The Holcroft Covenant Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The Holcroft Covenant Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 28, 2016

Author Robert Ludlum built a brand name with his literary endeavors, favoring the thriller genre with dense work that adored spy games and their working parts. A few of his novels have been adapted for television and the big screen, most notably “The Bourne Identity” and its numerous sequels, which found a way to translate his special handling of suspense and paranoia for the mass audience. However, before Jason Bourne ruled the box office, there was 1985’s “The Holcroft Covenant,” which doesn’t share the same raw intensity, but keeps up with the Ludlum vision as it explores secretive evil deeds, duplicitous characters, and globetrotting locations. This isn’t the finest hour for director John Frankenheimer (creatively, most of the 1980s didn’t go his way), but the helmer does supply meaty direction that at least tries to turn this tale of banking and identity into a nail-biting viewing experience. It doesn’t quite take overall, but with Michael Caine in the lead role, “The Holcroft Covenant” remains compelling, even when it arranges full-on absurdity.

In the final days of the Third Reich, Nazi officer Heinrich Clausen (Alexander Kerst) elects to create an agreement with two of his fellow officers, deciding to will a 4.5 billion dollar fortune they’ve stolen from the party to their children, with hope the next generation will make amends to the Jewish community. Decades later, Noel Holcroft (Michael Caine) is informed by lawyer Manfredi (Michael Lonsdale) that the time has come to collect the money, handed a life-changing opportunity to do good in the world. Overwhelmed and facing Althene (Lilli Palmer), his disapproving mother, Noel is quickly targeted for surveillance has he’s sent around the world to reunite with other Nazi offspring, including Eric (Mario Adorf) and Johann (Anthony Andrews). Partnered with Johann’s sister, Helden (Victoria Tennant), Noel tries to keep a low profile as assassins and opportunists emerge from the shadows, not sure who he can trust as the road to collection is blocked with men and women looking to kill him.

With Caine around, there’s a guarantee of thespian professionalism that instantly brightens any production he attaches himself to. “The Holcroft Covenant” isn’t a highlight in his endless filmography, but it’s terrific to have him around, generating a plausible sense of confusion as Noel wakes up a bored architect in New York City and goes to bed a potential billionaire with a host of baddies after him, unsure where to turn or who to trust. Caine is alert here, sticking to a performance that highlights Noel’s rising paranoia and unease with the overall situation, generating a necessary level of confusion to help the mystery develop. Behind the scenes turmoil reveals that James Caan was originally set to star in the movie, but walked away a day before shooting began. It’s hard to imagine Caan in the lead role, as Caine is a more efficient and credible performer with this type of character, managing Noel’s escalating levels of fear as he’s targeted from all sides.

“The Holcroft Covenant” opens with a black and white sequence to identify Nazi participation, taking on the look of newsreel footage to set the WWII mood, while the money itself is locked up in an iron case decorated with a Swastika, generating a formidable MacGuffin Frankenheimer isn’t terribly interested in monitoring throughout the tale. More interesting to the helmer is Noel’s journey into international threat, interacting with members of British intelligence and top assassins, absolutely floored by the information fed to him by iffy strangers. The mission is to find the sons of the covenant leaders, taking the architect to London and Geneva, while Berlin provides a special challenge as Noel and Helden try to slip around undetected by mingling with prostitutes, dressing up for the part. Later in the city, a street festival breaks out celebrating the wonders of sex, adding a nice touch of oddity to help ward away banality. Frankenheimer is clearly working to preserve Ludlum’s narrative, but there are numerous supporting characters and disparate motivations to tend to, leaving the helmer to spin plates, trying to work up a sufficient level of excitement. It doesn’t quite work, but “The Holcroft Covenant” is a colorful picture with curious characters, frequently more focused on unsettling, sometimes sinister personalities than an overall movement of plot.

Frankenheimer doesn’t have total control over the storytelling, which wavers from scene to scene, but he tries to make up for the loss in violence, with Noel pursued by assassins, embarking on foot and car chases. He even gets to sample murder during the adventure, challenging his pushover nature. The director gooses the movie with a substantial amount of Dutch angles, while aggressive and simple synth scoring from “Stanislas” works up a sweat to make every moment exciting. There’s a group effort to keep “The Holcroft Covenant” bursting with potential, and there’s a development involving the acquisition of a special list important to the baddies to help revive the feature as it starts to sag. Certain diversions work, and Frankenheimer’s visual manipulations are amusing, but “The Holcroft Covenant” isn’t built for speed, requiring a heavy amount of exposition to piece together, and even that isn’t enough to sell the doomsday mood the picture eventually embraces.

The Holcroft Covenant Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Providing the international chase with a bright, clean viewing experience, the AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation handles the basics with care. Colors enjoy a nice boost of sunlit exteriors, while urban touring brings out neon lighting and street signage. Costuming also retains pleasing hues, and skintones are natural. Detail is steady throughout, offered unique inspection through the director's love for extreme close-ups, which explore pores and aging to satisfaction, and costumes retain fibrous textures. Distances are preserved as well. Delineation is capable, never showing signs of solidification. Source is in good shape, without significant points of damage.

The Holcroft Covenant Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix plays a few tricks with listeners, delivering cheap, thin music that sounds distorted at times, but the rough patches appear to be intended. Dialogue exchanges are clean and clear, handling accents and suspense needs comfortably, never slipping into intelligibility. Sound effects are blunt, but gunfire and assorted violence maintains purpose and punch, never intruding on the rest of the track.

The Holcroft Covenant Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features director John Frankenheimer.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:49, SD) is included.

The Holcroft Covenant Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Holcroft Covenant" plays awkwardly with formula, keeping a mid-movie romance between Noel and Helden an unnecessary detour, while Althene is promoted to a major character as the film unfolds, despite her superfluous presence. Final reveals are provocative and delivered with substantial screentime, but the stinger isn't strong enough to overpower, forcing Frankenheimer to create threat where there isn't any. Limitations are difficult to shake, but "The Holcroft Covenant" is passable entertainment, trying to make a worldwide mess of things as mystery relationships are inspected and near-misses are attempted. When all else fails, there's always Michael Caine, who's special way with mediocre material is always worth a look.