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Harlequin AKA Dark Forces (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - United Kingdom - Powerhouse Films Review written by and copyright: Rick Curzon (21st February 2025). |
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The Film
 Robert Powell (The Survivor), David Hemmings (Fragment of Fear), Carmen Duncan (Turkey Shoot), and Broderick Crawford (The Mob) star in Harlequin, a mysterious and fantastical thriller from director Simon Wincer (Snapshot) and writer Everett De Roche (Roadgames). When eccentric faith healer Gregory Wolfe (Powell) apparently cures the terminally ill son of Senator Nick Rast (Hemmings), Rast’s wife (Duncan) places her faith in Wolfe’s powers. But when Wolfe begins meddling in sensitive government business, political fixer Doc Wheelan (Crawford) decides to make the problem go away... Inspired by Rasputin’s influence over the Russian court, Harlequin (released in the US as Dark Forces) is a classic Australian chiller from producer Antony I Ginnane (Patrick).
Video
Watching this for the second time after having last seen it back in 2018 when reviewing the decent 88 Films' release, my feelings on the film haven't changed (with the odd new addition to the text): Simon Wincer's Film reworks the Rasputin story as a political thriller with fantasy elements set in the USA but obviously filmed in Australia (with several Aussie actors dubbed in Yank ... and others left in Australian). David Hemmings (very British accent) is the senator whose wife (Carmen Duncan, very much the Australian) starts an affair with a strange man played by Robert Powell (very British again) when he pops up and cures their creepy son's (Mark Spain, dubbed in Australian) cancer. The accents are all a bit of a mishmash and lend this weird film an international flavour. Harelquin overtly embraces the supernatural which works against it's effectiveness slightly because you're aware from the off that magic is involved; more ambiguity might have served the narrative better. It's an enjoyable view but just doesn't ever really catch fire and has a predictable conclusion. Broderick Crawford is great as an all powerful spin doctor and all of the other performances are well up to par. Brian May's score is rather melodramatic and mundane and undermines several dramatic moments. From the booklet: Harlequin was scanned in 4K from the original 35mm negative, preserved at the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) of Australia, by Fixafilm. Picture restoration and colour correction work were carried out by Renasci Films in the UK. Thousands of instances of dirt were removed, scratches, stains and otherI covered the 2018 88 Films' disc which was pretty decent for this anamorphically lensed, slightly contrasty vividly shot fantasy thriller. At the time I felt that the older transfer was possibly taken from a source a generation or two removed from the negative and sadly, I don't have that older disc to hand to do a comparison. My gut feeling is that this new restoration (done in 4K; Powerhouse are also releasing it on UHD BD) is an upgrade. The image looks, to my memory of the older disc, tighter, punchier and more vivid with better colour delineation. It doesn't blow the older transfer into next week but does provide a slightly less contrasty view (the film can be contrasty due to the original cinematography favouring that look at times, especially on some exteriors). Black levels display fine detail and are satisfyingly dark. Flesh tones look very strong with a darker feel and display nice textures. Grain is ever present and it looks very filmic with a strong encode from Fidelity in Motion. Top notch presentation ('A'). 1080p24 / AVC MPEG-4 / BD50 / 2.39:1 / 95:45
Audio
English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 (48kHz, 16-bit) Subtitles: English HoH My comments on the 2018 disc more or less apply here as well: A robust soundtrack with reasonable depth and range, especially considering that this is a mono track from 1980. Brian May's melodramatic score is never intrusive on what matters: dialogue, and thus everything is clear and easy to follow. I suspect that there's no real difference despite a newer restoration. Watching the film again, my older comments still fit the bill. Cranking the soundtrack up reveals the usual teensy amount of hiss typical of analogue recording techniques of the era. The new subtitles for the hearing imoaited are the business of course as are all of Powerhouse Films
Extras
Audio commentary by director Simon Wincer and producer Anthony I. Ginnane (2004) Solid commentary track with the director and producer who go into plenty of detail about the production. There are few dead spots; well worth a listen. Ported over from the 2004 US disc. Presented in lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (48kHz, 112Kbps). Not Quite Hollywood Interviews (2008) (Play All - 50:28) - Simon Wincer, Director (20:26) - Anthony I. Ginnane, Producer (21:23) - Everett De Roche, Screenwriter (3:01) - Gus Mercurio, Mr. Bergier (5:36) Another clutch of extensive outtakes from Mark Hartley's 2008 documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Oxploitation. Presented in 1080p24 1.78:1 with lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo (48kHz, 112Kbps). Archival Interviews: - "Clapperboard" 1980 interview with David Hemmings and Robert Powell conducted by Anne Wills (6:01) - "The Bazura Project" 2007 interview with Everett De Roche conducted by Shannon Marinko and Lee Zachariah (5:29) - "Cinema Papers" 1979 audio interview with Simon Wincer conducted by Rod Bishop and Peter Beilby (75:43) - "Cinema Papers" 1979 audio interview with associate producer Jane Scott conducted by Rod Bishop and Peter Beilby (51:51) - "Cinema Papers" 1979 audio interview with production designer Bernard Hides Rod Bishop and Peter Beilby (34:49) A clutch of vintage interviews totalling 174:03 all together. Sound is solid on all with most in 2.0 mono for the 1979-80 stuff (the 2007 in 2.0 stereo) (48kHz, 112Kbps). All are upscaled 1080p24 with the 1979-80 material being 1.33:1 and the 2007 in 1.78:1. Plenty of interest, especially Hemmings and Powell on how they dealt with the young child actors baldness (his character has cancer) and his scenes were shot with hair first, shaved and the baldy bits second. "More Than Magic: Stephen Morgan on Harlequin" 2024 interview (15:34) "Destruction from Down Under: An Oxploitation Retrospective" 2018 interview with Kim Newman (15:33) Morgan looks at where Harlequin fits into the Oxploitation canon and how it is from a more commercial strand of Aussie filmmaking of the period as opposed to the more salubrious fare like Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), Gallipoli (1981). He also tackles the films bizarre mise en scene: supposedly set in the US but seemingly ... elsewhere with it's mix of UK, Australian and American cast. Newman discusses his experiences and views on the whole Oxploitation boom of the '70s and '80s. He puts Harlequin into context with other films of it's ilk, mentioning the other Hemmings-Powell collaboration The Survivor (1980). Both are in 1080p24 1.78:1 with lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo (48kHz, 112Kbps). Isolated Score in LPCM 1.0 (48kHz, 16-bit) Brian May's melodramatic score given the isolated treatment for those who appreciate it. Trailers (Play All - 6:21): - Australian Theatrical Trailer #1 (2:53) - Australian Theatrical Trailer #2 (1:43) - Dark Forces US Theatrical Trailer (1:43) Vintage promos in 1080p24 2.39:1 with lossy English Dolby Digital 1.0 (48kHz, 192Kbps). Harlequin Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (59 images) Script Galleries: - Harlequin Image Gallery: Dialogue Continuity (25 images) - Harlequin Image Gallery: Screenplay (61 images) Welcome HD galleries with a sizeable chunk of promo pics and script pages / documents. 80-page liner notes book with a new essay by Julian Upton, exclusive extracts from producer Antony I Ginnane’s unpublished memoirs, archival interviews with director Simon Wincer and art director Bernard Hides and film credits An incredibly in depth hardcopy companion that will provide the fan with hours of reading around the film.
Packaging
Not sent for review.
Overall
This new Powerhouse Films' restoration easily bests all prior home video editions with excellent image and sound quality (and the UHD BD will no doubt add great resolution and HDR on top of the already great video. Extras are comprehensive as can be with everything from prior versions ported across. The film is interesting, enjoyable if not 100% successful. Highly recommended ('A').
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