The Rover Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

The Rover Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 22, 2019

Terence Young's "The Rover" (1967) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include a brand new audio commentary by film historians Lee Gambin and Dr. Elaise Ross and a collection of trailers. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The lonely girl and the pirate

I had to view Terence Young’s The Rover twice to make up my mind why it is not as impressive as it should have been. The good story from Joseph Conrad’s novel is there and Luciano Vincenzoni’s script does not take any liberties that could have compromised it. At least on paper the cast looks magnificent: Anthony Quinn, Rita Hayworth, Rosanna Schiaffino, and Richard Johnson. The visuals are graced by yet another brilliant soundtrack from the legendary maestro Ennio Morricone. It sure seems like all the right ingredients for a great period drama to materialize were present, doesn’t it? Why is it then that the end product is so underwhelming?

Before I point out where I believe the film stumbles, I would like to provide a good summation of its story.

The events in the film take place some time after the French Revolution and Quinn plays the seasoned pirate Payrol who is now routinely destroying British ships on behalf of the French Navy. His latest official assignment is to transport a chest of gold and some important documents that he has acquired from the enemy to the port city of Toulon. After outsmarting a bigger and better equipped British ship that is patrolling the area, Payrol and his men arrive in Toulon and he immediately requests a meeting with the French Admiral (Franco Fantasia) that runs the city. However, when the two meet, Payrol hands him the documents and keeps the gold so that he can reward his men and repair his ship. Payrol is then allowed to leave, but Captain Dassard (Mino Doro), who monitors all former pirates that are now assisting the French Navy, discovers that he has cheated and secretly confronts him. He tells Payrol that he can remain a free man if he surrenders the precious chest to him, but the old-timer pulls off yet another brilliant move and disappears with the gold. On the outskirts of the city, Payrol then encounters the young beauty Arlette (Schiaffino), who is emotionally unstable and has recently become a target for all sorts of horny ‘revolutionaries’, and after he helps her avoid the latest angry mob, she welcomes him in her family’s inn. Initially, her Aunt Caterina (Hayworth) does not think that it is a good idea for a man like Payrol to be around Arlette, but when he prevents another deranged animal from raping her, she changes her mind. As Payrol begins restoring an old vessel that plans to use to leave Toulon, the handsome French officer Real (Johnson) arrives in the area and rents a room in the inn, and then accidentally discovers that the old-timer is wanted by the police. When the news reaches Dassard, it seems like it is only a matter of time before Payrol is captured and send to the guillotine.

I mentioned above that I had to view the film twice to decide why it does not work particularly well, and at the end I think that my initial feelings about the quality of the production were solidified for the exact same reasons. The most obvious weakness of the entire production is the lack of good chemistry between the leads. The problem is most obvious when Quinn engages Schiaffino and the Italian star struggles to look convincing as the emotionally unstable girl who is secretly battling some powerful demons. The connection between the two simply isn’t happening. Exactly the same static emerges later on when Hayworth supposedly warms up to Quinn but the two simply end up exchanging some painfully tedious lines. These are crucial relationships, but they never begin to look even remotely authentic.

Young’s direction also randomly pushes the film in different directions. Some episodes leave the impression that there is a serious dramatic buildup underway and at the right time Payrol will become the central figure in some grand event. However, after each such episode the film suddenly becomes uncharacteristically casual and then shifts its attention to minor conflicts that are instantly forgettable.

The Rover Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Terence Young's The Rover arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a recent 2K remaster. However, while the film does have a rather pleasing organic appearance, the elements that were scanned to produce the remaster were clearly not in optimal condition. To be clear, the current presentation is decent, and the main reason why is the lack of compromising digital tinkering, but this film really does need some serious and proper restoration work so that it looks as good as it should. For example, there are areas of it with some obvious density fluctuations that affect delineation and depth. Fluidity is also shaky, especially when there are some minor traces of fading. The color grading is convincing, but this is another area where there is quite a bit of room for stabilizations and rebelancing work. Bottom line is this: the current presentation is organic and for the most part attractive, but ideally the film can and should look better in high-definition. (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 Rover Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

The dialog can be a bit uneven at times, but I am pretty sure that the fluctuations are inherited. Also, I actually had some trouble following the dialog because in certain areas some of the actors speak with accents that make their lines rather difficult to understand. Optional English subtitles would have been helpful, but such are not present on the disc. The good news is that Ennio Morricone's excellent score is stable and sounds lovely.

The Rover Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers - a collection of trailers for other Kino Lorber releases.

• Commentary - recorded by film historians Lee Gambin and Dr. Elaise Ross.

The Rover Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I really wanted to like Terence Young's The Rover, so I ended up viewing it twice because my initial experience with it was quite underwhelming. Well, my second viewing produced the same result -- the big stars occasionally look great in front of the camera but there is an obvious lack of good chemistry between them. Frankly, the best thing about The Rover is the presence of yet another magnificent score by the legendary maestro Ennio Morricone. If you are not familiar with the film and wish to see it, find a way to RENT IT.