The Persuaders!: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

The Persuaders!: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 21, 2024

"The Persuaders!: The Complete Series" (1971-1972) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films. The supplemental features on the release include archival programs with Roger Moore and Tony Curtis; archival audio commentaries; new program with guest star Annette Andre and restorer Jonathan Wood; archival TV content; vintage promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The playboys

If you ask five different fans of The Persuaders! what makes the classic TV show great, you will get five different answers. It is very likely that just moments later each fan will offer a new answer, too.

Why would these fans do so?

Because there is a lot to like in The Persuaders!, and the sum of it makes the TV show great. For example, while Tony Curtis and Roger Moore lead with authority and share terrific chemistry before the camera, they do not overshadow the big supporting cast, which includes such wonderful actors as Laurence Naismith, Terry-Thomas, Susan George, Bernard Lee, Ian Hendry, and Joan Collins. (The complete list is half a mile long). As cliché as it may sound, they all have a meaningful part, some parts are just a bit bigger. The Persuaders! is one seriously gorgeous TV show, too. Each of its episodes is shot as a short genre film that would have attracted the same crowds that went to see and fell in love with Rene Clement’s Purple Noon. The French Riviera, gorgeous women, fast cars, old casinos, posh restaurants, grand villas, and of course a seemingly never-ending beautiful weather. The Persuaders! is not just a massive source of eye candy, it is therapeutic, too. There is action and comedy galore. Other TV shows from the same era emphasize one or the other, and while some do it very well, having both mixed to perfection is always better -- or at least if you want to be entertained in different ways. I think that this is what the creators of The Persuaders! wanted the show to be -- a great looking, versatile entertainer that everyone can find easy to like.

Danny Wilde (Curtis) and Brett Sinclair (Moore) are experienced playboys with repetitive financial problems who are united by the aging Judge Fulton (Naismith) shortly after they land in the beautiful city of Nice. They have very different styles and personalities -- the former is from the Bronx, while the latter is a British Lord -- but Fulton declares that he knows how to make them complement each other and be as effective as nitroglycerin. After a quick test and a surprising introduction at Fulton’s lair, Wilde and Sinclair begin working on criminal cases the old-timer is passionate about and the authorities have been unable to solve.

The cases are complex, sometimes quite exotic, and dangerous. In one of these cases, Wilde and Sinclair uncover a gold smuggling operation after witnessing an assassination attempt at the airport in Nice. In another case, Wilde and Sinclair search for a mole in the upper echelons of MI6 and realize that someone is closely monitoring their progress. In one of the most intriguing cases, Wilde discovers that a doppelgänger is working hard to compromise him. In Rome, Wilde and Sinclair attempt to get a gangster-turned-informer out of the country and reach America, where he is expected to testify, and, in the process, become targets for the mafia and the local authorities. Wilde and Sinclair are even tasked to assist in a dispute between two Russian aristocrats who have claimed to be the rightful inheritors of a priceless jewelry collection.

The Persuaders! ran between 1971 and 1972 and had twenty-four episodes, which were shot by eleven different directors. Amongst them are Val Guest, Basil Dearden, Roy Ward Baker, Leslie Norman, and Petar Medak. Moore stepped behind the camera, too.

Even though each director works with different material and the landscape changes a lot, the quality of the content in the twenty-four episodes remains consistently excellent. This accomplishment becomes even more impressive when it is revealed that the overwhelming majority of the actors had a single contribution.

All twenty-four episodes were lensed by Tony Spradling, who a year earlier collaborated with Dearden and Moore on the excellent mind-bender The Man Who Haunted Himself. Moore considered this film one of the best he made in his entire career.

*In addition to the original twenty-four episodes, Imprint Films' release of The Persuaders! includes all eight feature films, presented in widescreen.

The Persuaders!: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in the original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, the TV show The Persuaders arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films.

More than a decade ago, The Persuaders! was fully restored by British label Network and released on Blu-ray in 2011. This box set from Imprint Films introduces Network's restoration of The Persuaders! in Australia. In addition to the original twenty-four episodes of the TV show, the box set includes all eight feature films, presented in widescreen.

I am going to mention first the one area where I think there is some room for improvement because the rest is great. While the encoding is good, there is some room for some minor optimizations. However, I would say that the overall quality of the visuals is still very, very good, bordering excellent. Of course, the quality of the restoration is outstanding, too. There is a lot of diverse content, boasting footage shot on drastically different locations, and yet everything looks remarkably healthy and attractive. In daylight footage, delineation, clarity, and depth are often striking, and fluidity is very good. All episodes are incredibly well color graded as well. All primaries and supporting nuances look exceptionally healthy and beautifully balanced, so the period appearance of the content is very convincing. Image stability is excellent. Finally, there are no distracting surface imperfections to report. (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 Persuaders!: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

All episodes are presented with LPCM 2.0 tracks. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for all episodes as well.

It is very easy to tell that the audio for each episode has been fully restored as well. Clarity, sharpness, and depth are very good. Also, there is a lot of action in The Persuaders! that is nicely shot and mixed. As a result, a lot of the dynamic contrasts that emerge throughout the show are on par with the ones that are present in big-budget feature films from the late 1960s and early 1970s. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report.

The Persuaders!: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

DISC ONE

• Commentary One - recorded for "Overture" by Roger Moore and Tony Curtis in 2006.

• Commentary Two - recorded for "Overture" by Roger Moore, producer Robert S. Baker, executive in charge of production Johnny Goodman in 2003.

• Commentary Three - recorded for "Overture" by Robert S. Baker and Johnny Goodman in 2006.

• Commentary Four - recorded for "The Gold Napoleon" by ITC historian Jaz Wiseman and vintage excerpts featuring diretor Roy Ward Baker in 2024.

• Commentary Five - recorded for "The Saint: The Ex-King of Diamonds" by Roger Moore and Robert S. Baker in 2004.

• Commentary Six - recorded for "The Saint: The Ex-King of Diamonds" by Roger Moore, Robert S. Baker, Johnny Goodman, and director Alvin Rakoff in 2006.

• Opening Titles Footage -

• Overture Episode Trailer -

• The Persuaders! Theme with Pans People -

• Raw Production Footage: Texted, Textless, Process and Post -

• Photo Galleries -
  
  1. Overture
  2. The Gold Napoleon
  3. Take Seven

• Isolated Music & Effects Track - presented as LPCM 2.0.

DISC TWO

• Commentary One - recorded for "Greensleeves" by ITC historian Jaz Wiseman in 2024.

• Commentary Two - recorded for "Powerswitch" by guest star Annette Andre and Series Restorer Jonathan Wood in 2024.

• Commentary Three - recorded for "The Time and the Place" by Roger Moore, producer Robert S. Baker, and executive in charge of production Johnny Goodman in 2003.

• Roger Moore: French Television Interview - recorded on location filming "Powerswitch".

• Roger Moore: Design Consultant - vintage interview.

• Roger Moore TV Appearance - vintage TV appearance on "The Opportunity Knocks Variety Club Presentation Show" in 1071.

• Roger Moore: Reunited with BS 1 at Pinewood Studios -

• Roger Moore: His Brief Music Career -

• Audio Commentary Outtake - Roger Moore accidentally introduces Johnny Goodman as "The Saint" co-producer Monty Berman.

• Crossplot - restored theatrical trailer promoting Crosspolot with Roger Moore, produced by Tribune.

• Raw Production Footage: Texted, Textless, Process and Post -

• Photo Galleries -
  
  1. Greensleeves
  2. Powerswitch
  3. The Time and the Place
  4. Someone Like Me
  5. Roger Moore Gallery

• Isolated Music & Effects Track - presented as LPCM 2.0.

DISC THREE

• Commentary - recorded for "The Old, The New and The Deadly" by filmmakers Samuel Clemens and George Clemens in 2024.

• The Deadly - interview with guest star Derren Nesbitt.

• Tony Curtis: Meets His French Voice Artist -

• Tony Curtis: Ordering a Lagonda - presented mute.

• "Russell Harty Plus" - interview with Tony Curtis recorded on January 9, 1974.

• Raw Production Footage: Texted, Textless, Process and Post -

• Photo Galleries -
  
  1. Anyone Can Play
  2. The Old, The New and The Deadly
  3. Angie... Angie
  4. Chain of Events
  5. Tony Curtis Gallery

• Isolated Music & Effects Track - presented as LPCM 2.0.

DISC FOUR

• Commentary - recorded for "The Long Goodbye" by ITC historian Jaz Wiseman in 2024.

• "Avroskoop" - Dutch television featurette produced during the making of "The Man in the Middle"

• European Promotional Spots -

• UK Promotional Spots - presented mute.

• French Credits - vintage credits for "That's Me Over There"; "The Long Goodbye" and "The Man in the Middle" . Mute.

• Raw Production Footage: Texted, Textless, Process and Post -

• Photo Galleries -
  
  1. That's Me Over There
  2. The Long Goodbye
  3. The Man in the Middle
  4. Element of Risk

• Isolated Music & Effects Track - presented as LPCM 2.0.

DISC FIVE

• ABC U.S. Television Trailer One -

• ABC U.S. Television Trailer Two -

• U.S. Station Ident/Sponsorship Tags -

• Commercial Break Bumpers -

• French End Credits to Nuisance Value - presented mute.

• Raw Production Footage: Texted, Textless, Process and Post -

• Photo Galleries -
  
  1. A Home of One's Own
  2. Five Miles to Midnight
  3. Nuisance Value
  4. The Morning After
  5. U.S. ABC Television Photoshoot

• Isolated Music & Effects Track - presented as LPCM 2.0.

DISC SIX

• Commentary - recorded for "A Death in the Family" by Roger Moore, Robert S. Baker, Johnny Goodman, Malcolm Christopher, and Ken Baker in 2006.

• "The Persuaders!" 40th Anniversary Event - on-stage interview with Roger Moore recorded in 2011.

• Tony Curtis: The Persuader! - interview featurette produced in 2006..

• French End Credits to "Read and Destroy" and "A Death in the Family" - presented mute.

• Raw Production Footage: Texted, Textless, Process and Post -

• Photo Galleries -
  
  1. Read and Destroy
  2. A Death in the Family
  3. The Ozerov Inheritance

• Isolated Music & Effects Track - presented as LPCM 2.0.

DISC SEVEN

• The Morning After - Remembering "The Persuaders!" - documentary in standard definition.

• 1972 Sun TV Awards - documentary in standard definition.

• Raw Production Footage: Texted, Textless, Process and Post -

• Textless Opening and Closing Titles -

• Textless Material Compilation - presented mute.

• Photo Galleries - 1. To the Death, Baby
  2. Someone Waiting

• Memorabilia Galleries -
  
  1. ITV/ITC Material
  2. Tony Curtis Scrapbook
  3. Super 8 Films, Music, Toys
  4. Novelizations, Books, Comics, Magazines, Scripts & More

• Isolated Music & Effects Track - presented as LPCM 2.0.

DISC EIGHT - FILM COMPILATIONS 1&2

• Original Trailers -

• Poster Galleries -

DISC NINE - FILM COMPILATIONS 3&4

• Original Trailers -

• Original Italian Trailers -

• Poster Galleries -

DISC TEN - FILM COMPILATIONS 5&6

• Original Trailers -

• Poster Galleries -

DISC ELEVEN - FILM COMPILATIONS 7&8

• Original Trailers -

• Poster Galleries -

• Cinematic Persuasion: Remaking Feature Films - featurette with restorer Jonathan Wood.

DISC TWELVE - STANDARD DEFINITION VERSIONS

• Original Standard Definitions Presentations -
  
  1. Mission: Monte Carlo
  2. London Conspiracy
  3. Sporting Change
  4. The Switch

• Cinematic Persuasion: Remaking Feature Films - featurette with restorer Jonathan Wood.

ADDITIONAL CONTENT

• Book - a 120-page book with archival and promotional materials for The Persuaders!.

The Persuaders!: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The French Riviera, gorgeous women, fast cars, old casinos, posh restaurants, grand villas, and of course a seemingly never-ending beautiful weather. Alright, there are a few episodes where the weather is less than perfect, but the eye candy and fun remain the same. So, for my money, The Persuaders! has it all, and after its twenty-four episodes were restored by Network, it looks fantastic on Blu-ray. If you can, grab this box set from Imprint Films for your collections, folks. It has hours of exclusive new and vintage bonus features, and all of the content in it is Region-Free. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.