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One, Two, Three – Kino Lorber (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1961
Director: Billy Wilder
Writers: Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond
Cast: James Cagney, Horst Buchholz, Pamela Tiffin, Arlene Francis, Howard St. John, Hanns Lothar, Leon Askin, Liselotte Pulver

Release Date: May 30th, 2017
Approximate Running Time: 108 Minutes 44 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"C.R. Mac MacNamara (Cagney) is a top-ranking soda executive stationed in West Berlin who s responsible for his boss daughter (Pamela Tiffin, Come Fly with Me) while he s away on business. But when he learns that she's gone and married a fierce young communist (Horst Buchholz, The Magnificent Seven) and that his boss will be arriving in town in 24 hours, Mac must transform the unwilling beatnik into a suitable son-in-law or risk losing his chance for advancement! Before you can say "one, two, three," his plans have spun out of control and into an international incident that could infuriate the Russians, the Germans and, worst of all, his own suspicious wife." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.5/5

One, Two, Three comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.9 GB

Kino Lorber Feature: 21.5 GB

Eureka Video Feature: 31.5 GB

There is no information provided about the origins of this release’s transfer. And though Kino Lorber appears to use the same source that Eureka Video used for their transfer, The results are two noticeably different transfers. Image clarity, contrast, and black levels all look tighter on Eureka Video’s transfer. It should be noted that Eureka Video’s release dedicated 10 GB more to the main feature than Kino Lorber’s release.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, and included with this release are removable English subtitles. Dialog always comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented. It should be noted that there are dialog exchanges in German and Russian and these are not translated. This is in line with how these dialog exchanges were presented during this film’s theatrical and previous home video releases.

Extras:

Extras for this release include reversible cover art, a trailer for One, Two, Three (2 minutes 11 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival interview with Billy Wilder titled Billy Wilder and Volker Schlondorff discuss One, Two, Three (3 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival interview with Billy Wilder titled Billy Wilder on Politics and One, Two, Three (6 minutes 3 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with film historian Michael Schlesinger.

Other extras include trailers for Witness For the Prosecution, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes and The Gallant Hours.

Extras on Eureka Video’s Blu-ray release include a trailer for One, Two, Three (2 minutes 11 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an interview with film scholar Neil Sinyard (28 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with film historian Michael Schlesinger, a limited-edition O-Card slipcase (2000 copies only) and a booklet with cast & crew information, an essay about the film written by film scholar Henry K. Miller, an essay about the film written by critic Adam Batty, archival imagery and information about the transfers titled Notes on Viewing.

Summary:

“Satire is tragedy plus time. You give it enough time, the public, the reviewers will allow you to satirize it. Which is rather ridiculous, when you think about it.” – Lenny Bruce

Though it’s been a few generations since the Cold War ended, There is no denying the impact that the Cold War left on those who lived through it. With that being said, it is fascinating to look back at history with the perspective of time.

When viewed through the world we now live in, it is hard to imagine that a film like One, Two, Three could be made. We now live in an oversensitive society that has strangled creativity and it has become taboo to create humor from dark subject matter.

Content-wise, One, Two, Three is a no-holds-barred satirical take on the Cold War. The comedy in this film is a cross between slapstick and screwball comedy. This film’s rapid-fire dialog is overflowing with humor. With some of the funniest lines of dialog being, "Think fast, Mr. Moto, because there’ll be a few questions asked, like who’s the father!" and "Some of the East German police were rude and suspicious. Others were suspicious and rude. "An old Russian proverb states that you cannot milk a cow with your hands in your pockets."

The cast is all excellent in their respective roles, particularly James Cagney (Jimmy the Gent, Lady Killer) as the film's protagonist, a Coca-Cola executive named C.R. MacNamara. he is most known for portraying sinister characters. With this film, he proves that he can hold his own in regards to comedy. Another strength of his performance is how some of his character lines reference other films that he has appeared in, and the cuckoo clock in his character's office plays Yankee Doodle Dandy.

Other notable performances include, Pamela Tiffin (The Fifth Cord) in the role of Scarlett Hazeltine, the seventeen year old daughter of C.R. MacNamara’s boss, Liselotte Pulver (The Haunted Castle) in the role of Fräulein Ingeborg C.R. MacNamara’s voluptuous secretary and Arlene Francis in the role of C.R. MacNamara’s attention starved wife, who sarcastically refers to her husband as Mon Führer. Ultimately, One, Two, Three is a fast-paced comedy that is on par with Billy Wilder’s most celebrated films.

One, Two, Three gets a good release from Kino Lorber that has a transfer that looks different than the transfer used for Eureka Video’s Blu-ray release.

Kino Lorber