Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

The Ipcress File Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 30, 2020

Sidney J. Furie's "The Ipcress File" (1965) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage promotional materials for the film; archival video interview with Michael Caine; exclusive new audio commentary by Troy Howarth and Daniel Kremer; and a lot more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Intelligence agent Harry Palmer (Michael Caine) is promoted and given a new assignment during the same day. He is ordered to track the whereabouts of a prominent Western scientist who has suddenly disappeared.

After a long and confusing investigation Palmer delivers the missing scientist to his superiors. Unfortunately, his memory has been wiped out and he is unable to recall who his abductors were. Determined to find out what has happened, Palmer then goes back on the streets and begins digging for clues.

Sidney J. Furie's The Ipcress File has all the key ingredients a good spy thriller needs -- an intriguing story with multiple twists, convincing characters, and fantastic atmosphere. The film also boasts strong cinematography by Otto Heller. Light and shadow are carefully managed to heighten the tension, while the bold framing choices give the film a sleek period appearance.

Based on the novel by Len Deighton -- who a year later would publish A Funeral in Berlin, which was also made into a film with Caine in the key role -- and a screenplay by Bill Canaway and James Doran, The Ipcress File is impossible to analyze without comparing it to Terence Young’s Thunderball. Indeed, the two films were completed months apart from each other and their main characters were both secret agents with an attitude.

But there are some key differences between the two agents. James Bond epitomized the ultimate British spy -- an intelligent and never-failing bachelor with a great sense of style who always knew how to deal with his opponents. These are qualities Palmer simply does not have. In The Ipcress File he is often clueless, trying too hard to impress the opposite sex, and with an off-beat sense of humor that hardly anyone gets. Furthermore, large parts of The Ipcress File are lensed with such attention to detail that at times it is difficult to embrace it as a straightforward spy thriller. There is plenty of action and proper intrigues, but the entire film actually quite comfortably borrows elements from a number of other genres.

The film's fluid style, however, isn't a weakness. On the contrary, it gives it a certain charm that not too many similarly-themed films from the same era have. (Guy Hamilton’s Funeral in Berlin, for instance, is a far colder and much more straightforward film). The mystery puzzle is very nicely crafted and excluding a few questionable transitions, such as the decision to abruptly move the action from London to Albania, Caine’s struggle to unlock the Ipcress enigma is indeed quite fascinating to behold.

The Ipcress File Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Ipcress File arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from the old restored master that British labels ITV Studios and Network Releasing worked with to produce their releases of the film. It is a decent master that offers the healthiest presentation of the film that I have seen to date. However, different areas of the master are not as convincing as they should be. For example, the density levels of the visuals are clearly not optimal. Grain exposure also fluctuates in ways that impact depth, so on a larger screen it becomes quite easy to see that the master has limitations. Delineation ranges from decent to good and again it is not because of particular lensing choices. The color scheme is stable and healthy, but the saturation levels of the primaries and their supporting nuances can be improved. Image stability is excellent. All in all, this is a decent, at times even quite pleasing organic presentation of the film, but there is definitely room for meaningful improvements. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Ipcress File Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

I revisited the film with the lossless 2.0 track. It is clean and stable, free of age-related imperfections as well. My one and only minor concern is the upper register. There are a few spots with the cimbalom theme where it feels like the upper register can barely avoid some unnatural buzz. I am quite certain that this is how the original soundtrack was recorded, but I also think that it is something that can be attenuated with modern digital tools. A good example can be heard around the 0.13.32 mark. (For what it's worth, when I am alone at home I like to turn up the volume on my system quite a bit, so perhaps other viewers will not notice what I did. Also, it is worth pointing out that the cimbalom can produce some low-level vibrations/buzz as well). There are no audio dropouts to report in our review.

The Ipcress File Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers - two vintage trailers for The Ipcress File. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Radio Spots - a couple of vintage radio spots for The Ipcress File. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Poster and Image Files - a collection of vintage promotional materials for The Ipcress File. With music. (5 min).

• Trailers From Hell - a vintage episode of Trailers From Hell with screenwriter Howard Rodman (Savage Grace). In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Interview with Production Designer Ken Adam - in this archival video interview, production designer Ken Adam discusses his contribution to The Ipcress File and its production history. In English, not subtitled. (11 min).

• Interview with Michael Caine - in this archival interview, Michael Caine recalls how he was approached and asked to play Harry Palmer, and discusses his interactions with the rest of the cast members, the film's production history, etc. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

• Audio Commentary One - this archival audio commentary was recorded by director Sidney J. Furie and film editor Peter Hunt. The two gentlemen offer plenty of invaluable information about the conception and production of The Ipcress File, the editing of the film (apparently director Furie never went to the editing room to work with Hunt), the evolution of the screenplay (which was rewritten every day), the lensing of different episodes, the critical reception and the fact that some critics described the film as "the thinking man's James Bond", etc.

• Audio Commentary Two - film historians and critics Troy Howarth and Daniel Kremer share plenty of very interesting information about Sidney J. Furie's framing choices and the evolving screenplay he had to work with, the use of music, the similarities and differences between The Ipcress File and the James Bond films that emerged during the same era, Ken Adam's interesting ideas and work and how they shaped up the film's visual style, the evolution of the British thriller (with specific comments about its stylistic appearance), the type of actors Furie liked to work with, etc. This is an outstanding commentary. Mr. Kremer is the author of Sidney J. Furie: Life and Films and produces a terrific summation of the director's entire career, with factual information that is clearly very well researched. The commentary was recorded exclusively for Kino Lorber.

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage poster art.

• Additional Trailers - additional trailers for the following titles from Kino Lorber's catalog:
  
  1. Billion Dollar Brain
  2. The Black Windmill
  3. The Destructors
  4. The Wilby Conspiracy
  5. The Holcroft Covenant
  6. The Whistle Blower

The Ipcress File Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This release of Sidney J. Furie's The Ipcress File is sourced from the old restored master that British labels ITV Studios and Network Releasing worked with when they produced their local releases of the film. It is a decent master that offers the best technical presentation of the film that I have seen to date, but there is definitely room for meaningful improvements. The release has a good collection of bonus features, including a terrific exclusive new audio commentary by Troy Howarth and Daniel Kremer. RECOMMENDED.