The Anderson Tapes Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The Anderson Tapes Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 5, 2017

Sidney Lumet's "The Anderson Tapes" (1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; promotional materials; audio commentary by critic Glenn Kenny; and edited version of the film. The release also arrives with a 24-page illustrated booklet featuring new and archival writings on the film as well as technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

"I haven't been laid in over ten years.'

Sidney Lumet’s film The Anderson Tapes tells two different stories and one of them remains incredibly relevant today. Most people that have seen it, however, seem to be under the impression that it is a nice yet dated and fairly straightforward caper film.

The first story is about the charismatic thief Duke Anderson (Sean Connery) who decides to rob a big luxury building in the heart of Manhattan. His ambitious plan takes shape soon after he visits his former girlfriend, a classy hooker named Ingrid (Dyan Cannon), who lives in the building and has been in a relationship with some shady character with deep pockets. Duke figures that if the rest of the tenants are as wealthy as Ingrid’s lover, then there will be enough to steal from them that will allow him to comfortably retire somewhere warm and sunny. So he quickly hires a team of trusted pros that will help him get the job done.

The second story emerges gradually, as Duke reaches out to a local mafia boss (Alan King) with a request to help him fund the operation and then begins working with his team on the details. Between the meetings and the preparations some agents are seen wiretapping cars and apartments and then collecting information that is redirected to shadow figures representing unknown government agencies. By the time Duke and his team enter the building and go to work, there is already a full-blown second operation on display whose targets are many of the same people that are being robbed.

So what exactly is going on in this film?

It delivers the same warning that Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation will offer a couple of years later. It is that Big Brother is everywhere and is listening -- you don’t know it only because you can’t see it, but even if you could see it, you probably would not believe that it is him. The main difference between the two films is that Lumet’s film only identifies his presence and walks away, while Coppola’s film becomes obsessed with his working methods and eventually ends up questioning his morality.

There is plenty of light humor in the film so anyone expecting the actual robbery to be as intense or meticulously staged as those seen in genre classics such as Peter Yates’ Robbery or Jules Dassin’s Rififi will almost certainly be disappointed. In terms of tone and style Lumet’s film is a lot closer to Bruce Geller’s Harry in Your Pocket and possibly Daryl Duke’s The Silent Partner.

The supporting cast includes several excellent actors, such as Ralph Meeker, Martin Balsam, a very young Christopher Walken, and the criminally underrated Stan Gottlieb.

The Anderson Tapes 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, Sidney Lumet's The Anderson Tapes arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhosue Films.

The release is sourced from an older master and I assume that it is the same Sony master that U.S. label Mill Creek Entertainment accessed when it prepared this release of The Anderson Tapes in 2013. It is fairly decent, but there various limitations on display that are typically eliminated on recent masters that are struck from new scans. For example, a lot of the darker/indoor footage reveals obvious light crushing; grain also appears quite loose and in some cases creates anomalies that noise is typically responsible for. There is a decent range of primary colors, but some nuances are missing. Balance and saturation should be more convincing as well. There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. Image stability is good, though there is some room for minor stabilization improvements. There are no distracting cuts, debris, damage marks, stains, or torn frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your location).

The Anderson Tapes Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Sony must have done some remastering work when the master was completed because clarity and balance are very good. Also, the unique sound effects that can be heard throughout the film are very sharp and clean. The dialog is stable and easy to follow, and there are absolutely no distracting age-related imperfections.

The Anderson Tapes Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for The Anderson Tapes. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Super 8 Version - original Super 8 version of The Anderson Tapes. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (17 min).

• Image Gallery - a collection with original promotional materials for the film.

• Audio Commentary - in this new audio commentary, critic Glenn Kenny discusses in detail the narrative structure of The Anderson Tapes, some of the more interesting characterizations and plot details, and Sidney Lumet work, the careers of some cast members, etc.

• Booklet - 24-page illustrated booklet featuring Thirza Wakefield's essay "The Anderson Tapes"; an archival review of the film; Sidney Lumet on The Anderson Tapes; The Anderson Tapes: The Source Novel.

The Anderson Tapes Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I am really glad that Indicator/Powerhouse Films decided to produce an individual release of Sidney Lumet's The Anderson Tapes because in the U.S. the film is available only on a rather underwhelming double-feature release from Mill Creek Entertainment. I think that it is actually quite a bit better than the book by Lawrence Sanders that inspired it but it has also remained in the shadow of Lumet's bigger and more successful films. The film can look better in high-definition, but this will likely be the best presentation of it on the home video market. RECOMMENDED.