography) two films Jarrott directed in 1981, the little remember Disney production Condorman (still missing on Blu-ray, probably unsurprisingly) and the first film version of The Amateur.

What's salient about the foregoing "history lesson" are what might be termed two prime examples of the vagaries of the film industry. The first would be the overall arc of Jarrott's career itself, in that Jarrott's The Amateur was rather well received at the time of its release, though the fact that it matched Anne of the Thousand Days' ten Oscar nominations with ten Genie (the Canadian equivalent of the Academy Awards) nominations evidently didn't translate into actual box office receipts. The second would be what it was about this now little remembered effort that might have inspired someone to consider a remake. The first film didn't have outrageous star power, with Christopher Plummer (in the role more or less filled by Laurence Fishburne in this version) arguably the biggest star, though in that regard (and again salient in terms of the wackiness of how films get made) a reboot was evidently announced decades ago with Hugh Jackman attached. Rami Malek ultimately assumed not just a starring role, playing focal character CIA intelligence analyst Charlie Heller (essayed by The Deer Hunter's John Savage in the original), but also an executive producer credit.

The fact that Heller was portrayed first by Savage and now by Malek may hint at certain "troubled" underpinnings of the character, though what even a supplement describes as Malek's "quirkiness" as an actor may tend to make Heller's acquisition of a "particular set of skills" to avenge the murder of his wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan) less the result of some psychological trauma in this version than in Savage's portrayal. That said, the two films take radically different paths in their narratives, and not having ever read the original source novel, I can't state authoritatively which if either follows that plot the best, though it should be noted the first film was co-written by source novelist Robert Littell. Suffice it to say this film's big budget offers a variety of global locations and at least one spectacular set piece involving an unusual kill (almost literally) engineered by Heller. The "kill list" vignette driven approach of the film probably unavoidably makes it seem like a genre retread on top of it already being a remake.

Note: Brian Orndorf was similarly unenthused about The Amateur when he reviewed it during its theatrical run. You can read Brian's thoughts here.

The Amateur 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc in this package.

The Amateur is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of 20th Century Studios and Disney / Buena Vista with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.39:1. Captured with Arri Alexa Minis and finished at 4K (both data points courtesy of the IMDb), this is a great looking presentation, though one that may lack a bit of "wow" factor when considered within the context of globe trotting hitman films. That results in a presentation that is almost always nicely sharp and well detailed, with some subtle but noticeable improvements in fine detail when stacked up against the 1080 presentation, but one where the HDR / Dolby Vision grades may end up helping more with shadow detail than in adding any significant luster to the palette. I will say that two relatively late scenes, an orange-red drenched club scene followed by an almost cobalt blue drenched scene with Malek and Fishburne, did provide some noticeable new highlights in this 4K version. And to be perfectly fair, while not mind blowing in any way, both the cool blues and almost sepia browns that tend to ping pong throughout the film have enjoyable pop throughout this version, even if they're not significantly different from their 1080 iterations. The best overall looking sequences in both detail and palette for my money were the scenes in Marseilles. I noticed no compression issues at all.

The Amateur 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This ostensible 20th Century Studios outing is following Disney's model by providing different audio codecs and subtitle options for the 1080 and 4K UHD discs included in this package (the specs above are for the 4K disc, see the 1080 review for the specs on that disc). This disc offers a nicely rendered Dolby Atmos track that to my ears only had a couple of standout moments that were materially different from the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track included on the 1080 disc. Chief among these is probably the big "pool scene", which won't be described in any more detail to avoid potential spoiler territory, but which ends with a (sorry for the pun) wash of sound that is almost overwhelming and which provides at least a bit more spaciousness than the excellent 7.1 version on the 1080 disc. The glut of outdoor material provides consistent engagement of the side and rear channels for ambient environmental effects. I didn't find Volker Bertelmann's score especially innovative, but it sounds fine and also resides quite comfortably in the surround channels. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional subtitles in a variety of languages are available.

The Amateur 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: The 4K UHD disc in this set has no bonus content. The 1080 disc in this package contains the following supplements:

• The Team (HD; 9:51) is the first of several kind of generick EPKs, this one focusing on various cast and crew members.


• The World (HD; 6:48) looks at the globe trotting aspects of the film. Unlike the recently reviewed Shadow Force, which I joking referred to as the "flip side" to this film, there was actual globe trotting involved with the shoot.


• The Pool (HD; 6:13) has some interesting backstage glimpses of how the big climactic set piece was achieved.


• The Score (HD; 6:01) features a look at some of the scoring sessions.


• Deleted Scenes (HD; 4:50)

A digital copy is included, and packaging features a slipcover.

The Amateur 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

When a supplement makes a big deal about how this film is innovative because it shows Charlie flinching when walking away from an explosion in the background (unlike, say, the stalwart gents in any of The Expendables films), that should probably be a major clue as to where the expectations bar should be set, at least in terms of "innovation". The Amateur starts out fairly strongly, then winds through a series of often listless detours interrupted by kill scenes in scenic locations. Technical merits are solid and the generic supplements enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.