The Hot Touch Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The Hot Touch Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 11, 2017

Roger Vadim's "The Hot Touch" (1981) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Code Red. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive new video interview with executive producer Robert Kline and a collection of original trailers. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The specialist

They have been working together for years and have never made a wrong move. Danny (Wayne Rogers) does all of the important research work and then paints the copy, while Vincent (Patrick Macnee) meets their clients and finalizes all financial transactions. The business has been good and in recent years there have been even more collectors willing to invest in ‘genuine’ works of art.

During a highly publicized auction the very wealthy owner (Samantha Eggar) of a famous gallery accidentally discovers that Danny and Vincent have sold a fake painting to a foreign client and sends her private executioner, Severo (Lloyd Boucner), to deliver a business proposition: If Danny agrees to forge two legendary paintings that disappeared without a trace during WWII for her, they can all make a bundle and retire from the business. If Danny and his partner refuse to cooperate, they will be forced out of the business because ‘someone’ will tip the authorities about their shenanigans.

Danny agrees to do the job shortly after he meets the very elegant Dr. Simpson (Marie-France Pisier) in Montreal and the two spend the night together. Feeling stuck in a hugely disappointing marriage, Dr. Simpson then begins to realize that she feels a lot happier when she is around Danny, though she does not really know much about him or his line of work.

Roger Vadim’s The Hot Touch was shot entirely on location in North America -- in New York City and Montreal as demanded by its producers -- but has the identity of a European film. Though quite elaborate, the crime element in its plot really is only a pretext that allows Vadim to develop the romantic relationship between Rogers’ forger and Pisier’s frustrated doctor. (There are some minor differences but essentially the same concept is used in Jacques Demy’s Bay of Angels, Barbet Schroeder’s Cheaters, and Claude Chabrol’s The Swindle). So while following a familiar path and evolving as a crime thriller, the The Hot Touch places much greater emphasis on the romance between its stars and gives them plenty of opportunities to find happiness as if they are in a proper romantic film.

There is style and elegance here that are very typical for Vadim’s work, and whether this is a good or bad thing will depend entirely on one’s tolerance of his artistic vision, which largely perceives old-fashioned beauty as its foundation. Rather predictably, there are plenty of panoramic takes that openly emphasize cinematic beauty and ‘casual’ sequences where the lovers are captured in a very specific manner for a similar complementary effect. Some of this material does look as if it was taken from an unusually long commercial, but it is undeniable that it has a certain retro charm that makes Vadim’s work quite attractive.

Ultimately, what really helps the film stand on its legs is the fact that it lacks the pretentiousness that other similarly-themed but much more elaborate projects have. It also delivers a few very accurate observations about the purpose and value of art, as well as the very wealthy art collectors and their incredibly easy to manipulate ‘appreciation’ of it.

The Hot Touch Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Roger Vadim's The Hot Touch arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Code Red.

It immediately becomes obvious that the film has remastered, though there are a few important details that I wish to mention. First, while density and depth are typically quite good, it is easy to tell that the master was struck from a secondary element as the sharpness and delineation are not as good as they would be if a new master properly prepared after access to the OCN. So even though the end result is very good, there are some obvious fluctuations. Second, some tiny and larger damage marks and even a few shaky transitions remain. However, I personally would much rather have this type of presentation as opposed to a release sourced from an older master with an entirely different range of much more compromising limitations that were typical for DVD releases. Even more importantly, there are no traces of recent compromising degraining or sharpening adjustments. I like the color palette as well. There is room for improvements -- the primaries and the nuances should be better (see screencapture #9), but the current balance is convincing. All in all, while not perfect, this is a fine organic presentation that makes it rather easy to enjoy the film. My score is 3.75/5.00. (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).

The Hot Touch Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

I would have preferred to have optional English SDH subtitles because there were a couple of scenes where I had to turn up the volume a bit to hear what was being said as original audio sounds a bit flat/muted and some of the accents are a tad heavy. Depth and clarity are decent, but I could tell that when the post-dub was finished balance was not optimized. There are no audio dropouts, annoying background hiss, or digital distortions to report.

The Hot Touch Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers - a collection of trailers for other Code Red releases.

• Robert Kline - in this brand new video interview, executive producer Robert Kline recalls how The Hot Touch was funded, and discusses its shooting in Montreal and New York City, his short interactions with Roger Vadim and some cast members, his more recent work, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Code Red. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

The Hot Touch Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I have a soft spot for Roger Vadim's films and a long time ago I used to own The Hot Touch on VHS, so I was quite excited to hear that Code Red had plans to release it on Blu-ray. It is a small film about forgers, thieves, and true love that is great to see after a long and exhausting day. Ideally the film should look even better on Blu-ray, but despite some minor source limitations I like Code Red's release a lot, so consider adding it to your collections. RECOMMENDED. (If you enjoy The Hot Touch, also take a look at Claude Chabrol's The Swindle and Claude Lelouch's more recent romantic thriller And Now Ladies & Gentlemen).