7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
During a Caribbean holiday, a British civil servant finds herself falling in love with a Russian agent.
Starring: Julie Andrews, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quayle, Dan O'Herlihy, Sylvia SymsRomance | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Maturing as a filmmaker after spending time with the “Pink Panther” series, Blake Edwards tries his luck with a spy genre with 1974’s “The Tamarind Seed,” which opens with a James Bond-style credit sequence from Maurice Binder and features a John Barry score, but doesn’t do much more when it comes to digging into cinematic influences. Instead, Edwards puts his faith into stars Julie Andrews and Omar Sharif, who supply just enough star power to get this unexpectedly dry thriller out of neutral on multiple occasions.
The AVC encoded image (2.35:1 aspect ratio) presentation delivers a consistent and defined look at "The Tamarind Seed." Some compression issues hound the main title sequence, but the rest of the viewing experience is stable, handling colors with care. Island paradise is well represented through blue skies and bright beach wear, and skintones are natural. Interiors visit colder offices and bedrooms. Detail is satisfactory, picking up on facial nuances and fibrous outfits, and the picture's attention to the miniature workings of spy tools remains intact. Delineation is acceptable. Source is in fine shape, without much wear and tear.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix delivers an agreeable listening event for "The Tamarind Seed," focusing on dialogue exchanges, which sustain intelligibility while dealing with various accents and levels of dramatic intensity. Scoring supports comfortably, with passable instrumentation and volume. Sound effects remain open with beach encounters and office visits, and brief moments of gunfire offer snap. Hiss is detected throughout.
Edwards finally gets some adrenaline going in the finale, but it's not enough to send off what's really a static picture about active government agents. "The Tamarind Seed" tries to be romantic and suspenseful, but it's not terribly exciting, with all of its appeal coming from the actors assembled to sell tension that's never quite there to begin with.
1957
2012
Warner Archive Collection
1966
1939
2015
1945
The Vivien Leigh Anniversary Collection
1937
1933
70th Anniversary
1953
40th Anniversary Edition
1981
Warner Archive Collection
1964
1990
1985
Limited Edition to 3000
1957
1979
1953
1940
2020
2020
2020