Treasure of the Four Crowns 3D Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Treasure of the Four Crowns 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 23, 2022

Ferdinando Baldi's "Treasure of the Four Crowns" (1983) arrives on 2D/3D Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include new audio interview with star Tony Anthony; new audio commentary by critic Jason Pichonsky; and vintage trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Here’s a film that is legitimately crazy. It is so out there that I would have paid pretty good money to be a fly on the wall when it was pitched to executive producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus in the early 1980s. No, really, how do you sell Treasure of the Four Crowns as a coherent project and then go to work to meet the expectations? It is an impossible gig. Naturally, I have to speculate that when Treasure of the Four Crowns was being discussed Golan and Globus were either sold on a different project or used the current project to legitimize some not so legal business expenses. In case you are rolling your eyes as you read this, consider how the long prologue is shot. What do I mean exactly? Take a look at your watch when the first line is uttered -- when does this happen? It is past the twenty-minute mark, after Tony Anthony’s character enters some ancient castle, goes to the bottom of a secret cave and gets attacked by vultures, wild dogs (or are they wolves), and a lazy python while looking for a very precious key. But wait, there is more. Half of the material where Anthony’s character struggles to stay alive is very clearly ‘inspired’ by very similar material from Raiders of the Lost Ark, and our hero even tries to imitate some of Indiana Jones’ posturing and moves. I have seen some quite exotic Italian copycats over the years, but Treasure of the Four Crowns is without a shadow of a doubt in a category of its own. It is just layers and layers of different kinds of crazy.

So, who is Anthony’s character? His name is J.T. Striker and he is a pragmatic adventurer who loves money and does not mind risking his life for it. You see the crucial difference between Striker and Jones? Our hero isn’t a brave archeologist who hunts down precious artifacts to save them from being acquired by wealthy barbarians. He is in this business for the money, and so long as he is properly paid for his work, he would deal with anyone. And this is precisely why he agrees to go hunting for the legendary Four Crowns, currently in the possession of Brother Jonas (Emiliano Redondo), a delusional leader of a secret cult operating out of an incredibly well-guarded castle in the middle of nowhere. (Castles are big in this film). However, because the job is unlike any other he has done in the past this time Striker must use the services of a few good old friends (Ana Obregon, Jerry Lazarus, Francisco Rabal).

Can you guess what happens next? Striker and his crew enter the castle and attempt to steal the Four Crowns, but this time the action is different. Indeed, the entire second half looks and feels like it was scripted by the future creative minds behind Entrapment, but with the obligatory layers of crazy. Some of this material is entertaining and a lot of it is just flat-out bizarre. But Striker does not care, so he just keeps moving forward, determined to get the Four Crowns and, yes, get paid for his work.

Ferdinando Baldi directed some pretty strange films over the years. The most extreme one that I have seen is Terror Express, which is basically an exploitation affair with a distinct Italian sense of humor. Treasure of the Four Crowns is an extreme film too, but because it is legitimately crazy. It looks like the creation of people that had various ideas in their heads and did not know what to do with them but went to work because they had the funds and a decent group of actors that believed what they told them. I don’t know how else to summarize Treasure of the Four Crowns. It is a genuine oddity that could have been made only during the ‘80s and only by the Cannon Group.

*Kino Lorber’s release offers new restorations of 2D and 3D versions of Treasure of the Four Crowns completed by 3-D Film Archive, LLC. 3D glasses are included with the release. I used them and thought that some of the 3D content was quite nice. I tested the polarized 3D version on a 3D TV set. The footage from the cave was my favorite. (The 3D versions are polarized and anaglyphic).

Treasure of the Four Crowns 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Treasure of the Four Crowns arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The film can be viewed in 2D and 3D. If you choose to view it in 3D, you can use the pair of 3D glasses from the Blu-ray case. Obviously, the 2D version can be viewed as it is.

In my opinion, the quality of the 3D effects on this release is a little bit better than that seen on the Comin' at Ya! release, but it has to be said that there is more suitable material for them as well. The long prologue, in particular, has some really neat effects and I must say that they are my favorite. How good do these visuals look after the film was restored? Pretty good. I think that the perception of 3D depth is very nice and when objects move toward the camera some pretty exciting things happen. Obviously, you should not compare these 3D effects with modern 3D effects because my comments address only the native quality of this content.

The 2D presentation is a bit uneven, but the visuals have strong organic qualities. Delineation and clarity vary the most, but on my system I never noticed any annoying anomalies. Some areas just looked slightly more dated than others, but there are grain fluctuations that are inherited as well. Color balance is very good. Yes, saturation could be better and some nuances can be expanded, but the color balance is right for a film from the early '80s. Image stability is good. Some minor surface wear remains, but I did not see any distracting large debris, cuts, or damage marks. All in all, I think that the release offers a fine organic presentation of Treasure of the Four Crowns that makes it pretty easy to enjoy the film at home. My score is 3.75/5.00. (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).

Treasure of the Four Crowns 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear in the black bar below the image frame.

I played with both tracks and my impression is that the 5.1 track is better. On the 2.0 track some areas of the film sound a bit flat and muddled, though this could very well be how the original audio was mixed. The 5.1 track seems to be opening a few of these areas better and improving dynamic contrasts as well. I did a lot of switching between the two tracks and my choice would the 5.1 track, but I urge you to experiment with both.

Treasure of the Four Crowns 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original U.S. trailer for Treasure of the Four Crowns. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Interview with Star Tony Anthony - in this long audio interview, Tony Anthony explains what attracted him to 3D films, and discusses his career and involvement with Treasure of the Four Crowns. In English, not subtitled. (45 min).

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by critic Jason Pichonsky.

Treasure of the Four Crowns 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Treasure of the Four Crowns cannot be described as good or bad because it is a genuinely crazy film, one that could have been made only during the '80s and only by the Cannon Group. Does it matter that it steals so much from Raiders of the Lost Ark? I don't think so. It is so out there that it is actually impossible to accuse of plagiarism. What about its entertainment value? Well, I was definitely entertained because I could not guess right when the crazy would end, plus Tony Anthony was pretty darn funny. Kino Lorber's release offers good 2D and 3D presentations of the film, and features a very good exclusive new audio interview with its star. RECOMMENDED only to adventurous viewers.