The Chase Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

The Chase Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 6, 2017

Arthur Penn's "The Chase" (1966) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; new video interview with actor James Fox; new video interview with Matthew Penn; original Super 8 version of the film; collection of original production and promotional materials for the film; and more. The release also arrives with a 30-page illustrated booklet featuring Christian Newland's essay "The Chase"; archival interviews with director Arthur Penn; overview of contemporary critical responses; and technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The hunted

It is hard to imagine that director Arthur Penn could have had a better cast for The Chase. There are stars everywhere in his film, and even some of the secondary characters are played by actors that in a few years would be considered amongst Hollywood’s very best. The Chase truly must have been a dream project that became a reality.

The location is a small Texas town where Monday through Friday life has a steady rhythm and just about everyone seems perfectly happy with the way things are. Over the weekends, when most folks drop their masks, the town temporarily changes, but then everyone remembers what it means to behave and things go back to normal. The familiar cycle is permanently disrupted when ‘Bubber’ Reeves (Robert Redford) escapes from prison and the news reaches his old friends and foes. It happens just before the richest man around, the aging banker Val Rogers (E.G. Marshall), welcomes the most important folks in town at his birthday party. Sheriff Calder (Marlon Brando) is amongst the first to find out, and the only one that actually realizes that the fugitive’s return could turn the town upside down. How could it not? His wife, Anna (Jane Fonda), is now spending time with Val’s married son, Jake (James Fox), who happens to be his childhood pal. Bubber would also want to prove that he was framed and that a lot of people knew but remained silent. So in a desperate attempt to save Bubber and preserve the town, Calder decides to track down the fugitive and put him behind bars until the state sends reinforcements and then figures out what to do with him. But his plan quickly falls apart when just a few hours after he leaves the birthday party he is attacked and forced to defend himself rather than look for Bubber.

The Chase is based on the play by the famous playwright Horton Foote (To Kill a Mockingbird), but it was basically a then-contemporary political piece with a carefully scripted but one-sided social commentary. In other words, the actual chase really is a ruse that allows Penn to carve open the small Texas town and then produce a series of generalizations about class and race relationships as well as the vulnerability and flaws of America’s justice system during the 1960s. (The film was completed only a couple of years after the assassination of President Kennedy).

Unfortunately, instead of allowing various important contrasts to emerge naturally, after Bubber heads back home Penn quickly begins degrading the integrity of the key players, allowing only Sheriff Calder to remain the voice of reason. It is all done in such a grotesque fashion that very soon just about all of the locals are basically lumped in three big groups -- racists, cowards, and lunatics who are completely detached from reality. The final twenty or so minutes are so absurd that the footage here actually looks like it could have been extracted from one of those crazy comedies that Frankie Avalon made during the same period. Indeed, it is beyond bizarre that someone actually thought that there was even a whiff of authenticity in it.

Despite the hugely impressive cast only Brando appears to be in top form here, though that familiar mumbling quickly becomes tiresome.

Penn worked with cinematographer Joseph LaShelle, who early in his career had won an Oscar Award for his contribution to Otto Preminger’s classic noir thriller Laura.

The Chase Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Arthur Penn's The Chase arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

The release is sourced from a top-notch 4K master that was prepared by Sony Pictures in the United States. I like everything about the technical presentation -- detail and clarity are fantastic, depth and fluidity are hugely impressive, and the color palette is wonderfully balanced. It is possible that during a few of the nighttime sequences some very light crush sneaks in, but I think that the end result is still enormously convincing. Image stability is excellent. It is also very easy to tell that when the film was restored extensive cleanup work was performed to make sure that all traces of age-related imperfections are removed as best as possible. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

The Chase 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. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The audio was obvious remixed during the restoration because clarity, depth, and stability are outstanding. Overall balance is also very good. As it is usually the case with older films from the period dynamic intensity could be limited -- or at least when compared to that of modern blockbusters -- but such was the original film's sound design.

The Chase Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

NOTE: All of the supplemental features on this Blu-ray release are perfectly playable on North American Blu-ray players, including the PS3.

• Trailer - original trailer for The Chase. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Image Gallery - a collection of original production and promotional materials for The Chase.

• Isolated Score - presented as LPCM 2.0.

• Super 8 Version - an original Super 8 version of The Chase. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (20 min).

• Audio Commentary - audio commentary with Lem Dobbs, Julie Kirgo, and Nick Redman.

• Step Back and Let Him Go: Arthur Penn on Marlon Brando and The Chase - in this archival interview, Arthur Penn recalls how producer Sam Spiegel (Lawrence of Arabia, The Bridge on the River Kwai) was able to convince Marlo Brando to play Sheriff Calder in The Chase while the screenplay was still being worked on by Lillian Hellman, and discusses the iconic actor's performance as well as the film's themes and atmosphere. The interview was conducted by Paul Joyce for his 1996 documentary Marlon Brando: The Wild One. In English, not subtitled. (27 min).

• Matthew Penn on The Chase - in this brand new video interview, Matthew Penn, son of director Arthur Penn, discusses the production history of The Chase. The interview was conducted exclusively for Indicator/Powerhouse Films. In English, not subtitled. (9 min).

• Cut to The Chase: James Fox in Conversation with Richard Ayoade - in this brand new video interview, British actor James Fox recalls how he was cast to play the Texan 'Jake Rogers in The Chase and discusses Marlon Brando's performance, Arthur Penn's directing methods, the film's atmosphere, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Indicator/Powerhouse Films. In English, not subtitled. (24 min).

• Booklet - 30-page illustrated booklet featuring Christian Newland's essay "The Chase"; archival interviews with director Arthur Penn; overview of contemporary critical responses; and technical credits.

The Chase Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There doesn't appear to be a middle ground for Arthur Penn's The Chase as the film is essentially viewed either as a major flop or a minor classic. As it is often the case with such polarizing films, however, the truth is somewhere in the middle, though I also tend to lean towards categorizing it as a fascinating failure. Indeed, at least on paper the film has a brilliant cast, but it produces a wild range of very awkward generalizations of the type that nowadays can basically collapse someone's public image and career. What completely destroys the film's credibility, however, is the fact that it demands to be taken seriously, while at one point it essentially becomes as unhinged as some of the wild comedies that Frankie Avalon appeared in during the same era. The whole thing just looks every bit as ridiculous as the motley crew of actors with their fake accents that are trying to pass for genuine Texans. If you happen to like The Chase you will be pleased to know that Indicator/Powerhouse Films' Blu-ray release is sourced from an outstanding 4K restoration that was completed by Sony Pictures in the United States. As usual, the Blu-ray release is Region-Free. RENT IT.