Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

The Million Eyes of Sumuru 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 6, 2024

Lindsay Shonteff's "The Million Eyes of Sumuru" (1867) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critics Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth; new audio commentary by critics David Del Valle and Dan Marino; Naomi Holwill's new documentary "England's Unknown Exploitation Film Eccentric: The Schlock-Cinema Legacy of Lindsay Shonteff"; vintage promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The story is utterly bizarre, but this shouldn’t be surprising as it came from the mind of the great producer Harry Alan Towers. (It was only natural that eventually he and cult director Jess Franco teamed up and shot some of the most memorable B-films from the late ‘60s and '70s). It is about two handsome special agents, Nick West (George Nader, Death and Diamonds) and Tommy Carter (Frankie Avalon, Muscle Beach Party), who are dispatched to Hong Kong to infiltrate a very dangerous organization that is threatening to collapse some of the most influential governments across the globe. The organization is run by Sumuru (Shirley Eaton, The Girl from Rio), a stunning evil beauty who has settled down on a small island and built a large army of deadly female warriors. Her latest target is president Boong (Klaus Kinski, Nosferatu the Vampyre), a slightly kooky but well protected playboy who has recently hired a security expert to make sure that he can continue enjoying life as he wishes. When the expert is killed, West tricks Sumuru to believe that he is the perfect replacement, and she decides to use him to get to president Boong. The elegant newcomer Helga (Maria Rohm, House of 1000 Dolls) is then ordered to work with West and seduce the playboy. Meanwhile, the slightly less intelligent Carter sees his partner spending a great deal of time with Sumuru and Helga and assumes that he has switched sides. Determined to finish off what they were sent to do, he contacts the local authorities and then urges them to raid Sumuru’s island before the ‘traitor’ and Helga kill president Boong.

The tone and style of Lindsay Shonteff’s film are very similar to those of the three films in Sergio Greco’s Agent 077 Trilogy (Mission Bloody Mary, From the Orient with Fury, and Special Mission Lady Chaplin). The main difference here is the fact that Ken Clark’s spy Dick Malloy is replaced by two playboys, who instantly make it easier to load up the narrative with even more fluff. Obviously, the Bond influence is retained as well, but as it is the case with Greco’s films the emphasis is on the exotic locations and stunningly beautiful women rather than on the action.

The vintage atmosphere has a certain charm that makes it quite easy to ignore the silliness, but different parts of the film still look quite rough. The acting is also a mixed bag, though given the large number of beautiful women around Nader, Avalon and Kinski, it isn’t difficult to understand why they routinely appear distracted.

The film was shot with a limited budget, but it frequently looks like a big studio project. Towers probably deserves all the credit because virtually all the films he was involved with during the ‘60s, ‘70s, and even the early ‘80s tend to look far more expensive than they were.

A few of the principal characters were inspired by the work of the great novelist Sax Rohmer (the man responsible for the crazy world of Fu Manchu), but as mentioned earlier, the intent was actually to go a step beyond the territory visited by Greco’s Eurospy films.

*Blue Underground's combo pack release introduces an exclusive new 4K restoration of The Million Eyes of Sumuru sourced from the original camera negative. Also, this 4K restoration adds ten minutes of new, previously unavailable content.

The Million Eyes of Sumuru 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Blue Underground's release of The Million Eyes of Sumuru is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray are Region-Free.

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures #1-27 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #23-30 are from the 4K Blu-ray.

The Million Eyes of Sumuru made its high-definition debut with this double-feature Blu-ray release in 2016. The combo pack introduces an exclusive new 4K restoration of The Million Eyes of Sumuru sourced from the original camera negative. Also, this 4K restoration adds ten minutes of new, previously unavailable content. In native 4K, the 4K restoration can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I chose to view it with Dolby Vision,

The 4K restoration is a thing of beauty. I was so impressed with its quality that over the course of forty-eight hours I ended up viewing it twice, once in native 4K and then in 1080p. The improvements in delineation and especially depth are quite dramatic, and the Dolby Vision grade gives the entire film a very stable, very solid organic appearance. I was quite surprised to see how much better and more even density levels are because on the previous presentation there are numerous areas with unmissable fluctuations. Color reproduction and balance are improved a lot. All primaries look lusher and healthier, and there are several ranges of expanded supporting nuances. On top of this, all primaries and supporting nuances are rebalanced, easily giving all visuals a much more vibrant yet natural appearance. Grain exposure is terrific. The entire film looks immaculate now, too.

How does the 1080p presentation look? A direct comparison with the previous presentation immediately reveals a massive upgrade in quality, as significant as that revealed by the 4K presentation. However, in various areas the 4K presentation boasts superior ranges of terrific primaries and supporting nuances, plus better ranges of darker nuances producing better depth, so in my opinion it is the clear winner.

The Million Eyes of Sumuru 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. Optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The audio sounded terrific on my system. I am unsure if any new work was done on it, but it is obviously a different mix because this audio track has the new ten minutes of footage incorporated into it. Dynamic intensity is quite good, but do not expect the action material to dazzle you with great potency and terrific dynamic contrasts.

The Million Eyes of Sumuru 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary One - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics David Del Valle and Dan Marino. The bulk of the comments address producer Harry Alan Towers' classic blueprint for successful independent genre films, like The Million Eyes of Sumuru and why location and beautiful women were essential for it; the casting choices that were made (and why the pairing of George Nader and Frankie Avalon was problematic); the overlapping of James Bond-esque action and campy material of an entirely different quality; and the visual style of the film.

• Commentary Two - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth. This commentary follows a similar format. A lot is said about Harry Alan Towers, the interesting cast that was assembled for The Million Eyes of Sumuru, locations that were shot for it, its tone and visual style, and even its publicity.

• Theatrical Trailer - presented here is a remastered vintage trailer for The Million Eyes of Sumuru. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary One - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics David Del Valle and Dan Marino. The bulk of the comments address producer Harry Alan Towers' classic blueprint for successful independent genre films, like The Million Eyes of Sumuru and why location and beautiful women were essential for it; the casting choices that were made (and why the pairing of George Nader and Frankie Avalon was problematic); the overlapping of James Bond-esque action and campy material of an entirely different quality; and the visual style of the film.

• Commentary Two - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth. This commentary follows a similar format. A lot is said about Harry Alan Towers, the interesting cast that was assembled for The Million Eyes of Sumuru, locations that were shot for it, its tone and visual style, and even its publicity.

• England's Unknown Exploitation Film Eccentric: The Schlock-Cinema Legacy of Lindsay Shonteff - this documentary takes a closer look at Lindsay Shonteff's rather remarkably colorful cinematic oeuvre. Included in it are clips from interviews with author and critic Allan Bryce, critic Kevin Lyons, filmmaker and film festival director Miles Flanagan, critic Kim Newman, and exploitation historian Dr. Johnny Walker, and actress Aime Macdonald (No. 1 of the Secret Service), amongst others. The documentary was produced by Naomi Holwill. In English. (101 min).

• Theatrical Trailer - presented here is a remastered vintage trailer for The Million Eyes of Sumuru. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Poster & Still Gallery - presented here is a large collection of archival posters, articles, lobby cards, stills, and DVD/Blu-ray jackets. The collection was compiled by Gregory Chick.

• RiffTrax Edition - The Million Eyes of Sumuru riffed by Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy. (71 min).

• Cover - reversible cover with vintrage poster art for The Million Eyes of Sumuru.

The Million Eyes of Sumuru 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Lindsay Shonteff's cinematic oeuvre is a treasure trove begging to be explored. Kino Lorber have No. 1 of the Secret Service, one of several Eurospy gems, in the pipeline, but there are more, and they have not been seen since the VHS era. The Million Eyes of Sumuru, unquestionably Shonteff's most exotic film, has been fully restored and reconstructed by Blue Underground. (The exclusive new 4K restoration adds ten minutes of previously unavailable content). I could not believe how good the film looks now, and I enjoy it quite a lot, so revisiting it last night was a pretty special treat. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.