REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS... [1985 / 2014] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
Here Comes a New Kind Of Enforcer! Make Way . . . or else!
First they faked his death and gave him a new identity. Now a top secret organisation is training a former New York cop to combat corrupt forces operating outside of the law. His mentor, Chiun [Joel Grey], is an ageing Korean master of the martial arts who can run on water and dodge speeding bullets.
Born on the pages of Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir’s “The Destroyer” series of men’s adventure novels, Remo Williams was placed in the capable hands of Bond director Guy Hamilton ‘Goldfinger’ and ‘The Man with the Golden Gun,’ for his big-screen outing. Fred Ward in the ‘Tremors’ film, plays the trainee assassin, with Academy Award-winner Joel Grey in the ‘Cabaret’ film, occupying the role of Chiun.
With its classic set-piece atop the Statue of Liberty, much-loved score by Craig Safan and a healthy sense of its own silliness, 'REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS...' offers up a cracking slice of mid-eighties action.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1986 Academy Awards®: Nominated: Best Makeup for Carl Fullerton. 1986 Golden Globes: Nominated: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for Joel Grey. 1986 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA: Nominated: Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film. Nominated: Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for Joel Grey.
FILM FACT No.2: A significant set piece within the film takes place at the Statue of Liberty, which was surrounded by scaffolding for its restoration during this period. For the awesome and spectacular Statue of Liberty scenes, a replica of the Statue's torso, head and arm was built in Mexico. The shots of the replica were intercut with footage shot at the real Statue of Liberty.
Cast: Fred Ward, Joel Grey, Wilford Brimley, J.A. Preston, George Coe, Charles Cioffi, Kate Mulgrew, Patrick Kilpatrick, Michael Pataki, Davenia McFadden, Cosie Costa, J.P. Romano, Joel Kramer, Frank Ferrara, Marv Albert, Ray Woodfork, Phil Neilson, Webster Whinery, Frank Simpson, Dodi Kenan, Reginald VelJohnson, Jon Polito, Gene LeBell, Michael Ryan, Jeff Allin, Will Jeffries, Sebastian Ligarde, Roger Cudney, Duane Clark, John Christianson, Phil Culotta, Tom McBride, Andrew MacMillan, Wendy Gazelle, Suzanne Snyder, William Hickey, Pete Richardson (uncredited) and John Sabol (uncredited)
Director: Guy Hamilton
Producers: Dick Clark, Judy Goldstein, Larry Spiegel and Mel Bergman
Screenplay: Christopher Wood, Richard Sapir (novel "The Destroyer") and Warren Murphy (novel "The Destroyer")
Composer: Craig Safan
Cinematography: Andrew Laszlo (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 121 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: ORION Pictures / Arrow Video
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: With the film ‘REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS...’ [1985] we encounter Sam Macon [Fred Ward] who is an NYPD cop. One night, Sam Macon breaks up a mugging, and then is pushed into the river in his car. Sometime later, Sam Macon awakes in a hospital, with a new face and a new identity: Remo Williams, He has been recruited for a secret organisation that doesn’t officially exist called CURE, and will be their trouble-shooter, something he’s ideal for as he has no family and has military background. He’s taken to a building and told to kill the man inside. He turns out to be an elderly Korean man Chiun [Joel Grey], and is the man who will train him in the special martial art of “sin Anju.”
The inspiration for the film was “The Destroyer” novels by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir which began in 1971 and now number over a hundred, many having been ghost-written by a variety of authors. For the film version, they decided to downplay the fantastical aspects and the violence, plus add more humour. Some of the actors who auditioned for the part of Remo Williams claimed to be proficient in the martial art of sin Anju. The screenplay was supposedly by Christopher Wood, who scripted two Bond films, though it was rewritten by director Guy Hamilton, also a James Bond alumnus whose ‘Goldfinger’ can be credited with refining the James Bond style initiated by Terence Young’s ‘Dr No.’ Guy Hamilton came up with the major action set piece on and around the Statue Of Liberty when it was surrounded by scaffolding because it was being restored, though much of the action at the climax ended up being discarded for budgetary reasons, something which the final cut suffers from. Despite its lack of box office success, ‘REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS..,’ which was re-titled ‘Remo: Unarmed and Dangerous’ in the UK, where the opening fight scene was heavily cut, became something of a massive cult favourite from the many showings on TV and for me also and have loved this film ever since I originally owned it on a LaserDisc and then onto the inferior DVD presentation.
After a great synthesiser opening theme that screams the 1980’s; Remo Williams film opens with a well-shot, almost nourish-looking scene where Sam Macon [Fred Ward] sees two muggers chase somebody [interestingly the muggers are white and the victim is black] and gets in a brutal fight which ends when somebody else pushes him into the sea in his car. He awakes with a new identity and is forced to work for CURE [though we never find out what the letters stand for]. CURE is a strange organisation: it only consists of two people until Remo comes along, the boss seems to have invented the internet, and is answerable only to the President. We’re told that pretty much everything else is corrupt, and there’s even a jab at Ronald Reagan’ “Star Wars” space defence programme which clearly tell you where the writer’s and producer’s sympathies lie, and it’s a refreshing change from the norm at the time. Remo Williams seems to do what they say far too quickly, while much of the background remains shady, but I guess we would have found out more if the film had gone to a sequel? In any case, most of the first half is taken up with Remo Williams’s training in the ancient art of “sin Anju” which all other Asian martial arts developed from, by Chiun, an old Korean guy who can dodge bullets Matrix style and has all the best lines, like: “Your reflexes are pitiful! The seasons move faster” and “Women should stay home and make babies. Preferably, man-child.” Though actor Joel Grey’s makeup was nominated for an OSCAR®, but of it is obviously that Joel Grey is not an oriental guy but a white guy in makeup, but despite that, Joel Grey looks totally brilliant and realistic.
The supporting cast is also quite good. I particularly liked Patrick Kilpatrick as one of the main henchmen Stone, who has a distinctive diamond embedded in my front tooth. There are some definite shades of Jaws from the James Bond films there. It's one of the great moments of the film when Remo Williams knocks him unconscious and uses the diamond to cut through a glass window. A young Kate Mulgrew also gets a nice supporting role as an army major who helps Remo towards the end. The film has a lot of impressive sequences including a fight on top of the Statue of Liberty and some great little bits like Remo Williams managing to dodge bullets and walk over wet cement without sinking.
On the screen far too briefly is Kate Mulgrew, as an Army major with a sense of humour, the only real one in the film. In principal support are Charles Cioffi, as a crooked industrialist who snarls a lot, and George Coe, as an American general on the industrialist's payroll. William Hickey, one of the major assets in ‘Prizzi's Honor,’ is on and off the screen very quickly in the role of a Coney Island barker. William Hickey sadly passed away from emphysema and bronchitis in 1997. He is interred in the Cemetery of the Evergreens in Brooklyn. He died during the filming of ‘Better Than Ever’ [1997] and his role was played by the producer in a pick-up shot depicting his character in the hospital. His final film, ‘Knocking on Death's Door’ in which he plays the town sheriff, was released nearly two years after his death. The film ‘MouseHunt’ [1997] in which he also appeared was dedicated to his memory.
Despite ‘REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS...’apparently costing $40 million and to put that in perspective ‘A View to a Kill’ which came out the same year was made for $30 million, but despite this I felt Guy Hamilton's directing technique was totally brilliant and effective. What really is a crying shame that the film was not as bigger hit at the time of its release, because the film had the potential, especially when you view some truly eye popping action sequences on the Statue of Liberty fight scene, which was helped out by the brilliant Craig Safan's score, which as stated earlier has a good rousing main theme and throughout the film, and helps to make the film its classic cult film status still for a modern audience today. It is a shame that ‘REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS...’ flopped because I think there was and still is, definitely a market for an action film series that didn't take itself so seriously.
‘REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS...’can be summed-up in one word, ‘fun’ all the way from start to finish. Director Guy Hamilton helped steer James Bond in the ultimate James Bond film prototype in ‘Goldfinger, ‘and he shows that he still has the skill to launch a franchise almost a quarter of a century later with this 1985 film. Sure, it may have beefed-it at the box office, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hold up today. Andrew Lazlo’s grim and gritty cinematography shows a New York before the city’s resurgence, with the film’s stand-out set piece taking place on a scaffolder Statue of Liberty. Craig Safan’s score is splendid, hitting action beats and themes which have sadly been forgotten in the 21st Century. Fred Ward makes an interesting unconventional lead. He gives Remo the right amount of wit, charm and confusion but he never makes him an unconvincing man of action. Joel Grey’s Chiun is like the bastard off-spring of Yoda and Mister Miyagi and his Korean make-up was Oscar nominated. Today it may verge on racism, but it’s a testament to his acting and the make-up that his performance never feels like caricature. A one of a kind action film, Remo Williams was intended to kick-start a series of adventures, hence the title which was renamed ‘Remo: Unarmed and Dangerous’ in the UK, presumably when they realised that no other adventures would be forthcoming. It’s a shame, because it really does feel like there was a lot of room to make the character grow. ‘REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS...’ is I feel ready for the remaking, but any such endeavour would surely be lacking in what makes this film so special to me and all the other adoring other fans who loves this action packed cult status film.
REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS... MUSIC TRACK LIST
REMO’S THEME (What If) (Written by Tommy Shaw and Richie Cannata) [Performed by Tommy Shaw]
JANET (Written by Franne Golde, Paul Fox and Bobby Caldwell) [Performed by The Commodores]
Blu-ray Image Quality – One thing you can't complain about ‘REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS...’ is the stunning Arrow Video presentation, considering the budget and age, is largely impressive. Indeed, even those fans who find that the film itself doesn't stand up after all these years will not be able to deny the fact that they've simply never seen it look this good. The 1080p encoded High Definition brilliant video presentation with the film in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 widescreen, which I found awesome. Sporting a healthy swathe of thick, but suitably filmic grain, solid detail remains evident throughout, with regular softness and even some spotty damage, but in motion almost nothing that actually affects your enjoyment of the film, which is arguably the biggest plus? The colour scheme is pretty authentic and also therefore almost as dated as the movie itself, with a faded palette and very little primary content, but skin tones look healthy and black levels are reasonably strong. The brilliant people at Arrow Video have once again pulled it off and get top marks from me for the presentation on this brilliant cult classic film. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – The film ‘REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS...’ brings you an uncompressed 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio track similarly stays faithful to the original source material whilst allowing it prime presentation across your sound system. Dialogue gets pride of place, largely dominating the fronts and centre channels where appropriate, and rising above the rest of the elements to remain clear and coherent throughout. The effects surround audio is slightly limited, but the intermittent gunfire, body blows, stunts and set-pieces do allow for some brief instances of punch, which do their best to stand apart within the array. Some surround activity is there, but this is a fairly restricted, but is not a problem. Indeed, where the track once again impressed me is in the score element that of course was composed by the brilliant Craig Safan, who should of got an OSCAR® Award for such a dramatic score. Despite this, the music score brings the kind of punch and pizzazz that you would expect from this action pack film which the brilliant composer Craig Safan, did such sterling work.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
High Definition 1080p Blu-ray presentation of the film from a digital transfer prepared by M-G-M.
Original uncompressed 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio. Plus Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Special Feature: Isolated Music and Effects soundtrack: This is of course is presented as the 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio.
Audio Commentary with producers Larry Spiegel and Judy Goldstein: Producers Larry Spiegel and Judy Goldstein discuss the production history of ‘Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins…,’ and specifically how and where key sequences where filmed and apparently, a large portion of the film was shot in Mexico. Guy Hamilton's directing methods and body of work, the editing of the film, its marketing, etc. The audio commentary was recorded exclusively for this Arrow Video Blu-ray release of ‘REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS...’ This is a must view, as we hear so much brilliant information that went into this classic action film.
Special Feature: Remo, Rambo, Reagan and Reds [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] [77:00] The Eighties Action Movie Explosion. This is an all-new feature-length documentary from High Rising Productions focusing on a decade of cinematic destruction and Remo Williams’s place among the carnage. It includes a brand new interview with genre expert Bey Logan, Remo producers Larry Spiegel and Judy Goldstein, celebrated directors Sam Firstenberg ‘American Ninja’ and Mark L. Lester ‘Commando,’ producers Don Borchers ‘Angel’ and Garrick Dion ‘Drive,’ filmmaker and scholar Howard S. Berger and Professor Susan Jeffords author of “Hard Bodies: Hollywood Masculinity in the Reagan Era.” Critic and film historian Howard S. Berger provides some very level-headed analysis of particular films and stars and the cycle's rise and fall, but it's Professor Susan Jeffords, author of the book Hard Bodies: Hollywood Masculinity in the Reagan Era, who really gets under the sub textual and thematic skin of these films. This is particularly evident in her analysis of the cycle's homoerotic overtones, something that Asian cinema guru Bey Logan admits have always flown over his head until explained to him by others. Another fine documentary from Callum Waddell's High Rising Productions, despite some minor, low light-induced focus issues on the Bey Logan interview.
Special Feature: When East Met West: Joel Grey reflects on his turn as Chiun [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] [10:00] In this band new video presentation, Oscar winning actor Joel Gray recalls how he was approached to play Chiun, and discusses the make-up tests he did, the Asian community's response to the film and his character, etc. He also informs us with his tongue-in-cheek response to being asked how the walking on water gag was done is delivered with the straightest of faces, and contrary to claims made by the producers on the commentary track, he states that there was a "brouhaha" over the casting of a Caucasian actor in a Korean role. But one interesting comment that Joel Grey makes, is that hoped there would be a follow up film and if asked to play the same role, he would not hesitate to being in that follow film, as he had a blast making the brilliant film.
Special Feature: Changing Faces: Make-up expert Carl Fullerton discusses his OSCAR® nominated work on ‘REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS...’ [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] [11:00] In this band new video presentation, special make-up effects artist Carl Fullerton recalls how he became involved with ‘REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS...’ and Carl Fullerton also discusses the important influence of the brilliant Dick Smith's work on the films ‘Taxi Driver’ and ‘Little Big Man.’ We also hear about how Joel Grey slept through his makeup application sessions, the particular problems created by having to create wafer thin eyelid folds, and more. He also reiterates the claim that Joel Grey was cast because of he had a particular quality that the producers were looking for and did not find in the Asian actors they interviewed.
Special Feature: Notes for a Nobleman: Composer Craig Safan talks about his classic score [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] [14:00] In this brand new video presentation, composer Craig Safan discusses the production history of ‘REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS...’ and the high expectations Orion Pictures had for the film, the film's complex soundtrack and specifically its unique themes and harmonies, especially when you experience it on the Original Motion Picture Score CD Album release of the soundtrack, etc., which I have this Compact Disc Album and it is totally brilliant and is a total added bonus that goes with this action packed glorious film.
Theatrical Trailer [1985] [1080p] [1.85:1] [3:00] This is the Original Orion Pictures theatrical trailer for ‘REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS...’
BONUS: Reversible Blu-ray Cover Sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by “The Red Dress.”
EXTRA BONUS: A stunning Illustrated 36 page Collector’s Booklet featuring two new brilliant writings on the origins of Remo Williams, the first is by Barry Forshaw and an on-set report from American Cinematographer magazine and the second essay is by George Turner. With Barry Forshaw, he focuses on the “Destroyer” novels on which the film was based and is a useful intro for those of us who've yet to read any of the books. The second, by George Turner, is a reproduction of a 1985 article from American Cinematographer and is unsurprisingly focused on the brilliant cinematography and is built around an interview with Andrew Laszlo who was also the cinematography on 1970s favourite film ‘The Warriors.’ Also included are the main credits for the film, and brief comprehensive notes about the HD master transfer and some really excellent quality stills.
Finally, ‘REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS...’ takes off in grand style under the confident direction of Guy Hamilton, who has ample opportunity to display the finesse with cliff-hangers that he honed on various James Bond pictures. This handsome film's set piece is a hairbreadth chase over the scaffolding surrounding the Statue of Liberty during its restoration. With ‘Remo Williams,’ you get dark, husky, humorous Fred Ward who makes good on the promise that he showed in ‘The Right Stuff’ and especially ‘UFORIA.’ Auburn-haired Kate Mulgrew recalls Jean Arthur in her beguiling portrayal of an amusingly hard-nosed and a very attractive, major investigating that defective equipment. But it's an unrecognisable Joel Grey as the unflappable, unpredictable Chuin who walks off with the highest honours, but probably not without protest from the Korean-American community that a Korean-American actor was not cast as Chuin. Sadly, it looks like there will not be a follow up film of this genre, which is a shame, as I am sure there was full potential to expand of the films genre, especially with all the films that have been released since, that caters for people who love this type of action packed spy related films, like me. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
