Dandy in Aspic [Region Free] [Blu-ray]

The final film by the great Anthony Mann (Winchester '73, El Cid) A Dandy in Aspic is a stylish and complex cold-war thriller starring Laurence Harvey (Room at the Top, The Manchurian Candidate) as a Russian double-agent working for British Intelligence who is assigned to track down and kill an unusual target. Falling between the outlandish exploits of James Bond and the dour realism of John le Carré’s ‘circus of spies’, this paranoid thriller is a dark and refined affair, with a superb supporting cast headed by Mia Farrow (Rosemary’s Baby, See No Evil) and Tom Courtenay (The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Otley), wonderful cinematography by regular Powell and Pressburger cameraman Christopher Challis, and with a terrific score by Quincy Jones. ExtrasHigh Definition remasterOriginal mono audioAudio commentary with author and critic Samm DeighanThe BEHP Interview with Christopher Challis (1988, 107 mins): archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the cinematographer in conversation with Kevin Gough-YatesA Time to Die (2019, 10 mins): members of the crew recall aspects of the film’s productionPulling Strings (2019, 22 mins): titles designer Michael Graham Smith and puppeteer Ronnie Le Drew discuss the distinctive opening credit sequenceInside Mann (2019, 12 mins): appreciation by critic and broadcaster Richard CombsLondon to Berlin (2019, 6 mins): exploration of A Dandy in Aspic’s British and German locationsBerlin: The Swinging City (1968, 5 mins): original promotional film produced by Columbia PicturesIsolated music & effects trackOriginal theatrical trailerImage gallery: on-set and promotional photographyNew and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing