‘The President’s Analyst’ Blu-Ray Review – A Sly And Subversive Precursor To Paranoid Thrillers

Writer-director Theodore J. Flicker’s (The Troublemaker) psychedelic satire is one of the wackiest and wittiest cult-classics of the sixties! With the responsibilities of world peace, the national debt and dessert choices at state dinners constantly on his mind, it seems like a good idea to find the President of the United States an analyst to help him deal with these burdens. Dr. Sidney Schaefer (the great James Coburn, Our Man Flint, Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round) wins the coveted job, but not without a price—governments from all over the globe are soon targeting the hapless doctor. Some want him to spill whatever secrets may have been discussed in the Oval Office, while others want to silence him permanently to prevent him from possibly revealing that very information! Co-starring Godfrey Cambridge (Cotton Comes to Harlem), Severn Darden (Conquest of the Planet of the Apes) and Joan Delaney (Don’t Drink the Water).

For thoughts on The President’s Analyst, please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required:

Video Quality

Kino Classics presents The President’s Analyst with a tremendous new 1080p transfer sourced from a 4K scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative by Paramount Pictures. The partnership between Paramount Pictures and Kino Lorber has once again revived a forgotten feature for modern audiences. The film is free from dirt and damage for a very nice viewing experience that captures the frantic photography confidently. There do not appear to be any unwanted digital nuisances such as compression artifacts, banding, or any other such anomalies. The level of detail and clarity is truly wonderful with the perfect amount of natural film grain intact and resolved well. The film features some complex colors within the environments and costumes that leap off the screen. Black levels are nice and deep with a resolute stability throughout. This presentation accomplishes everything it intends to with ease. 

Audio Quality

The film has been given a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio presentation that offers up this information mighty well. Even with the film being over 50 years old, there are precious few moments when the track shows any anomalies. Dialogue comes through clearly throughout without being overshadowed by any competing elements. The creative score from Lalo Schifrin maintains noble fidelity with no big swings when it comes to stability. The track exhibits vocals in tandem with the environmental sounds with tremendous clarity. Kino Classics has provided an intentionally chaotic audio presentation that presents the film as well as it deserves. The disc also comes with optional English (SDH) subtitles.

Special Features

• Audio Commentaries: There are two commentary tracks provided by film historians in which they discuss where America and Hollywood were at this point in time, the background details of this film, the reception upon release, the subversive nature of the narrative, technical aspects of capturing certain shots, the performances, the thematic details of the story and more. These are both very enlightening tracks that are well worth a listen.

• • Audio Commentary #1: Film Historian/Writer Julie Kirgo and Writer/Filmmaker Peter Hankoff

• • Audio Commentary #2: Novelist and Critic Tim Lucas

• Trailers: The nearly four-minute trailer for The President’s Analyst is provided here. There are also trailers provided for Dead Heat On A Merry-Go-Round, A Fistful of Dynamite, Harry In Your Pocket, The Internecine Project, The Ipcress File, Arabesque, and A Dandy In Aspic. 

Final Thoughts

The President’s Analyst has fun predicting and indulging in paranoid notions throughout the narrative in a way that keeps you off-kilter and uncertain from scene to scene. James Coburn keeps this movie on the rails what little it is thanks to his committed performance, but there are several moments that will make even the most focused audience member confused on a first viewing. The film is sly and subversive, and it can be great fun trying to keep up with it. It does not completely work at all times, but it is well worth seeking out. This new Blu-Ray release from Kino Classics offers up a wonderful A/V presentation and a nice pair of commentary tracks. Recommended 

The President’s Analyst is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray. 

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.