Westworld is one of the quintessential and influential sci-fi/ action films of the 1970’s. It regards the rich folks' holiday resort of the title, where the participants can go back to the wild west- kill, fight, and carry out all manner of debauchery without any worry/ harm, as the place is manned by androids.  Unfortunately for two Chicago businessmen buddies- played by Richard Benjamin and James Brolin- things go somewhat awry ( to put it very mildly).  The film cleverly blurs and blends elements of sci-fi, action thriller, western parody, and satire.  Here from Arrow Video- both in the UK and Stateside is a new release of the film. It’s available as either a Blu- Ray or UHD- taking in a crisp & clean 4k scan, a new commentary track & interviews- as well as a great selection of new and archive extras.

Released in the year 1973, Westworld was the first feature film from writer turned director Michael Crichton ( Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, Congo). Between the early 70’s and late 80’s, he in total had a total of six features to his name- the other five took in medical conspiracy thriller Coma (1978), crime caper The Great Train Robbery ( 1978), tech thriller Lookers (1981), sci-fi cop thriller Runaway(1984), and crime drama Physical Evidence(1989)

The film kicks off with a perky male TV host interviewing a selection of people who have been to one of the three robot-manned adult-themed amusement parks. There’s the Western World (the American Old West),  Medieval World (medieval Europe), and  Roman World (the ancient city of Pompeii).  We next move onto a futuristic air shuttle, where our two leads/businessmen friends Peter( Richard Benjamin) and John (James Brolin) are chatting about their trip to Westworld- John has already visited it in the past, but it’s Peter’s first time.

They touchdown at the place's central building, John and Peter are put on buggy transport to take them to where they dress up in wild west cowboy attire- then we see them set down via a horse and carriage in the authentic western town, which costs each the whopping ( even now) fee of $1,000’s a day.

As the pair settle in, Peter is somewhat nervous- but after he guns down a dressed all in black android gunslinger(Yul Brynner), with realistic bloody wounds, he feels much better. Fairly soon, going to sleep with an android sex doll, having a bar fight, etc.

But as the pair's visit goes on, the white-smocked workers/ tech staff behind the whole thing start noticing glitches in the androids- first they are only slight, but fairly soon they get more serious and deadly.

Western World itself looks just like your clichéd wild west town-  with some great send-ups/ light quips at the western genre tropes. And though we only get to see brief shots of the other two locations, each is well-realised.

The film has a wonderful, tight plot with a fat-free run time of one hour and twenty-eight minutes. Both of our leads are fine, as rather self-obsessed/ lightly obnoxious, pleasing businessmen. With a largely good supporting cast. Though really the star/ focus here is Brynner as the gunslinger- he totally pulls off his android persona, moving from following his normal settings, to a seemingly unstoppable killer, which went on to inspire Michael Myers in John Carpenter's Halloween.

The film's score by Fred Karlin(Bad Ronald, Lovers & Other Strangers, Liquorice Pizza) complements the visuals perfectly- moving between pressing electro drones and more angular string/ key cues. All in all, Westworld is very deserving of its label as one of the great sci-fi action films of all time.

The release features a new 4k scan- this is full of clarity and depth, with a wonderful glow/ definition to the whole print. The balance between dialogue and soundtrack is perfect. All in all, Arrow have done a lovely job with the scan.

On the extras side, we get a great selection of the most worthy new and archive stuff. On the new side, we have a commentary track from filmmaker and film historian Daniel Kremer- this is very well researched and full of true passion for the picture. He begins by informing us that this was his favourite film from the age of ten, and goes onto discusses the film's impact/influence, going from Jurassic Park, the first Halloween, and the second Terminator film. We find out the opening advert wasn’t in the original script. The film had a budget between 1.2 million and 1.5 million dollars, which was a lower budget than similar sci-fi films of the period.  Apparently, Yul Brynner took a lower-than-normal fee of seventy-five thousand dollars. He discusses the lead actors/ their roles, as well as touching on other notable films they’ve been in. He talks about where MGM was as a studio at the time of the picture's release- very much in the red, selling off items like the Rubby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz. He talks about how the violence in the film was deliberately shot in slow motion, as Crichton believed it made it look unreal. We find out that there was no Roman World in the original script, instead it was replaced by the Island of the South Seas, which was meant to being a Eden like paradise. Later on, he talks about the Android vision, and the time it took to develop/ prefect this. He talks about elements cut from the script. He touches on the film's interesting sonic choices, and we learn that the director was exhausted after it wrapped. A well worth a play track.

Otherwise, on the new side, we have. Cowboy Dreams(11.42) conversation between actor Richard Benjamin and producer/screenwriter Larry Karaszewski. At Home on the Range(17.04)  interview with actor James Brolin. HollyWorld: Producing Westworld (34.17) interview with producer Paul N. Lazarus III. Sex, Death and Androids(15.13) a appreciation of the film by author and film scholar Alexandra Heller-Nicholas.

On the archive side- On Location with Westworld (9.06). Beyond Westworld( 49.39) pilot episode of the 1980 follow-up television series- this picks up after the end of the film, and we move onto a nuclear submarine where an android is hiding out. It’s not bad at all, with some nice moments of tension/cliffhangers, and android action, so a pity a full series. Lastly, we get a theatrical trailer and an image gallery.

The finished release comes with a perfect-bound booklet featuring new writing on the film by David Michael Brown, Priscilla Page, Paul Anthony Nelson, and Abbey Bender. Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Arik Roper. And six postcard-sized artcards.

In conclusion, this is a wonderful, classy release of this 70’s classic, which mixes sci-fi, action thriller, western parody, and satire. With a lovely 4k scan and a wonderful selection of extras. Another great release from the folks at Arrow Video