‘Assassination’ (1967) Blu-Ray Review – Henry Silva Elevates Capable Eurospy Thriller

This explosive Eurospy thriller stars the criminally cool Henry Silva (The Hills Run Red, The Italian Connection, Code of Silence) as a man who must die twice in order to live. Time, memory and fear have no more meaning for Secret Service man John Chandler (Silva) as he awaits his ultimate fate on death row…until he’s offered an opportunity for resurrection. By altering his appearance through plastic surgery, John becomes his fictitious long-lost brother, Philip, as part of a subterfuge plot to take down a nefarious crime lord. The directorial debut of genre maestro Emilio P. Miraglia (The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave, The Red Queen Kills Seven Times), Assassination co-stars Fred Beir (M.M.M. 83, The Organization) and giallo goddess Evelyn Stewart (The Bloodstained Butterfly, The Weekend Murders). Beautifully shot in scope by Erico Menczer (Machine Gun McCain, The Cat o’ Nine Tails).

For thoughts on Assassination, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/pC_apB9Esjc?t=3952]

Video Quality

Kino Classics presents Assassination with a pretty strong upgrade in the form of a new 1080p transfer in 2.35:1 sourced from a new 4K restoration which looks quite nice. As is typical from this time period, optical shots can look a bit more rough, but things fall into line otherwise without much issue. The film does not feature much in the way of damage or dirt, plus fluctuations in density are kept to a minimum. There are some instances of jittery frames, but it does not appear to be a major issue. The film features some vibrant colors within the locations and specific costumes that are striking with good saturation. 

Skin tones look natural, and the presentation offers up some fairly deep black levels that never quite veer into crush even in the darkest moments. There is a noticeable uptick in fine detail that should please fans of the film. There thankfully does not appear to have been any digital manipulation of the source. The transfer provides nice, natural film grain absent of any compression artifacts or other such digital anomalies. Kino Classics has given this one a significant upgrade from standard definition. 

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a decent DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track in both English and Italian that represents the film pretty well throughout. Dialogue and background noises are represented in pleasing harmony with all competing elements. With the different languages being spoken in each track, there is some amount of sync issues you have to deal with, but that is the nature of the production. All of the sound effects and music appear to be faithful to the original sound. This disc maintains a fine sense of fidelity that is appreciated during the busier moments. Fans will notice the vibrancy and clarity of the soundtrack when certain scenes are aided with music. Despite the strength of this score, nothing ever overpowers the dialogue or other pertinent information. This track shows no overwhelming instances of age related wear and tear such as hissing or popping. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film. 

Special Features

• Audio Commentary: Film Historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson provide an entertaining and informative commentary track in which they discuss the recent passing of Henry Silva and how this film fits into his career, the behind-the-scenes details of the production of the film, the careers of the creative figures involved, the release of the film, the score and more. 

• Trailers: There is a three-minute trailer provided for Assassination. There are also trailers provided for The Hills Run Red, Code Of Silence, Arabesque, Diabolically Yours, Grand Slam, The Champagne Murders, The Sicilian Clan, The Night Of The Following Day and Impasse. 

Final Thoughts

Assassination is a decent enough spy thriller which is mostly elevated due to the presence of the captivating Henry Silva. The movie surrounding him is capably crafted but lacks anything groundbreaking that would leave an impression. This one is mostly recommended to die hard fans of the genre. Kino Classics has provided a new Blu-Ray featuring a strong A/V presentation and an informative commentary track. If you are a fan of spy films or the talent involved, it might be worth seeking out.

Assassination is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD. 

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.