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Bloodline (Vinegar Syndrome) Blu-ray Review

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    Ian Jane
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  • Bloodline (Vinegar Syndrome) Blu-ray Review

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    Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
    Released on: October 29th, 2024.
    Director: Terence Young
    Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, James Mason, Omar Sharif, Claudia Mori, Romy Schneider
    Year: 1979
    Purchase From Amazon

    Bloodline – Movie Review:

    Based on author Sydney Sheldon’s 1977 hit novel of the same name, Bloodline, directed by Terance Young for Paramount Studios and released theatrically in 1979, explores what happens when Sam Roffe, the head of a massive pharmaceutical company, is killed while vacationing in the Swiss Alps. After his passing, his daughter, Elizabeth (Audrey Hepburn), learns that her father has left the company to her in his will and that, effective immediately, she’s in charge.

    Of course, there are various other members of the Roffe family, all of whom seem to be having financial problems of their own: like Ivo (Omar Sharif) and his wife Simonetta (Irene Papas), Sir Alec (James Mason) and his trophy wife Vivian (Michelle Phillips), and lastly Charles (Maurice Ronet) and his lovely wife Helene (Romy Schneider). All of them are vocally unhappy about this and are scheming behind the scenes to take the company from her, hoping to see it so off to cash in on the profits. Meanwhile, Inspector Max (Gert Frobe), with the aid of the latest in computer technology, investigates the circumstances behind Sam’s death and comes to the conclusion that he was murdered.

    Elizabeth soon realizes that her late father’s company is a bit of a sinking ship, and decides that rather than sell it off, she’s going to do everything that she can right the ship and turn things around. A short time after she makes this decision, those siding with Elizabeth start winding up dead at the hands of a killer clad all in black. The only person Elizabeth comes to trust is the company’s CEO, Rhys (Ben Gazzara), who she has clearly developed feelings for. While this is going on, the local police are investigating a series of killings wherein beautiful and very naked women are being found on riverbanks around Europe, possibly tied into a snuff film ring operating in the area.

    Set to an incredible score by the inimitable Ennio Morricone and beautifully shot by cinematographer Freddie Young, Bloodline features a remarkable cast and impressive production values yet still remains a bit of a mess. It might have had a huge budget behind it and a load of talented A-list stars in front of the camera and it may have been directed by the man who gave us some of the best films to have come out of the James Bond franchise, but the movie is all over the place, unsure if it wants to be a character driven corporate thriller, a character study, a sleazy giallo or a globetrotting drama about family infighting and greed. By mixing all of these elements into its bloated running time rather than focusing on one or two of them, the movie winds up bogged down with unnecessary subplots and becomes a bit of a chore to get through.

    That isn’t to say that the movie doesn’t have interesting bits to it, however. Omar Shariff is a lot of fun to watch here as he chews more than his fair share of scenery, and both Ben Gazzara and Audrey Hepburn do really solid work in the lead roles. James Mason is well-cast in his part and the rest of the principal cast members delivery more then decent performances. Again, the Morricone score is fantastic, and the movie does a great job with the visuals, capturing plenty of exotic locations with lush camerawork. A few scenes of effective suspense as scattered throughout the movie and the snuff scenes offer up some welcome cheap thrills, but attempts to tie the superfluous subplots together never quite gel the way they should and the ending feels extremely rushed.

    Vinegar Syndrome offers up two versions of the movie in this set – on the first disc, we get the 117-minute Theatrical Version and on the second disc the 141-minute Television Version.

    Bloodline – Blu-ray Review:

    Vinegar Syndrome brings Bloodline to Blu-ray in AVC encoded 1080p high definition framed at 1.85.1 widescreen on a 50GB disc taken from a 4k restoration of the original negative. Detail is frequently very impressive on this transfer and the image always looks crisp and film-like. We wind up with an impressive picture with great contrast and strong, deep black levels that always looks like proper film and shows no obvious noise reduction, edge enhancement or overzealous digital sharpening. The image retains the natural film grain you’d want it to and offers good depth and texture throughout, showing very little print damage at all. All in all, this looks excellent, and fans should be quite pleased with the picture quality on this disc.

    An English language option is offered up in a 24-bit DTS-HD 2.0 Mono track, with removable English subtitles provided. For an older mono track, the mix offers a decent amount of depth. Levels are set properly, dialogue is clean and clear and there’s not a trace of hiss or distortion to be found. The score has very good clarity to it.

    A commentary track with film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson starts off the extra features. They go into all sorts of detail about how the all-star cast wound up appearing in the movie offering up lots of details on their participation, the sleazy elements of the film and the possible influence of giallo and krimi films, Morricone’s excellent score, the differences between the TV version and the theatrical version, the use of actual footage of a racetrack fatality in the film, how many of the film’s subplots are gratuitous and could be removed without affecting the plot, thoughts on the performances in the movie both good and bad, thoughts on and details on the book that the movie is based on, the film’s snuff movie elements, thoughts on the script and the work that the writers did, how the movie compares to films that deal with similar ideas like Double Face with Klaus Kinski, where the film works and where it doesn’t, details on Terence Young’s life and career, the globe-hopping aspects of the story, some of the editing quirks inherent in the movie and the film’s very rushed ending.

    Stupid German Money is a fifty-three-minute interview with Clemens Keiffenheim, the film’s Second Assistant Director. He talks about his work as a painter but also shares stories about how he got into the film business, what it was like working on films in the seventies, how he landed the job on Bloodline, what it was like working with the cast and crew on the feature, some of the financing quirks that surrounded the production, what it was like working with Terence Young, which scenes in the film he played a hand in directing and some of the trouble that the production ran into during post-production.

    Off-Road is a twenty-three-minute interview with stunt driver François Doge. He speaks about how he wanted to be a stuntman in his younger days and how he made that a reality, getting his start in the film business, some of the people who helped him out along the way, how he got the job on Bloodline, what was involved in some of the car chase sequences and what he’s gone on to accomplish in the industry since having worked on the feature.

    Finishing up the extras is a theatrical trailer for the feature, menus and chapter selection options. Additionally, we get some reversible cover sleeve artwork and, if purchased through the Vinegar Syndrome website, a spot gloss slipcover designed by Robert Sammelin and limited to 3,000 pieces.

    Bloodline - The Final Word:

    Given the pedigree of talent involved in the making of Bloodline, it should have been an excellent movie instead of the bloated, big studio curiosity piece that it is. The movie isn’t a total waste of time, but it never comes close to reaching its potential. Still, Vinegar Syndrome has done their typically excellent job with the presentation, as the movie looks and sounds excellent, and the extras do a nice job of exploring the film’s unusual history.



    Click on the images below, or right click and open in a new window, for full sized Bloodline Blu-ray screen caps!

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