The Assassination Bureau — The Assassination Bureau(Blu Ray)
From the late swinging sixties, The Assassination Bureau is Edwardian-set action-adventure/ dark comedy, with a star-studded cast- taking in the likes of Oliver Reed, Telly Savalas, and Diana Rigg. It’s a decidedly Euro-trotting affair with an entertaining mix of witty banter, action, thrills, sword fighting, explosions, and more than enough camp to float a boat. Here from Arrow Video UK is a Blu-ray release of the film, taking in an HD print, and a few new extras.
The Assassination Bureau is a British production from the year 1969. It was based on the 1963 novel The Assassination Bureau, Ltd begun by Jack London and finished after his death by Robert L. Fish.
The film was helmed by Westcliffe-on-Sea, Essex-born Basil Dearden. It was directed/ co-written by Westcliffe-on-Sea, Essex-born Basil Dearden. Between the early 1940s and 1970s, he had an impressive thirty-seven features to his name. These went from Will Hay's comedy Black Sheep of Whitehall (1942), onto horse racing drama The Rainbow Jacket (1954). Though to space race romance comedy Man In The Moon (1960), and psychological thriller/ mystery The Man Who Haunted Himself(1970).
The picture centres around an organisation of worldwide assassins, which is run by the charming/ cunning English-born Russian Ivan Dragomiloff(Reed). Into his secret office steps Sonya Winter(Diana Rigg) with a case full of cash, but in a twist, she’s asking the Bureau to take out Ivan himself.
As the film's one hour and forty-nine minutes unfold, the action/ location shifts from London, onto Paris, through to Venice, onto Vienna and beyond. We have secret passageways inside hat shops, bearded disguises, flame-throwing cigars, and dueling sword flights onboard airships.
Added to the cast already mentioned, we have the likes of Beryl Reid & Warren Mitchell. Though the film is focused on an assassination, it’s really a PG-rated film- so mostly violence/ death is shown off-screen.
Reed is good as the head of the bureau, playing more of a charming/ cunning yet fairly subdued character who is always seemingly one step ahead of everyone else. Rigg's character is quite a strong/ no-nonsense. And a moustached Telly Savalas plays Lord Bostwick, who is very keen to lead up the Bureau, to manipulate Europe’s fate.
All in all, The Assassination Bureau is an entertaining 60’s romp- with the nearly two-hour runtime never dragging, as we switch from location to location.
The new Blu-ray release features an HD scan- this really brings out and buffs up the 60’s Technicolor pallet, with the whole thing looking very vibrant. The sound is also clear, with a good balance between dialogue and score.
On the extras side, we get two new extras on this disc. First is a commentary with genre experts/ authors Sean Hogan and Kim Newman. They begin by talking about the pre-credits/ credits- which weave in footage of character actors being quickly offed in quirky & amusing manner. They touch on the 60’s fascination with all things Victorian/Edwardian- mention other notable films in this genre. They talk about how the film is both nostalgic and melancholic, with cynical & dark streaks running through it. They chat about how the film often played on UK TV back in the day- been really a classic Sunday afternoon movie. They compare the book to the film- chatting about differences. They touch on Ms Rigg’s career, discussing how she largely followed the theatrical route. We find out that at one point, Mr Reed was in line to take over the James Bond character from Sean Connery, touching on what that might have been like. Later on, they discuss Telly Savalas' character and why they felt it didn’t really work. They talk about the film's art design, pointing out bit part actors, and more. It’s a decent/ interesting track.
The other new extra here is Right Film, Wrong Time (27.36), which finds critic, broadcaster and cultural historian Matthew Sweet discussing the film & his love of it. Lastly, on the disc, we get the original trailer and Image gallery.
The finished release comes with a booklet featuring writing on the film by Katherine McLaughlin. With it been topped off with a reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork choices.
If you enjoy where action and adventure meet comedy, 60’s style, then The Assassination Bureau will appeal. With a nice HD scan, and worthy extras.