The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		3.0

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 27, 2024

If the fourth of May is not automatically devoted in your mind to a certain venerable film (and, now, television) franchise, it may instead be "Dave Brubeck Day", courtesy of that jazz star's famous rendition of the song "Take Five", which is in the unusual time signature of 5/4. (It's worth noting, no musical pun intended, that "Take Five" was actually written by ace alto player Paul Desmond.) Musically astute types may know about another famous outing in 5/4, Lalo Schifrin's unforgettable theme for Mission: Impossible, and many probably understandably assume it was the first 5/4 theme for a "black ops" oriented series on television, but that particular honor actually goes to the first season rendering of Jerry Goldsmith's perhaps only slightly less unforgettable theme for The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. In fact, it's virtually impossible to imagine Schifrin's theme and original set of underscore cues for Mission: Impossible without the "suggestions" offered by Goldsmith's earlier score, one which offered not just a pulsating 5/4 undercurrent, but an evocative use of solo flute outlining a sinewy melody and fluttering bongos to help establish tension. It's actually kind of fascinating to hear the permutations Goldsmith's theme went through during the four original broadcast seasons of the NBC spy series, back when theme songs regularly got "dressed up" with new arrangements and/or orchestrations every season. In that regard, season 2 "reverted" to 4/4 (something which perhaps made the subsequent 1966-67 season's Schifrin theme seem "new"), and many folks conversant with the series tend to remember Hugo Montenegro's version of this season's theme, which became something of a hit for the (in my opinion) criminally underappreciated arranger (and composer). Season 3 clearly shows the influence of Neal Hefti's work on Batman, replete with opening brass blasts that easily could have accompanied a "pow" or "zowie" during a fight sequence on the Adam West series. Interestingly, the third season for the original Man from U.N.C.L.E. series was also the sole season for The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., and Dave Grusin's accounting of Goldsmith's theme for that spinoff utilizes some crunchy keyboard work Grusin would later integrate into his commercial (45) recordings for two of his own themes, It Takes a Thief and The Name of the Game.

Now, all of this "history" admittedly may well be irrelevant, but it leads to a central question with regard to this big screen adaptation of one of the sixties' best remembered series: where the frell is that Goldsmith theme? The Mission: Impossible films couldn't help but use Schifrin's incredible music (even if the first film, in whatever the musical equivalent of shoving a square peg into a round hole might be, recast the theme into a more "straightforward" 4/4 time signature for the closing credits). Yes, Goldsmith's inimitable theme in its Montenegro iteration is utilized here, but almost as a throwaway, and that may be just one example of what might be called missed opportunities. That includes the perhaps misguided decision to make this an "origin story" of sorts, detailing how Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) and Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) went from being nemeses to being partners. Somewhat interestingly in that regard, while another well remembered mid to late sixties television effort, Star Trek The Original Series, is often cited as positing a world where different nationalities worked together seamlessly, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. beat Roddenberry's rosy colored prognosis by offering exactly the same thing, right then in the sixties, with American Solo working side by side with Soviet Kuryakin.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. received a previous release on Blu-ray many years ago courtesy of Warner Brothers, and Michael Reuben's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Blu-ray review offers more plot information, as well as a reaction to that disc's technical merits, and a detailing of its supplemental content.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. Arrow is releasing this film simultaneously in standalone 1080 and 4K UHD versions, and they provide the same insert booklet for both formats, which contains the following brief information on the transfer:

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.40:1 with Dolby Atmos sound. The 4K UHD version is presented in Dolby Vision and HDR10. The 4K digital master was supplied by Warner Bros.

It's perhaps salient to note that as of the writing of this review, Warner Brothers hasn't released its own 4K UHD version of the film. Arrow's verbiage doesn't completely make clear (to me, anyway) whether their 1080 version was also culled from this evidently new (or at least previously unutilized) 4K master, but one way or the other, this is a really great looking presentation that certainly duplicates all of the strengths mentioned by Michael in his above linked review. This release looks just a tad brighter to my eyes than the older Warner release, which perhaps can aid with fine detail levels in many of the scenes that are almost slathered in yellows. Even cooler gradings like the ever popular "thriller blue" don't really mask fine detail in any meaningful way, though there are some isolated scenes that are not only graded toward blue, but also generally dark, where fine detail levels understandably are minimal.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. has a nicely immersive Dolby Atmos track that I'm assuming is pretty much identical to the one on the older Warner disc, though it looks from Michael's review that he didn't yet have an Atmos receiver and so mentions his review only pertains to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 core track. Yeah, yeah, yeah, curmudgeons are going to whine about the absence of source cues, but the propulsive score and source cues, if maybe not at Goldsmith levels, offer a lot of very noticeable engagement of the side and rear channels. The Dolby Atmos speakers are probably most noticeably engaged in some of the knockdown dragout fights sequences, or some of the chase sequences in particular, moments which can also offer some really impressive panning effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Arrow provides several new supplements, as well as porting over those from the older Warner disc. Michael's review offers a bit more information on some of the ported over supplements.

• Commentary by Bryan Reesman and Max Evry


• The Hollywood Way (HD; 16:14) is a new interview with co-writer and producer Lionel Wigram.


• A Lineage of Bad Guys (HD; 15:26) is a new interview with actor Luca Calvani.


• Legacy of U.N.C.L.E. (HD; 28:38) looks at the influence of the television series, both generally and specifically with regard to this film.


• Cockneys and Robbers (HD; 25:13) is a newly done piece focusing on Guy Ritchie's cinematic output.


• Spy Vision: Recreating 60s Cool (HD; 8:32) looks a production design.


• A Higher Class of Hero (HD; 7:12) has some fun footage of how some of the car chases were achieved.


• Metisse Motorcycles: Proper and Very British (HD; 4:46) shows some of the stunt riding training.


• The Guys from U.N.C.L.E. (HD; 4:55) profiles the lead actors.


• A Man of Extraordinary Talents (HD; 3:13) is devoted to Guy Ritchie.


• U.N.C.L.E.: On Set Spy Featurettes (HD; 5:02)


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:35)


• Image Gallery (HD)

Additionally this limited edition comes with a reversible sleeve, a double sided fold out poster, a nicely appointed insert booklet with an essay by Barry Forshaw as well as archival material, and a slipcover.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was, kind of like the Adam West Batman, a series that just exploded into sensation levels and then rather rapidly dissipated that popularity. This reboot has some well executed action scenes, but it has little of the savoir faire of the original series. Technical merits are first rate and as usual Arrow has assembled an outstanding array of supplements, while also providing some appealing non disc swag, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.