Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Up to His Ears Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 8, 2015

Note: This film is available as part of the double feature That Man from Rio / Up to His Ears.

The James Bond craze was just reaching mass hysteria proportions when an unlikely upstart managed to steal a bit of the international cinematic spotlight from good old 007. Director Philippe de Broca had been toiling in the somewhat rickety post World War II French film industry since the early fifties, cranking out a regular supply of fairly successful and critically acclaimed films like 1960’s Les Jeux de l'amour, which captured the Silver Bear Extraordinary Prize at that year’s Berlin Film Festival, and the interesting 1962 portmanteau Les Sept péchés capitaux, where de Broca directed a segment alongside other contributors like Claude Chabrol, Jacques Demy, Roger Vadim and Jean-Luc Godard (I’ve sometimes wondered if this film was at least partially the inspiration for Vittorio De Sica’s study of just one mortal sin—adultery—in the similarly heptagon titled Woman Times Seven). For whatever reason, though, de Broca never seemed to penetrate into the top echelon of French directors like Godard or Demy, at least that is until That Man from Rio (L’homme de Rio) became an international sensation in 1964. The success of that film was so outsized (and probably unexpected) that of course de Broca was almost immediately approached about shooting a sequel, which turned out to be (more or less, anyway) Up to His Ears, a decidedly more hyperbolic and (therefore?) less successful follow-up featuring that man from Rio himself, Jean-Paul Belmondo. Cohen has collected these two linked films together, reportedly sourced from new 2K restorations, along with a generous supplemental package which should appeal to Francophiles and cineastes in general.

Philippe de Broca probably had carte blanche to do whatever he wanted to with Up to His Ears after the incredible success of That Man from Rio the year before, and yet this ostensible sequel is an object lesson that bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better. For a number of arcane reasons that are detailed in the enjoyable documentary supplementing this new Blu-ray, an out and out sequel was jettisoned in favor of a supposed adaptation of an old Jules Verne novel called Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine, though it’s perhaps indicative of some of the problems with this film that there is neither a focal “Chinaman” nor indeed (at least mainland) China itself anywhere to be found in an overheated and frenzied plot that seems to want to “up” any given element in That Man in Rio, whether it be lunatic fights, a crazy plane ride, or a kind of travelogue ambience highlighting some of the world’s most beautiful locales. (It's instructive to note that the film borrows as much from Hergé's iconic Tintin outings as it does from Jules Verne.)

Jean-Paul Belmondo is back on hand again, though this time he plays unhappy billionaire Arthur (Arthur?), a guy who evidently has everything and yet who is desperately depressed to the point that the film begins with the character attempting suicide. It soon becomes apparent that at least part of Arthur’s emotional turmoil may be due to his impossibly bourgeoisie fiancée Alice (Valérie Lagrange) and her harridan parents. When Arthur’s accountant Biscotton (Darry Cowl) informs him that a recent downturn in the stock market has spelled doom for Arthur’s fortune, the news actually doesn’t send him into even deeper throes of anxiety. Arthur’s mentor Mr. Goh (Valéry Inkijinoff) thinks that Arthur needs even more “adversity” in his life in order to discover the key to happiness, and he suggests a risky gambit. Arthur signs a one month insurance policy for several million Francs, with Goh and Alice the beneficiaries. Goh then informs Arthur he’s arranged to have Arthur killed, though in a humane and pain free way. Arthur therefore has one month at most to discover that aforementioned key to happiness.

In attempting to elude some shady characters that Arthur assumes are there to assassinate him, the befuddled ex-one percenter stumbles into a club where he meets striptease artist Alexandrine (Ursula Andress). Meeting this voluptuous woman seems to reacquaint Arthur with at least some of the reasons people want to stay alive, and he decides to tell Goh to call off his goons and that the “bet” is over. Of course by that point Goh has moved on to points East, with Arthur and his new main squeeze hot in pursuit to try to connect with him before Goh’s murderous assistants do Arthur in.

The hugely enjoyable ebullience that made That Man from Rio such an incredible treat is largely absent in Up to His Ears, replaced by a lot of sound and fury which (inescapably perhaps) signifies next to nothing. Haphazardly plotted and at times rather incoherently edited, Up to His Ears is scenic but it rarely rises to the comedic heights of its predecessor. Belmondo and Andress are certainly scenic in their own ways, too, of course, and their inherent charisma helps to at least partially offset what is a pretty messy, ill formed follow up to one of the most effervescent films of the mid-sixties.

Up to His Ears Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Up to His Ears is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cohen Film Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. Like its double feature sibling That Man from Rio, this is advertised as having been sourced from a new 2K restoration, and the results are very enjoyable if not quite at the lustrous levels seen in the first film. The color space here seems just slightly off at times, teetering toward yellow and even slightly yellow-green at times. There's also persistent crush in a lot of the nighttime scenes, notably some of the moments aboard the little boat Alexandrine takes Arthur to. Sharpness is slightly variable as well, with some exterior footage being noticeably softer than the bulk of the presentation. All of this said, the palette is often generously saturated and detail remains strong, especially in the most brightly lit scenes. There are no issues with image instability, and the entire presentation has a very naturally filmic look, with an organic grain field.

Up to His Ears Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Up to His Ears' uncompressed LPCM 2.0 mono track offers good support for the film's dialogue, at times rather busy sound effects array and Georges Delerue's typically charming score. Fidelity is very good, though occasionally a bit thin sounding (as was the case in That Man from Rio as well). There are no issues with distortion or damage.

Up to His Ears Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• That Man from Hong Kong (1080p; 28:47) is an interesting look at the film's genesis and production, including its ostensible link to Jules Verne as well as its perhaps unexpected link to the characters found in Tintin (an aspect it shares with That Man from Rio).


• From Cartouche to Cavaleur: The Collaboration of Jean Rochefort and Philippe de Broca (1080p; 9:18) features an enjoyable interview with the noted French actor. As with this Blu-ray's sibling, someone didn't spell check the main menu very carefully, and Philippe de Broca's name is misspelled.


• Original Release Trailer (1080p; 3:07)


• 2014 Re-release Trailer (1080p; 1:34)

Up to His Ears Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Up to His Ears simply has the feeling of well intentioned folks trying way too hard to capture lightning in a bottle twice. The film is relentlessly (almost exhaustingly) busy, full of silly sight gags and nonstop frenzied action, but it never provides the lighter than air quality That Man from Rio did (despite the fact that there's a hot air balloon in this film). Up to His Ears is still incredibly scenic, and there are a few scattered laughs along the way, but for whatever reason the magic just didn't recur this time around. Still, there's certainly enough here to warrant checking out, and this is one of those releases where the supplemental package helps to make the overall offering more palatable. Recommended.