The Odd Job — The Odd Job( Blu Ray)
From the late 1970s, The Odd Job is a London-set black comedy that evolves into a macabre farce. It features Graham Chapman ( Monty Python) hiring a bumbling amateur hitman, Sir David Jason( Only Fools and Horses, Open All Hours, Frost), to kill him after his wife leaves him, but when she comes back, he won’t stop until his job is completed. Here, from Severin, as part of their series of reissues of films by Hungarian-born British film director Peter Medak, is a Blu-ray release featuring a new scan and a fair few extras.
The Odd Job was released to the UK audience in September of 1978. It was filmed in & around London, featuring key locations such as Parliament Square, Westminster Bridge, and London Zoo. It was the sixth feature film from Medak. In total, he helmed thirteen features, and fifty-six TV show episodes, music videos, and TV films. His features include erotic psychological drama Negatives (1968), pirate comedy featuring Spike Milligan & Peter Sellers, Ghost in the Noonday Sun (1974), haunted house chiller The Changeling (1980), and swashbuckling parody Zorro: The Gay Blade (1981).
The just under hour and a half film opens with a pipe-smoking and brown suited Arthur ( Chapman) making his way through London with a rather ropy-looking plant. Finally, he gets back to his large apartment, where his wife of five years, Fiona( Diana Quick), says she’s fed up with him being boring/ set in his ways. She jumps into a taxi, finally ending up at the house of Arthur’s moustached best friend Tony(Simon Williams).
Arthur, understandably, is very upset- he first drinks a lot, then tries to phone Tony, though he brushes him away as he’s planning to bed Fiona. So he decides he’s going to commit suicide- he wires up a chair to a light, but can’t reach the switch to flick it on- then a knock comes at his apartment- it’s the pebbled glasses wearing Odd Job Man( Jason), who is wearing motorcycle hat, goggles, and a long leather coat.
Arthur wants the odd job man to flick the switch, but after some debate on how it might not work/ make a mess. He agrees to jump out & kill him in a nearby park, and as you’d imagine, things aren’t quite that simple.
Along the way, we get to meet a selection of other characters- a conspiratorial racist doorman, wanting to get a good review restaurant owner, constantly fiddling with his comb-over copper, two gangster bros( clearly based on the Krays), a randy, tightly permed/ sunglasses neighbour, and a few others.
The Odd Job Man certainly tries a fair few ways to off Arthur- whacks him with a spade & tries to bury him, he tampers with his brakes, tries to poison him, blow him up, and gun him down, etc. This is all carried out with a huge pinch of dark humour, and bumbling flair from Jason, who I guess is fairly close to the Granville character he played in Open All Hours.
The Odd Job is a darkly amusing ride, which shifts into manic farce later on- both Chapman and Jason are great, as are the supporting cast. It’s certainly very much a British comedy of the 70s, with a darker/ macabre focus.
This region-free Blu-ray takes in a 2k scan- this brings out the 70’s colourings nicely, as well as crispens up the shots of key London locations. And we most certainly get a good selection of extras, which are all new/ from the last few years. First off, there is an intro with Severin’s David Gregory interviewing director Peter Medak(1.58).
We have an audio interview between David Gregory & Peter Medak( 32.44) which plays over the film. The Odd Job Men(16.21), a Zoom chat between director Peter Medax and star Sir David Jason. They discuss how Chapman wanted notorious wildman/ Who drummer Keith Moon to play the role of the odd job man- Medax gave him two chances to audition for the role, before saying a definitive ‘No’ or he’d leave the project. They discuss the quirks Jason brought to his character and comment on a few of the cast members who had drinking problems.
Otherwise, there is The Unusual Work ( 20.00) Interview with writer Bernard McKenna,. Producer. An Odd Job (18.48) Interview with Co-Producer Mark Forstater. The Odd Batch (13. 47) Interview With Actor Richard O'Brien. The Naughty Neighbour ( 7.58) Interview with actress Carolyn Seymour. Most Peculiar Craft ( 14.03) Interview with actor Simon Williams. So, as I said, a good/ nice selection of extras.
What with this and the recent(ish) release of Entertaining Mr Sloane, it’s nice to see Severin trying something a bit different and reissuing dark British comedies from the 70s. In finishing, the release is another classy/ interesting, extras-laden reissue from the company.