It’s time for my Cuba Blu-ray review, as you probably know I love it when older titles are released on to the blu-ray format providing they have been restored well.
So when I spotted a Sean Connery film, Cuba (1979) had released I simply had to take a look.
- Cuba (1979)
- Genre: Drama
- UK Rating 12
- Discs: 1
- Released By 88 Films
- Starring Sean Connery, Brooke Adams, Jack Weston, Hector Elizondo, Denholm Elliott, Martin Balsam, Chris Sarandon, Alejandro Rey, Lonette McKee
Plot
Sean Connery plays former British Major Robert Dapes who arrives in Cuba to advise and organise General Bello’s Cuban army against Fidel Castro’s rebel uprising. However once in Cuba he encounters a former lover, Alexandra Lopez de Pulido (Brooke Adams).
What soon becomes apparent is Major Dapes has arrived too late to stop the uprising and furthermore he and his former lover Alex are about to get caught up in the revolution.
The story is written by Charles Wood.
Style / Direction
The film was directed by Richard Lester with the cinematography being handled by David Watkin. Make no mistake this is a beautifully shot film with fabulous locations and stunning camera work.
Music / Audio Effects
The music is provided by Patrick Williams. and gives you the vibe of what we now tend to think of Cuba and Havana being like, so it ticks all the boxes.
Acting / Characters
Sean Connery is again outstanding, dominate and completely holds your attention like very few actors can.
Brooke Adams plays the both beautiful and exotic woman, Alexandra Lopez de Pulido, whom has a strange hold over Connery’s character and it’s fascinating to watch it play out.
She plays the character brilliantly making her an unfathomable figure which only brings further intrigue to proceedings.
Elsewhere there is a small role for Denholm Elliott as a guy looking to make a few dollars on the collapse of the country by using his aircraft to evacuate both goods and people.
Keep an eye for Roger Lloyd-Pack, best known from the BBC sitcom Only Fools And Horses, he plays one of Casto’s rebels.
Conclusion: Cuba (1979) Film Review
Cuba is quite simply compelling viewing, it charts the collapse of the dictatorship regime as Castro’s revolution takes hold. Caught in the middle of this are a couple of former lovers, one a former British Major and the other runs the a Cuban cigar factory as her husband is totally inept.
It’s a film I had never seen but one I thoroughly enjoyed and one I think deserves more praise. Connery and Brooke Adams relationship and chemistry steals the show but set in the at times beautiful scenery of Cuba, although I’m not sure where it was filmed, makes for a fabulous story.
If you like my Cuba Blu-ray Review why not take a look at these Sean Connery films:
Conclusion: Cuba Blu-ray Review
To the quality of the Blu-ray, well the resolution is vastly superior to any other version of the film you may own. Now to the elephant in the room, Cuba is an MGM film and that means that no restoration work has taken place by them. With smaller labels picking up their titles for release in various countries it is very rare that these companies will be able to afford or to bother with any clean-up of a title.
The good news with Cuba is whilst far from dirt free or speckle free, generally it’s only tiny white flickers apart from the opening titles which have black marks.
The sad part of all this is the title only needed a quick clean-up, but that actually makes it even worse in some regards. After all many people will be upgrading from a DVD copy and are looking for a vastly superior image.
With all that said I’m not going to criticise 88 films, which releases Cuba in the UK, too much. Instead I choose to lay the blame at MGM’s door. Come on protect you legacy like virtually all the other film companies are now doing.
So should you upgrade from the DVD?
The answer is yes, whilst far from perfect on the whole the picture quality and resolution more than justifies the purchase.
Extras
- Gallery
- Trailer
Not much in the way of extras, a short 20 minute behind the scenes interview with some of the actors and filmmakers would have been nice.
That said I would rather they put the image quality above any extras but sadly we have neither.
Cuba (1979) blu-ray is available now from Amazon.
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Popcorn Cinema Rating: Cuba (1979)
MOVIE RATING: WELL WORTH WATCHING
BLU-RAY RATING: DECENT
Cuba (1979) Film Trailer
For those of you yet to see the film I’ll leave you with a little taster with the trailer…
Clip not representative of the Blu-ray version
That’s my Cuba blu-ray review, if you have any thoughts on this film leave them in the comment section below:
Summary: Cuba (1979) Blu-ray Review
Movie title: Cuba (1979)
Duration: 122 mins
Director(s): Richard Lester
Actor(s): Sean Connery, Brooke Adams, Jack Weston, Hector Elizondo, Denholm Elliott, Martin Balsam, Chris Sarandon
Genre: Drama
- Movie Rating
- Blu-ray Rating
Summary
A cracking story set against the backdrop and the Cuban revolution. The Blu-ray is ok but should have been better.
