Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Silent Partner Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 23, 2019

Daryl Duke's "The Silent Partner" (1978) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive new video interview with actor Elliott Gould; new audio commentary by critics critics Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

I know what I am doing

The Silent Partner would not have been as good as it is without Elliott Gould. It does an old trick to impress and in a way that leaves all the heavy lifting to Gould, who essentially has to sell two entirely different characters that operate in different environments -- an introverted bank teller whose life has become a repetitive cycle of monotonous activities, and an emboldened cheater with incredible instincts. If it looks like Gould only temporarily borrows the identities of these characters and says what the script demands, the film can’t work because he would appear like an impostor. Here Gould does a lot more. He is actually an authentic chameleon and as a result the timing of his personality switches becomes completely irrelevant.

At the end of a busy day, Miles Cullen (Gould) discovers a tiny note which makes him realize that the bank where he works will be robbed, and he instantly decides that this is the perfect opportunity to permanently redirect his dull life. When on the following day, a man dressed as Santa Claus (Christopher Plummer) appears at his booth and attempts to rob the bank, Cullen hands him only a tiny amount and hides more than $50,000 in his lunch box. The nervous robber grabs the money and disappears without a trace, and later the police quickly conclude that he has the entire amount. A news report then makes the robber realize that he has been cheated, and he vows to teach Cullen an important lesson.

The film is full of twists and turns, but what makes it intriguing is actually its ability to reveal 'logical' outs under some very unusual circumstances for people who are frustrated with their ‘normal’ lives. Prior to the robbery, Gould’s character is a lot like his favorite fish -- trapped in a closed space and simply enduring the passage of time. When the robbery allows him to break free, he comes alive and gains an entirely new appreciation of his existence. Susannah York plays a single co-worker who has become extremely good at following orders and awful in the game of love, which is why she is also stuck in a humiliating relationship with her married boss. When Gould’s character begins flirting with her so that he can regain access to a personal locker where he has placed the stolen money, she sees a legit opportunity to break free as well. A second woman (Celine Lomez) who is trapped in an even more humiliating relationship also enters the bank teller’s life and then makes a risky move to regain her freedom.

However, the 'logical' outs are completely overshadowed by the presence of the robber who turns out to be a ruthless nutter, and this infuses the film with a very unique type of tension. This is where Gould shines the most because the entire second half is essentially an awful nightmare that slowly becomes a reality, so he has to keep moving between them while carrying multiple legit personalities, and he does a marvelous job.

In an exclusive new interview that is included on this release, Gould recalls an old message from Steven Spielberg, who years ago apparently confessed to him that his performance might have been his best. It is a well-deserved praise because it is actually better than his work in The Long Goodbye and California Split.

Daryl Duke’s direction is also solid. There is an old rumor that Curtis Hanson, who delivered the script, was interested in directing as well, but after a quick round of negotiations the producers apparently turned down his offer.

The great Canadian jazz pianist and composer Oscar Peterson recorded the soundtrack for the film, which was later on released on LP via the Pablo Today label.

The Silent Partner 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, Daryl Duke's The Silent Partner arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The master that was used to source the release has a rather dated appearance, but I am unsure if this is because it was prepared a long time ago or because it was done in a specific way. Let me clarify what I mean. There are some obvious fluctuations -- mostly early into the film -- that essentially create the impression that some reconstructive work was performed. But I remain unconvinced that this is actually the case, and I assume that the element(s) that were used were not in optimal condition. Also, the density levels are mostly decent, but a lot of the visuals have that light flatness that is very typical for masters that were prepared on older equipment. This, I assume, is also the reason why in darker areas the grain tends to have a somewhat noisy appearance. The good news is that there are no traces of strong digital adjustments of the type that make many Universal Studios masters unsuitable for Blu-ray, which is why you should expect decent to good depth, and mostly pleasing clarity. The color scheme is good, but I think that saturation, balance, and especially the current ranges of nuances can be improved rather substantially. (Highlights for instance have limitations and look dated). Image stability is good. There are no distracting large damage marks, cuts, debris, or warped and torn frames, but some specs pop up. My score is 3.25/5.00. (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 Silent Partner 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 provided for the main feature.

Clarity and depth are as good as I expected them to be. Also, in the mid/upper registers there are no traces of age-related anomalies, such as distortions and hum. I think that there is some room for rebalancing work that could potentially eliminate some very light 'thinning' that pops up, but the majority of it this is likely part of the original sound design.

The Silent Partner Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Elliott Gould - in this new video interview, Elliott Gould recalls how The Silent Partner came to exist and some of the alternative options that were considered for key characters, and discusses the shooting of the film in Canada, the unique qualities of his characters, Oscar Peterson's soundtrack, the evolution of his career during the '70s and after, etc. It is an outstanding interview that makes the release a must-own for fans of the actor and '70s genre films. The interview was conducted exclusively for Kino Lorber. In English, not subtitled. (24 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - this new audio commentary was recorded by critics Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson. There is a lot of interesting information here about the era in which The Silent Partner emerged and Elliott Gould's image at the time, the nature and quality of the script that Curtis Hanson delivered, and the career paths of the different stars, etc. A very good commentary.

• Trailer - an vintage trailer for The Silent Partner. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 480/60i).

• Radio Spot - a vintage radio spot for The Silent Partner. In English, not subtitled. (1 min, 1080p).

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

The Silent Partner Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is a bit odd that The Silent Partner does not enjoy a huge cult status because Elliott Gould is a notch better in it than he is in The Long Goodbye. (For my money, his wildest and most enjoyable transformation remains in Busting, where he plays a cranky vice cop next to an equally loose Robert Blake). Also, The Silent Partner has a very solid script from Curtis Hanson that uses the cat-and-mouse game between the bank teller and the psychotic robber to produce some quite interesting observations about the risks 'normal' folks are willing to take if presented with the 'right' opportunity to change their lives. A very solid film, indeed. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a decent master and has an outstanding exclusive new interview with Gould that I think makes it unmissable. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.