Murder in a Blue World — Murder in a Blue World(Blu Ray)
Murder in a Blue World is a 1973 crime thriller set in a dystopian future written and directed by Spanish filmmaker, Eloy de la Iglesia (The Cannibal Man, No One Heard the Scream and Hidden Pleasures) and starring Sue Lyon (Lolita, The Night of the Iguana and Alligator), Chris Mitchum (son of Robert and star of Big Jake, Rio Lobo and Summertime Killer) and Jean Sorrell (Day of the Jackal, Belle De Jour and One on Top of the Other).
Directed in the wake of the success of Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece Clockwork Orange, Murder in a Blue World borrows heavily from Kubrick’s classic both stylistically and plot-wise. A gang of leather-clad biker types, (pseudo droogs including Chris Mitchum as David) arrive at the home of a married couple and in typical home invasion style force their way in, wrecking the place and followed by a second dragging the husband off to the bedroom. The film then cuts to a scene of nurse Ana (Lyon) comforting one of her patients before she meets a young man at an auction, to whom she gives her address and asks him to visit her. The pair make love before Ana murders him by sticking a scalpel into his heart. After witnessing her dumping the body, David, who has quit hanging around with the droog-style gang, decides to follow Ana, which culminates in him blackmailing her when he catches her murdering one of her victims. Eventually, Ana is able to turn the tables on the unsuspecting David who has been offered up to her boyfriend, Victor (Sorel), a doctor conducting pioneering research into suppressing criminal instincts in offenders through the use of electronic stimulation. Victor plans to use his therapy to try to cure David of his criminal thoughts, but Ana has other ideas.
Murder in A Blue World is a far more interesting movie than one might imagine, whilst it is an almost direct rip off of Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange, which even gets a mention when the gang bursts into the couple’s apartment, it remains an interesting take on futuristic attempts to suppress the murderous instincts of human beings. The cast are largely average at best with Jean Sorrel the standout performer. It’s just a shame he is so underused. Sue Lyon’s performance lacks the depth of her performance in Kubrick’s Lolita; however, she looks amazing as Ana. Interestingly, in one scene where she murders another of her victims, you see a copy of Nabokov’s novel on which Kubrick based the film version of Lolita, just to highlight how much of an homage to Kubrick this film really is.
Despite all of the criticisms I have of the film imitative nature, it’s great to finally see Cauldron’s new restoration of this cult classic. It may be derivative and feature some average performances, but it looks beautiful, the colours really pop, especially the scene in the bar with the vibrant red décor. In fact, Murder in a Blue World is such a visually arresting product of its time and an enjoyable dystopian thriller with a Kubrickian twist. This Franco-Spanish co-production also has something of the Giallo about it with the myriad twists and turns that have become associated with that genre. The film’s ending in particular is a delirious descent into madness and murder.
Cauldron’s Bluray also features a standard definition VHS cut of the movie under its UK title, Clockwork Terror, an archival interview with Chris Mitchum, a video essay by Dr Xavier Aldana Reyes and an audio commentary by Kat Ellinger.
Overall, I found Murder in A Blue World to be a fun dystopian romp, with stunning visuals and some great set pieces. De la Iglesia’s obvious love for the work of Stanley Kubrick is there for all to see, however it doesn’t detract from the joy one feels when viewing, what is, when all said and done a very enjoyable movie