HUDSON HAWK (1991) (Mill Creek Entertainment Blu-ray Review)

HUDSON HAWK (1991)

Label: Mill Creek Entertainment
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 100 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Michael Lehmann
Cast: Bruce Willis, Danny Aiello, Andie MacDowell, Richard E. Grant, Sandra Bernhard, Donald Burton, James Coburn

Hudson Hawk (1991) was a bit flop at the box office when it came out, but I think it has since gone onto to become a bit of a minor cult-classic, the crime caper-comedy stars Bruce Willis (12 Monkeys) as a cat-burglar nicknamed the "Hudson hawk" who has just been released from prison after a long stretch. The guy wants nothing more than to go legit and enjoy a cup of cappuccino, but between the interference of his former partner Tommy 'Five-Tone' Messina (the late Danny Aiello, Jacob's Ladder) and his crooked probation officer he's gonna find both going legit and getting that cappuccino a bit difficult. Eventually he's roped into a crime-caper to steal Da Vinci's secret to turning lead into gold, which involves stealing Da Vinci artifacts from various high-profile and well-guarded museums. 

Also mixed up in this caper is CIA spook George Kaplan (the late James Coburn, Our Man Flint) and his candy car code-named agents Almond Joy, Snickers, Butterfinger and the creepy Kit Kat, played by a never weirder David Caruso, (Session 9). The goofy laughs come more often than the action in this one, but what really sends it right over the top is that the heist is being masterminded by Darwin (Richard E. Grant, The Player) and Minerva Mayflower (Sandra Bernhard, The King of Comedy) who come off as ultra-weirdo Bond villains, maniacally laughing all the time, demented and strange with crazy comic book evil plots. It's all a weird and silly bit of farce but I've loved this one since I was a kid watching it on cable TV, where it aired constantly. Willis is a charming guy, he's having a blast here, and it's just good jokey fun. 

Audio/Video: Hudson Hawk (1990) arrives on Blu-ray from Mill Creek Entertainment in 1080p HD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen in 1080p HD, the visuals looks solid, very filmic with a good-looking grain structure throughout. The cinematography from Dante Spinotti (L.A. Confidential) really stood out for me on this viewing, just one of the many things about this comedy that have aged well through the years.   Audio comes by way of english DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with optional English subtitles, dialogue is crisp and clean with some good use of the surrounds during atmospheric and more action-packed moments of zaniness.   

There are no extras what-so-ever, only a static menu offering the option to watch with/without subtitles. The single-disc release comes housed in a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring what looks to me a variation of the an original poster design.. This also comes with a retro VHS-style slipcover featuring different original movie poster artwork, with the disc having an image from the film on it. 

It's a bit of a bummer that the extra from the 2007 Sony special edition DVD still have not been ported over onto any Blu-rays that I've seen, including a audio commentary from the director, deleted scenes, and featurettes, but you can pick this up for under $10 and it looks great. .

More Screenshots from the Blu-ray:  

CHARLES BRONSON - 4 MOVIE COLLECTION (1972-1975) (Blu-ray Review)

CHARLES BRONSON - 4 MOVIE COLLECTION (1972-1975) 

THE VALACHI PAPERS (1972) / THE STONE KILLER (1973) 

 BREAKOUT (1975) / HARD TIMES (1975)

Label: Mill Creek Entertainment
Region Code: A (but possibly Region-Free)
Duration: 351 Minutes 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1,85:1),(2.35:1)
Audio: Uncompressed English PCM 2.0 (No Subtitles)
Directors: Terence Young, Michael Winner, Tom Gries, Walter Hill 
Cast: Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Martin Strother, Martin Balsam, Robery Duvall, Jill Ireland

THE VALACHI PAPERS (1972) 

Rating: PG
Duration: 126 Minutes
Audio:  English Uncompressed PCM 2.0 (No Subtitles)
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 
Director: Terrence Young 
Cast:  Charles Bronson, Lino Ventura, Jill Ireland, Joseph Wiseman, Walter Chiari, Gerald O’Loughlin, Amadeo Nazzari

Truth be told this was my first time watching any of these Bronson films, I have never been one to seek them out and they weren't part of my childhood the way horror and sci-fi films were. The two films I remember of his from my childhood were 10 To Midnight and The White Buffalo, but after seeing the Death Wish sequels as a rearly teen I sort of filed him away in the back of my mind as a past-his-prime tough-guy vigilante actor which just never appealed to me in my youth. In retrospect there's plenty to love about Bronson's later career, even the tough-guy cops stuff, but this four disc set has given me even more of an appreciation for his seventies output.

Directed by 007 director Terence Young (Dr. No, From Russia with Love - two of the BEST!) The Valachi Papers is based on a novel by Peter Maas and purports to tell the real-life story of crime family informant Joseph_Valachi, as played by Bronson. Valachi is a low-level criminal who works his way up through a crime family, the film opens in the 60's in prison where Valachi has been sent following some drug busts, his former boss thinks he's an informant and gives him the "kiss of death", Valachi tries to persuade the boss that he's not the guy who fingered him, but with few alternatives Valachi ironically turns informant to the feds for protection. During his interviews with the fed he relays his story from the 40's on through to the sixties leading up to his incarceration. The film is well done, the period settings are convincing, Bronson is tough-as-nails and the narrative is brutal with many gangland killings, including a gruesome castration sequence. At over two hours in length this one does have some occasional pacing issues, but the story and execution are enthralling. Bronson's wife Jill Ireland shows up as - what else? - his wife, in a typically lackluster performance but even she couldn't tarnish this otherwise engrossing crime story of honor, betrayal and mob justice.

THE STONE KILLER (1973) 

Rating: R
Duration: 95 Minutes
Audio:  English Uncompressed PCM 2.0 (No Subtitles)
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 
Director: Michael Winner
Cast: Charles Bronson, Martin Balsam, Jack Colvin, Paul Koslo, Norman Fell, David Sheiner, Stuart Margolin

The Stone Killer (1973) is the third of six hard-nosed cop thrillers that brought director Michael Winner and Charles Bronson together onscreen. Her we have a New York cop, Lieutenant Lou Torrey (Bronson), who at the start of the film guns down a teen in self defense, but the bad optics lead to a transfer to L.A., almost immediately he gets caught up in some strange mafia happening when a heroin addicted hit man he's transporting is gunned down. The story involves mafia boss Al Vescari (Martin Balsam, The Sentinel) who's hired a group of ex-military assassins to carryout a kill-list having to do with a decades old mafia-hit and his vengeance at those who ordered it. 

This one is fast-paced and intriguing, as the mystery unfolds I was rapt, filming gritty violence and action were Winner's strong suits in life and he was in fine form here, there's a fantastic chase scene of Bronson in a car chasing a culprit on a motorcycle that was a crash-bang-boom good time, and Bronson is in prime silent-but-deadly mode throughout, cracking wise occasionally. There's a lot of colorful mob associated characters here, and be on the lookout for future Three's Company alum Norman Fell (Charley Varrick) and John Ritter (It) as L.A. cops! 

BREAKOUT (1975) 

Rating: PG
Duration: 97 Minutes
Audio: English Uncompressed PCM 2.0 (No Subtitles) 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1) 
Director: Tom Gries
Cast: Charles Bronson, Robert DuVall, Randy Quaid, Jill Ireland

Breakout (1975) opens with Harris Wagner (John Huston, The Visitor) framing his grandson Jay Wagner (Robert Duvall) for a crime down in Mexico, the exact reason why he did this wasn't quite clear to me, but nonetheless he's sent to a Mexican prison, making his wife Ann (Jill Ireland, Hard Times) very unhappy. Jill seeks the help of a border town pilot-for-hire named Colton (Charles Bronson, Death Wish 3) and his somewhat dim partner Hawk (Randy Quaid, Christmas Vacation)to fly down to Mexico and rescue him, but she leaves out the fact that it's a prison-break! They arrives to a hail of gunfire and turn tail back to Texas, of course Colton is pissed-off that she didn't inform him they were breaking her husband out of a prison work detail, but drawn in by her charms he's undeterred, offering to try again, this time dressing up his partner Hawk as a woman to break her husband out of prison, but it seems the prison officials were forewarned that a break was about to happen and Hawk is beaten to a pulp by the prison guards. 

While Ann seems oblivious to the fact that someone is tipping off the Mexican authorities Colton latches onto that idea and keeps his next plan a bit closer to the vest, learning to (kind of sort of) fly a helicopter to perform a surgical prison yard extraction, a plan that requires bringing in an old flame named Mirna (Sheree North, Charley Varick) to pose as a rape victim to distract the prison guards! 

A fun and breezy affair this is a somewhat light-hearted prison break romp - rape jokes aside - with a surprisingly gruesome finale out on the runway, a nasty bit of business involving an airplane prop literally obliterating someone - which was surprising for a PG film in addition to the rape humor! This is probably the lightest fare of the bunch on this set, which isn't to say it wasn't entertaining, because it was quite a bit of fun, and it was good to see Bronson playing with humor throughout, not his usual sandbox to play in. It was also interesting to see him and wife Jill Ireland playing against each other, she married to Duvall's character but there's some sexual tension flying between her and Colton, too. 

HARD TIMES (1975)

Rating: PG
Duration: 94 Minutes
Audio: English Uncompressed PCM 2.0 (No Subtitles)
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1) 
Director: Walter Hill
Cast: Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Jill Ireland, Strother Martin

The crown jewel of this Bronson four-pack is Hard Times (1975), set in Depression era New Orleans Walter Hill's directorial debut opens with a train-hopping wanderer named Chaney (Charles Bronson, Master of the World) arriving in The Big Easy. With only six bucks to his name and looking for some quick cash he wanders into a local bare-knuckles brawl-contest where he easily defeats the night's best fighter with one punch, earning him some dough and the eye of local fast-talking promoter Speed (James Coburn, In Like Flint) who quickly aligns himself with the middle-aged brawler. Chaney clears a path through the local fisticuffs champs with the aid of his new manager and an opium-addicted cutman named Poe, played with a lazy Southern charm by Strother Martin (The Brotherhood of Evil). The film follows the trio through a series of fights which Chaney wins handily, developing a reputation around town as a man to be reckoned with. When one Cajun promoter refuses to pay after a win he chases the rightful winners off with a gun, but that night they track him down to his gin joint and Chaney causes a ruckus, a one-man wrecking crew destroying the promoter's henchman and his bar in the process, and definitely getting the money owed to him. 

One of the first contenders to give Chaney some serious fight-back is the local undefeated champ, a bald-headed brawler named Jim Henry (Robert Tessier, Starcrash), but in the end Chaney's smarts outdo the man's brute strength and notorious knuckle-crushing hard-head. With Chaney crowned the new king around town one of the local promoters brings in a fighter from Chicago in hopes of regaining the throne. 

Along the way Chaney befriends and unsuccessfully courts a local hard luck prostitute played by - who else - Jill Ireland, who is fairly innocuous here in a small role that doesn't ask much. Meanwhile, the fast-talking Speed sinks deeper into debt due to a degenerate gambling habit, which the crooked promoter uses to leverage a new title fight. 

Walter Hill's no stranger to making manly movies about tough guys doing tough things, and this is no different, right out of the gate with his first film it bares his trademarks, Bronson is perfectly suited for the role - a quietly cool man with honor and integrity, and when called upon, his brute strength and a tactical mind serve him well with his brawling pursuits, if not so much when it comes to the ladies.  

Audio/Video: These four 70's Charles Bronson film arrive on 2-disc Blu-ray from budget-minded distributor Mill Creek Entertainment, presented in 1080p HD widescreen in the original theatrical exhibition ratios, both The Valachi Papers and The Stone killer get the 1.85:1 framing while Breakout and Hard Times are presented in scope 2.35:1 widescreen. All four films have been licensed from Sony Pictures, and notably, with the exception of Breakout, were issued this past year on Blu-ray from Twilight Time, and as they licensed their releases from Sony as well this is most likely the same transfer, but with two crammed onto a single disc without the benefit of any extras whatsoever. I was a bit worried about compression issues with this one but am pleased to report that these discs looks to be nicely authored and don't suffer any compression I could detect. Audio on all four film comes by way of uncompressed PCM English 2.0, each sounding clean and well balanced, though there are no subtitle options for any of them.  

The 2-disc release comes housed in a standard 2-tray Blu-ray keepcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork, the disc themselves are standard issue for Mill Creek, black with white lettering, no frills and low-cost. I did notice they misspelled James Coburn's name on the back cover, "Cobern", but aside from no trailers that's my only niggle.  

If you're just looking to buy these films without any extras this is a damn fine release, and at the time of this review you can pick it up for $10, which is a steal, previously just buying the three TT titles would have set you back $75 easily, and they weren't exactly dripping with extras aside from one commentary on The Stone Killer and isolated music scores and trailers, but I will say that TT staff writer Julie Kirgo does some great write-ups for the films in the booklets. That said, even trailers would have been appreciated, but if you just want good looking HD versions of the film here you go, $10, done deal! This economical Bronson package comes highly recommended, and I hope to see more classic Bronson on the way soon! 

Blu-ray Review: IN LIKE FLINT (1967)

IN LIKE FLINT (1967)

Label: Twilight Time DVD
Region Code: Region FREE
Rating: Not Rated 
Duration: 114 Minutes
Video: 1080p Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 with Optional English SDH Subtitles
Director: Gordon Douglass 
Cast: James Coburn, Lee J. Cobb, Jean Hale, Andrew Duggan

The man with the panther stroll James Coburn returns as super-spy Derek Flint in this whimsical Bond-spoof actioner from director Gordon Douglass and once again we get pretty much anything one could want for from a spy-comedy. There are fantastic sets, exotic locations, irreverent and sexist humor, kitschy gadgets, go-go dancing chics, gnarly fashions, and it's all wrapped up in the candy-colored veneer of 1960's technicolor.

Flint once again returns to aid Z.O.W.I.E. when an insidious group of women who run the Fabulous Face Spa infiltrate and replace the President of the United States with a double and assume control of a new space lab orbiting the Earth. Armed with nuclear weapons they threaten to blow up the world unless control is handed over to women - yup, that's right, feminist terrorism. Hilariously the secretive group recruit women for the cause by brainwashing them with hairdryers armed with subliminal messages, "Brainwashing by hair washing". Yeah, sure it's goofy but it's a lot of fun too.  

Aside from the charismatic presence of Coburn as super spy Derek Flint a definite highlight is the return of befuddled spy chief Lloyd C. Cramden         (J. Cobb) who goes undercover dressed in drag to the Fabulous Face spa, it's quite a sight. The set pieces and locations are fantastic, plus the action is ramped-up including a great snow-covered rooftop pursuit that's on par with any 007 film, thrilling stuff. In Like Flint (1967) is not just a great spy-spoof sequel, it's a spy film on par with many of the 007 entries. 

Blu-ray: Twilight Time presents In Like Flint (1967) with a 1080p AVC encoded transfer in it's original CinemaScope aspect ratio, the source print used for the transfer is fantastic. There's a nice grain structure, colors are vibrant, greens and red especially pop, it's a sharp presentation with wonderful clarity and some actual depth to the 1080p image, a very nice transfer. 

There are two audio options including a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono and a 5.1 surround mix. The 5.1 sounds quite nice, dialogue, Jerry Goldsmith's score and effects all sound balanced and clear, it's a punchy track and the Goldsmith score sounds fantastic, there's some nice atmospheric use of the surrounds which add some minor depth. I was surprised at the inclusion of the 5.1 as the previous Our Man Flint (1967) Blu-ray offered only a mono mix, optional English SDH subtitles are included.  

As with their presentation of Our Man Flint (1965) Twilight Time offer copious amounts of extras on the disc beginning with Jerry Goldsmith's isolated music score, a fantastic score with some great spy themes and jazzy swing, it's a lot of fun. 

We get another Audio Commentary with Film Historians Lee Pfeiffer and Eddy Friedfeld who talk at length about spy films of the 60's and 70's. 

There;s over an hour of featurettes with interviews from co-author John Cork, director Michael Mann, author Collin Stutz, Lisa Coburn, Mathew Bradford and many others covering all facets of the production, the parodies it inspired, the kitschy style, the future retro design and spy gadgets and Jerry Goldsmith's fantastic score, this is a pretty stuffed disc. 

My favorite segment would have to be James Coburn: The Man Behind the Spy (14:53) which reveals much about the man with the panther stroll, such as did you know Coburn studied under Bruce Lee! Coburn was a very quirky guy who was into youth culture and marched to his own beat. There's loving tributes from his daughter Lisa Coburn, screenwriter Ben Starr and producer Hilard Elkins as they speak about his career, suffering crippling arthritis in the 70's and winning an Academy Award at the age of 79 plus voicing the character of Waternoose in Pixar's Monsters, Inc (2001)

The plethora of extras are finished off out by screen tests and trailers plus a full-color 8 pg booklet with writings from Twilight Time staff writer Julie Kirgo whom offers an appreciation of the spy spoof, James Coburn and the the film's take on the burgeoning feminist movement. .

Twilight Time's In Like Flint (1967) Blu-ray is bursting at the seams with extras and and a sweet 1080p transfer, this is a great disc. The disc is strictly limited to 3,000 editions and is available from www.screenarchives.com or for inflated prices on Amazon.com or eBay. If this release intrigues you you'd best snap it up quick before it's gone.  

Special Features: 
- Isolated Score Track 

- Audio Commentary with Film Historians Lee Pfeiffer and Eddy Friedfeld

- Derek Flint: The Secret Files (15:34) 

- James Coburn: The Man Beyond the Spy (14:53)

- Designing Flint (11:33)

- Flint vs Zanuck: The Missing 3 Minutes (7:09) 

- Take it Off (8:41) 

- Puerto Rico Premiere (11:42)

- Future Perfect (7:28)

- Feminine Wiles (6:29)

- Spy School (6:28)

- Musician's Magician (5:11)

- Spy Vogue (5:59)

- Screen Test (2:15)

- Trailer #1 (:56)

- Trailer #2 (3:22) 

Verdict: James Coburn again wins me over with his anti-Bond spy persona, super-smart and super-cool from start to finish, if you love spy cinema this is a no-brainer, you must own this technicolor marvel, a blast of retro-spy awesomeness. 4 Outta 5  

Blu-ray Review: OUR MAN FLINT (1965)

OUR MAN FLINT (1965)

Label: Twilight Time DVD
Region Code: Region FREE
Rating: Not Rated 
Duration: 108 Minutes
Video: 1080p Anamorphic Wiescreen (2.35:1)
Audio: English 1.0 DTS-HD MA with Optional English SDH Subtitles
Director: Daniel Mann
Cast: James Coburn, Lee J. Cobb, Jean Hale, Andrew Duggan, Anna Lee, Steve Ihnat

Synopsis: Derek Flint (James Coburn)—super-spy, man of multifarious skills, playboy extraordinaire—has his hands full in Our Man Flint (1965), the Bond spoof to end all Bond spoofs. With a team of mad scientists plotting to rule the world by controlling the weather, Flint is called into action by the chief (Lee J. Cobb) of Z.O.W.I.E.—Zonal Organization for World Intelligence and Espionage. Now he must contend with a seductive counter-agent (Gila Golan) and her evil cohort (Edward Mulhare), in a race against time to save the swinging world as we know it. 

James Coburn is the star in this whimsical Bond-spoof actioner from director Daniel Mann (BUtterfield 8), in it we're treated to equal parts homage and anti-007 shenanigans. It's got everything one could hope for from a Bond film plus some wonderfully irreverent humor, too. It's not quite as over-the-top as the Austin Powers films but it's pretty damned funny just the same, and it's interesting to note just how much Austin Powers copped from this film, from the particular tone of a phone to the idea of fem-bots - it's all right here. We get the nifty gadgets, the chics, garish fashions, the shag carpeted bachelor pad, not one, but three villains set on word domination, some hot pleasure unit action plus an awesome volcano lair plus it's all wrapped up in candy-colored 1960's technicolor.

Our super-spy is Derek Flint (Coburn), the character is pretty anti-Bond, the man is just not Sean Connery in any way, shape or form but is instead a lanky fellow with a toothy smile - not what one has come to expect from the super-spy genre but he brings his A-game with charisma to spare and an ultra-cool detachment, it makes for a great performance and he really makes it his own, which is something given how easy it would have been to just give what Coburn himself called a "Bond-age" performance.  

Flint is a former operative of the spy agency Z.O.W.I.E.  and is reluctantly brought back in by the spy chief (J. Cobb) to help stop a trio of scientist bent on controlling the world through means of weather manipulation, these weather manipulation scenes are a mixed bag of awful looking stock footage and dated (but awesome) miniature sets, some far worse than others. Shot relatively cheap the film definitely has it's share of schlocky moments, some o the sets visibly shake at times, but I sort of love that sense of underlying cheapness, it's part of the fun. 

Our Man Flint is fun stuff, there's so much to enjoy here for fans of the spy and spy-spoof genre, this one really holds up, there's some great super-spy riffing to be had and I would find it hard to believe that if you are a fan of the 007 series you won't love this spy spoof on the genre, I prefer it to many of the Roger Moore entries myself, this is great stuff. 

Blu-ray: Twilight Time presents Our Man Flint in a 1080p AVC encoded transfer in the original 2.35:1 CinemaScope aspect ratio. The print used for the transfer is in fantastic shape with few if any instances of dirt, scratches or specks and it has a healthy amount of natural film grain too, which is wonderful. The image doesn't exactly pop with 1080p brilliance like you would get from a new title and the fine detail while decent for a film of this age is not all one would hope for but overall this is a very nice image, aside from the truly awful stock footage elements.

The English language DTS-HD Master Audio Mono sounds quite nice, dialogue, score and effects all sound quite good and are presented with wonderful clarity, it's a lively audio track and the Jerry Goldsmith score sounds fantastic, even more so is the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 isolated score track that brings the Jerry Goldsmith score to life when broken free of it's mono theatrical track.  

We get quite a few more extra features on this disc that I am accustomed to seeing from Twilight Time, it's a pleasant surprise. First we get Jerry Goldsmith's isolated music score for the film, a fantastic score with a few nods to John Barry's iconic themes. 

The Audio Commentary with Film Historians Lee Pfeiffer and Eddy Friedfeld is a nice listen, pleasantly conversational and not at all academic or dry, good stuff.  There's an extended Theatrical Trailer (6:42)  for the film presented in 2.35:1 - it's a great trailer, too. 

The first of several featurettes begins with Spy Style (6:48) a brief and fun look back at the film with film critic Chris Gore and set designer Perry Blake that puts the film in context of the spy craze of the 1960's following the box office phenom that was Dr. No (1962)

Up next is Spy-er-Rama (9:14) features Pfeiffer, Friedfeld and screenwriter Ben Starr discussing the film's origins beginning with 20th Century Fox's reluctance to finance any more epic films after the fiasco that was Cleopatra (1963) which nearly bankrupted the studio, plus them wanting to cash-in on the Bond zeitgeist with a mainstream hit. 

Perfect Bouillabaisse (1:30) is a fun recipe laden goof paying tribute to one of the film's tastier subplots. A Gentleman's Game (4:13) is a fond appreciation of James Coburn from cast and crew, remembered as a one of a kind gentleman by all accounts. 

Derek Flint: A Spy is Born (24:29) is the longest of all the other featurettes and also puts the film into context with the 60's and the spy craze, it talks about film's like The House on 92nd Street (1945) and it's gritty docudrama style and the evolution of the spy spoof which aped similar spoofs like The Pink Panther (1963) which were big box office successes. There's some talk about a nutty first draft of the script which involved an alien angle, really weird stuff. eventually screenwriter Ben Starr was brought onto the project and he speaks a bit about his own life's experiences finding their way into the script. James Coburn's daughter Lisa makes an appearance and offers an appreciation of her father's character and sense of style. 

Directing Flint: Daniel Mann (11:09) is a look back at the film's director with fond remembrances from son-in-law Harold Ramis (Ghostbusters) and his son who speaks of ruining the final shot of the Judith (1966) when he inadvertently walked onto camera during an impossible to re-shoot explosive finale. 

My favorite segment was Flint vs Kael (6:07) in which we learn how the legendary film critic loathed the film and the controversy her scathing review stirred up, even ending in her firing from McColl's magazine.

The special features are rounded out by three storyboard to film comparisons totaling about 10 minutes in length  featuring Jerry Goldsmith's score. Lastly but not least are two screen tests featuring James Colburn and Gina Golan in black and white plus another with Coburn opposite a very lovely Raquel Welch who was up for the role of the seductive counter-agent but who instead went on to feature in The Fantastic Voyage (1966) instead. Last but certainly not least is an full-color 8pg. booklet with writings from regular Twilight Time writer Julie Kirgo offering the always insightful liner notes, this time pitting the film's inherent sexism up against the delightful whimsy of the spy spoof.

The disc is jam-packed with extra goodies, a fantastic edition from Twilight Time and surely one of their most well-stocked with extras so far. As with all Twilight Time DVD Blu-ray release this title is limited to just 3,000 editions and is available exclusively from www.screenarchives.com  so snap it up quick if it's appealing to you. 

Special Features: 
- Isolated Score Track 
- Audio Commentary with Film Historians Lee Pfeiffer and Eddy Friedfeld
- Derek Flint: A Spy is Born (24:29) 
- Directing Flint: Daniel Mann (11:09) 
- Spy-er-ama (9:14) 
- Spy Style (6:48) 
- Flint vs Kael (6:07) 
- A Gentleman's Game (4:13) 
- Perfect Bouillabaisse (1:30)
- Screen Test - James Coburn and Gila Golan (4:40)
- Screen Test - Raquel welch and James Coburn (1:54) 
- Storyboard Sequence 1 - Arrival at Galaxy Island (3:46)
- Storyboard Sequence 2 - Control Room Battle (4:31)
- Storyboard Sequence 3 - Escape from Armageddon (1:23)  
- Original Theatrical Trailer (6:26) 

Verdict: This was a first time watch for me and it was quite a romp, James Coburn at first seemed an odd choice to me but he completely owns this film. Our Man Flint is a quite a romp, chock full of jokes, gadgets, lavish sets, volcano lairs and world threatening baddies all wrapped up in garish 60's technicolor awesomeness, this gets a high recommend. 4 Outta 5