It’s time for my After the Fox blu-ray review. This 1966 Peter Sellers comedy heist film has recently come out on blu-ray released by the BFI. It should therefore be an excellent release but is that actually true?
- After the Fox (1966)
- Genre: Comedy Heist
- Directed by Vittorio De Sica
- UK Rating U
- Discs: 1
- Released By BFI
- Blu-ray Released: 21 September 2020
Plot
When $3 million in gold bullion is stolen near Cairo the authorities are on alert for how the crooks are going to move the gold. It’s not that easy to move such a large amount of gold between countries without arousing suspicion. The crooks turn to the fox aka Aldo Vanucci (Peter Sellers) and he has the perfect plan. He intends to bring in the gold in plain sight and furthermore he is going have the local police help him do so. The fox is going into the movie business!
Style / Direction
The film is a British / Italian production directed by Vittorio De Sica. Meanwhile Leonida Barboni was the one responsible for the cinematography. After the Fox (1966) is a comedy heist movie that I’d say is an entertaining film that just falls slightly short of greatness despite starring the outstanding Peter Sellers. To be fair it’s a good looking film and the pacing is pretty tight which is important for a comedy to keep the laughs coming regularly.
Music / Audio Effects
The music is provided by Burt Bacharach / Piero Piccioni. However it’s the film’s title song that really stands out. After the Fox, a sixties sounding song rings out throughout and it’s perfectly suited to the Peter Sellers silliness on screen!
Acting / Characters
I’ve no complaints with any of the actors everyone turns in good performances, whether it’s Victor Mature taking the mickey out of himself or fabulous Britt Ekland as Gina Romantica. As you might expect its Peter Sellers that really makes this film rather zany and entertaining.
Cast
- Peter Sellers as Aldo Vanucci / Federico Fabrizi
- Britt Ekland as Gina Vanucci / Gina Romantica
- Victor Mature as Tony Powell
- Martin Balsam as Harry Granoff
- Akim Tamiroff as Okra
- Maria Grazia Buccella as Okra’s Sister
- Maurice Denham as The Chief of Interpol
- Paolo Stoppa as Polio
- Tino Buazzelli as Siepi
- Mac Ronay as Carlo
- Lydia Brazzi as Mamma Vanucci
- Lando Buzzanca as The Police Chief
- Pier Luigi Pizzi as Prison Doctor
- Tiberio Murgia as Detective (1)
- Francesco De Leone as Detective (2)
- Enzo Fiermonte as Raymond
- Carlo Croccolo as Salvatore
- Nino Vingelli as a Judge
Conclusion: After the Fox (1966) Film Review
After the Fox (1966) is an entertaining Peter Sellers comedy romp from start to finish. It not the very best Peter Sellers film but one I think most people are sure to enjoy. I for one would recommend giving it a look.
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Conclusion: After the Fox Blu-ray Review
I had high hopes for this blu-ray release when I saw that the BFI were the ones releasing. However it’s also an MGM film and that usually is a very bad sign. Unfortunately the BFI seem to have merely released a high definition version without doing any restoration work.
So let’s get into the issues I have with the picture quality. Firstly there are white marks every so often, that might not sound too bad but then there are vertical lines in several scenes on the right side of the image.
What really annoys me is a basic restoration could have turned this release into having pretty much perfect image quality. The overall picture quality is pretty good and wouldn’t have needed extensive work. Come BFI surely you could manage that, after all you have done so on many other lesser know films.
It seems the BFI are more interested in the extras they include than what I would consider the most important thing, the picture quality.
Yes the extras are pretty good but some are very loosely connected. The best is the 14 minute Peter Sellers: Master of Disguise feature that is an interesting take on a great actor.
The Man with the Velvet Voice: Maurice Denham 1961 + 1972 are included presumably in order for the BFI to preserve them. That’s fine I’ve no problem with them including them. However it’s just a shame the BFI didn’t feel the need to actually concentrate on the main feature, the restoration of After the Fox (1966).
Extras
- After the Fox: A Socially Distanced Interview (15 mins)
- Peter Sellers: Master of Disguise (14 mins)
- DDR Magazin Nummer 11 (12 mins)
- Robbery (1 mins)
- The Man with the Velvet Voice: Maurice Denham 1961 + 1972 (72 mins)
- Original Trailer
After the Fox (1966) Blu-ray
After the Fox (1966) blu-ray is available now from Amazon.co.uk.
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Popcorn Cinema Rating: After the Fox (1966)
MOVIE RATING: ENJOYABLE
BLU-RAY PICTURE: AVERAGE
EXTRAS: VERY GOOD
After the Fox (1966) Film Trailer
For those of you yet to see the film I’ll leave you with a little taster…
Clip not representative of the blu-ray version
That concludes my After the Fox blu-ray review, I’m aiming to review more movies soon. What’s next? Check back soon…
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Summary: After the Fox (1966) Blu-ray Review
Movie title: After the Fox (1966)
Duration: 103 mins
Director(s): Vittorio De Sica
Actor(s): Peter Sellers, Victor Mature, Britt Ekland, Martin Balsam, Akim Tamiroff, Maria Grazia Buccella
Genre: Comedy
- Movie Rating
- Blu-ray Picture Rating
- Extras
Summary
A funny Peter Sellers comedy heist let down by an average blu-ray release.
Pros
- Peter Sellers
- Zany Heist
Cons
- Average to Good Picture Quality
