Every studio is chasing the success of their previous hit film. This is just as true of the past as it is today. When director Stanley Donen (Singin’ In The Rain, Damn Yankees) made a decent chunk of change for Universal Pictures with his 1963 romantic comedy mystery Charade, it was practically no time at all before they requested Donen churn out something similar for his follow-up. The director hoped he could get star Cary Grant to work with him once again, but the script was not up to his standards and even Donen himself did not feel like he should do it until Gregory Peck (The Yearling) and Sophia Loren (Marriage Italian Style) came on board. The film would come to be known as Arabesque, and it was not quite the hit that Universal had hoped it would be. The film lacks the sizzle of his previous effort, but there is still quite a bit to admire in this lavish, messy comedic espionage tale.
Peck plays Professor David Pollock, an expert in ancient Arabic hieroglyphics at Oxford University who gets recruited by Middle Eastern Prime Minister (intentionally nondescript) Hassan Jena (Carl Duering) to decode a secret message. What Pollock does not initially know is that his predecessor Professor Ragheeb (George Coulouris) was killed for this message and he might not be in much better shape by the time everything is said and done. Pollock reluctantly agrees to this offer of meeting with wealthy shipping magnate Nejim Beshraavi (Alan Badel) to decode the message, but upon the arrival at the mansion he catches the eye of his beautiful girlfriend, Yasmin Azir (Sophia Loren), who tips him off that he will be killed after decoding the message. After a series of close-calls and titillating situations, the two find themselves on the run with the cipher and multiple parties in pursuit. What follows is an adventure filled with multiple double-and-triple-crosses, uncertain loyalties, multiple dead bodies and so much more that ensures the story feels overstuffed.
The main drawback of this film is the aforementioned messy script. It caused Cary Grant to not want to be involved, and apparently it got a little worse every time someone attempted a rewrite. There are so many conflicting ideas and genre cliches that attempt to meld together seamlessly but rarely reach that goal. The plot feels overly convoluted considering the more lighthearted romp it is ultimately trying to be. Yet, the film works somewhat thanks to the inherent charm of Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren. The actual dialogue they are saddled with does them no favors, but they have an effortless magnetism when they are on screen that makes you want to pay attention. The film feels most at home when the two stars are exchanging playful banter while in sumptuous locales and decked out in stylish costumes. The focal mystery of the cipher plays out well enough, but your enjoyment of the movie never hinges on it. Although, some enjoyment may be taken away by the portrayals of Arabs in this film along with the brownface applied to white actors to bring them to life. Older films were notoriously bad in this respect.
The other standout aspect of this film is the impeccable direction from Stanley Donen in a visual sense. The way in which he innovated with the camera moving seamlessly around the set was very impressive. His eye for composition within each scene reveals his background in choreography. This does help elevate the thrill level of certain sequences such as the one in which a wrecking ball is used as a weapon. The technical elements of the film are flawless; Henry Mancini (The Pink Panther) provides the perfect soundtrack for the film with his curious score, and the production and costume designers deserved a raise after making every frame look so beautiful. The movie looks great and the performances are really strong, but the film is lacking a sense of substance that would allow it to rise to the status of a classic spy adventure. The movie is a pretty fun time, but with a little more care given to developing the secondary characters and fine-tuning of the dialogue this film could have been something special.
Video Quality
Arabesque comes to Blu-Ray courtesy of Kino Classics with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer which appears to be derived from the same solid older master that was used for the previous Universal release. There is no question that this presentation is quite gorgeous throughout most of the runtime. This transfer maintains the natural film grain of the presentation without becoming intrusive or clumpy. The picture runs slightly on the soft side during certain long shots. Colors are well saturated in a pleasing way, and instances of glaring print damage are not apparent with only the occasional speck and mark visible. Overall clarity and detail is pleasing, and skin tones are natural and consistent with subtle facial features easily noticeable in closeup. Black levels hold up well with crush not serving as an overwhelming issue. This new presentation from Kino Classics is very impressive, which should please fans of the film.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that perfectly preserves the artistic intention of the film. The memorable score from Henry Mancini sounds great throughout the duration of the film, as it creates a curious, playful tone for the narrative. There is never a moment where it threatens to overwhelm competing sounds, and it maintains a good balance so that dialogue comes through clearly. Environmental sounds such as the shower or motor of a car are rendered well alongside everything else. The more thrilling moments are delivered with more of a quiet strike than anything bombastic. There does not seem to be any majorly noticeable instances of age-related wear and tear. Kino Classics has given this film the perfectly preserved, faithful audio presentation it deserves.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Film Historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson give a very lively and entertaining commentary track in which they talk about the place of this film in history, why it is unfairly lumped with other thrillers, the nonsensical elements in the film, the performances, the violence in the film, the settings and more. There is so much fun input throughout this track that fans should love digging into.
- Music By Mancini: A ten-minute featurette with Henry Mancini and Nationally Syndicated Columnist Leonard Feather in which they discuss his career and the process of composing a score. Appropriately enough this piece focuses on the creation of the score for Arabesque.
- Poster Gallery: A collection of posters are provided here.
- TV Spots: Two minutes of TV spots are provided here.
- Trailers: There is a Television Trailer (1:05), Teaser Trailer (1:23) and Trailer (3:30) provided for Arabesque. There are also trailers provided for Night People, Mirage, Boy On A Dolphin and Five Miles to Midnight.
Final Thoughts
Arabesque is a bit messy on a script level, but the performances from Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren elevate otherwise more middle-of-the-road material. Director Stanley Donen should also be given due credit for adding some visual flair to the proceedings. Kino Classics has given this one a Special Edition Blu-Ray release sporting a strong A/V presentation and a decent array of special features. The film has problems, but there are many fun moments if you are looking for a more mindless time. If you are a fan, this is the disc to get if you have yet to pick it up.
Arabesque (Special Edition) will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray on September 14, 2021.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
