Brannigan — Brannigan(Blu Ray)
From the mid-1970s Brannigan is a crime thriller- with light touches of humour, and some neat action set-ups. It finds Chicago cop Jim Brannigan- played with great swagger by John Wayne- been sent to London to escort a crime boss back to the US- and as expected things don’t go as planned- the mark gets kidnapped, Brannigan has a hitman on his tail, and of course we get the normal fish-out-of-water comedy-drama you’d expect with this type of film. Here from the BFI is a new Blu-Ray of the picture- featuring a well-defined new print of the pictures, a new featurette about the film, and a good selection of archive extras.
Brannigan appeared in the year 1975, and was mostly filmed in and around London- so we get some great footage of the city in the mid-70s. It was directed by London-born Douglas Hickox- he has eight features to his name as director, as well as thirty assistant director credits. His features included hopeful rock ‘n’ roll star musical Just For You (1964), horror comedy featuring Vincent Price Theatre Of Blood (1973), historic action-drama Zulu Dawn (1979), and psychological thriller focusing on a masked killer Blackout (1985).
Appearing four years after the first Dirty Harry film- it’s clear Brannigan was attempt to cash in on the no-nonsense/ rules don’t matter cop films. And while Wayne was sixty-nine when the film was made, not at prime fitness, and had a little extra weight around his midriff- he sells his character well enough.
The film opens with Brannigan tricking a currency forgery into confessing up, but in the blink of an eye, he’s sent off to London to bring back Crime Boss Larkin( John Vernon). When touching down in the Uk he is met by female vice officer Jenifer( Judy Gleeson) who is sent to drive him around/ keep an eye on him. Fairly soon he’s meeting up with Cmdr. Swann( Richard Attenborough)- with the pair having healthy banter, as well as a few raised voices as Swann is less than pleased with Brannigan still carrying his gun on his hip, and seemingly following his own-rules persona.
The film runs at the one hour and fifty-minute mark- and I must say it does take a little bit to get into its action/ stunt groove- but when it does we get some neat setups. We have a shotgun trap & an exploding toilet, a comically edged barroom fight, a stalking shade-wearing hitman, and a neat though-the-city car chase which is finished off with an on-tower-bridge stunt.
The film fairly even blends its fish-out-of-water comedy drama elements with some amusing lines/ aside from Wayne. With an engaging plot mixing in Kidnapping, shifty London crims, focused on their hit hitmen, and one or two neat plot twists.
On the less positive side of things. While when it’s in its pumped-up funky horn setting Dominic Frontiere score is effective, it’s most certainly not when it’s overused/ overdone with overly dramatic cues- when things aren’t really that tense/ if at all. And the first half of the film certainly feels like it could be a little trimming/tightening up here and there. But on the whole, Brannigan is an entertaining ride- and it’s a pity we didn’t get a sequel- though I guess as Wayne passed in 1979, his days of more action-based films had passed.
This new Region B Blu-ray takes in an HD scan of the film- this looks lovely and bold in its colour, with the nice print very well defined. On the new extras side of the disc, we get one thing- A Duke Out Of Water ( 37.16) here we get a selection of on-screen interviews with those who worked on the film. We have a costume designer, a hairdresser, the second assistant director, three stuntmen, and the actor who played the man whose car Wayne jumps into in the film. We find out about the leads wigs, and that he took twelve back to the States. There’s brief talk of Judy Gleeson- who apparently brought her two little dogs on set. Everyone thought Wayne was a lovely man- tall though with only size seven feet. Attenborough was apparently rather fake/ false. We find out they wreaked three cars during the car chase, and a few other titbits. All in all, this is well worth a play.
On the archive side, we get a 2017 commentary track with Steve Mitchell and critic Nathaniel Thompson. A 2021 interview with Frank Henson ( 4 mins) where the veteran stuntman looks back on doubling the Duke. Take It to the Bridge (23 mins) from between 1905-1956 historical glimpses of the Thames, Tower Bridge and other Brannigan locations. A Policeman’s Lot (, 35 mins): a selection of films from between 1896-1973 concerning crimefighters and crooks. A 1983 Guardian audio Interview with Richard Attenborough (88 mins). An extensive selection of location photographs, featuring cast and crew, and a original trailer. The first pressing features an illustrated booklet with a new essay by Johnny Mains, a John Wayne biography by John Oliver, notes on the special features and film credits.
If you enjoy 70’s crime thrillers with light touches of humour, I think Brannigan will most certainly appeal. And it’s nice to see Mr. Wayne's only British film getting this BFI presentation- with a bold & bright scan, and a nice selection of extras too.