The Amateur Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

The Amateur 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 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Amateur is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Studios and Disney / Buena Vista with an AVC encoded 1080p 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, but one where the admittedly scenic locations that start showing up once Charlie acquires his "particular set of skills" may not be exploited to their full potential. Still, a lot of the outdoor material features precise detail levels on both manmade and natural objects, and fine detail on practical sets and costumes is typically excellent throughout. 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 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 This standalone 1080 disc features a nicely immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 that I frankly found nearly identical to the Dolby Atmos track included on the 4K UHD release of this film. The glut of outdoor material provides consistent engagement of the side and rear channels for ambient environmental effects, and the big climactic "pool scene" (which won't be described further to avoid spoiler territory) has some really impressive immersive (in more ways than one) 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 English, French and Spanish are available.

The Amateur Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• 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)

Disney / Buena Vista sent their 4K UHD release for purposes of this 1080 review, but it looks like this standalone 1080 release includes a digital copy. It's unclear to me whether this version has a slipcover like the 4K UHD release.

The Amateur 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.