Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

The Quiet American Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 18, 2024

Joseph L. Mankiewicz's "The Quiet American" (1958) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Sandpiper Pictures. The only supplemental feature on the release is a remastered vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Sooner or later, one must pick a side.. As in Graham Greene’s novel, at a crucial point, this true statement appears in Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s film The Quiet American and effectively becomes the foundation of its story, which is not a carbon copy of the original story. But this was an unavoidable development. Indeed, in the novel, plenty of descriptive material focuses on expectations, speculations, feelings, and emotions that cannot be transferred accurately to film. So, it is hardly surprising that the chronological order of various developments and the exact nature of different relationships are altered.

French Indochina, 1952. In Saigon, the local authorities discover the body of a young American (Audie Murphy). Thomas Fowler (Michael Redgrave), a veteran British newspaper reporter, identifies him at a morgue. Immediately after, the film jumps back in time to the exact moment the American and Fowler begin a most curious relationship.

Initially, the two men share contrasting takes on various ongoing events expected to reshape the country. The American sees the communists who are beginning to dominate the French colonial forces in the North as a grave threat and their possible victory as a seismic event with devastating consequences for the entire continent. Fowler, an unapologetic cynic, argues that the communists are a natural counterforce aiming to reset the country’s compromised system. Both recognize that America, which has already established a presence in the country, will become more involved, but disagree on the validity of the motives that will shape its policies.

When the American is introduced to Fowler’s much younger and strikingly beautiful girlfriend, Phuong (Giorgia Moll), the ideological disagreements become a façade for an old-fashioned rivalry between two men who desire the same woman. As Phuong begins spending time with the American, Fowler engages a local communist leader and, while struggling to cope with the jealousy eating him on the inside, learns that his rival is a CIA agent importing plastic material that is used to manufacture bombs. The arrival of a letter from his wife back home in England who refuses to give him a divorce then rattles him even more and soon after he accuses the American of being a dangerous chameleon. But when the American disappears, Fowler is again forced to reexamine everything he is told and asked to believe, as well as the consequences of a rapidly expanding military conflict that does not tolerate neutrality.

The Quiet American is a political film disguised as a romantic melodrama, whose main message is frequently misinterpreted. Its biggest critics insist that it shamelessly promotes a distinctly American deconstruction of the conflict depicted in it which is not reflective of the one from Greene’s novel, but this is not true. Its message does not factor in the moral validity of the contrasting arguments the American and Fowler present, so whether the former is an idealist who has been used by the CIA or the latter is a jealous cynic who has been tricked by the communists is practically irrelevant. Why exactly? Because regardless of right and wrong, both will become targets and forced to choose a side. This is what Fowler realizes at the very end -- the romantic rivalry between him and the American has been invalidated by a much bigger ideological rivalry.

The same message also emerges from Regis Wargnier's Oscar winner Indochine. In it, the owner of a rubber plantation falls madly in love with a younger naval officer but their romantic relationship and plans for the future are crushed because neutrality becomes impossible. Also, a variation of this story can be uncovered in every state in Eastern Europe and South America where the communists took over. Communism and neutrality are incompatible, so people in these states were forcefully converted into supporters of the Party or framed as enemies and quietly taken out, like the American.

Mankiewicz’s director of photography was Robert Krasker, who lensed such timeless films as Odd Man Out, The Third Man, and Brief Encounter.

The Quiet American Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Quiet American arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Sandpiper Pictures.

The release is sourced from a very solid organic master supplied by MGM. It is not a brand new master, but it has the qualities I would expect to see from a new master. If I had to guess, I would say that it was struck from an interpositive.

The overall quality of the visuals ranges from very good to excellent. There are minor density fluctuations that appear before or after transitions, but they inherited, so even if the film is fully restored in 4K, they will be retained. There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Grain is present and often very nicely exposed, though I suspect that on a dual-layer disc, with some additional encoding optimizations, it could be even more attractive. On a very large screen, it certainly looks very good. The grayscale is very convincing, too. I did not see any distracting crushing, and grays and whites are wonderfully balanced. Is there any room for improvement? If there is, I am unsure what type of meaningful improvements can be made. Image stability is very good. I noticed a few small blemishes and dark spots, several tiny scratches too, but there are no large cuts, warped, or torn frames to report. (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 Quiet American Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

All dialog and narration and clear and easy to follow. However, in a few areas there is noticeable unevenness, which may or may not be inherited. Sometimes it is accompanied by extremely light thinning, so it is possible that if the audio is fully remastered some of these are will sound slightly better. I did not encounter hiss, pops, cracks, or other distracting age-related anomalies.

The Quiet American Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for The Quiet American. Remastered. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

The Quiet American Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Communism and neutrality are incompatible. It is why communists always force the nonbelievers to convert or declare them enemies and promptly take them out. The Quiet American is a political film disguised as a romantic melodrama whose main message is this timeless truth -- sooner or later, one must pick a side. It features one of Audie Murphy's most unusual but also most impressive performances, which many critics have speculated might be his best. I cannot agree that it is so because Murphy is sensational in To Hell and Back. This recent Blu-ray release is sourced from a wonderful organic master supplied by MGM. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.