The Fury – Arrow Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1978
Director: Brian De Palma
Writer: John Farris
Cast: Kirk Douglas, John Cassavetes, Carrie Snodgress, Charles Durning, Amy Irving, Fiona Lewis, Andrew Stevens, Carol Eve Rossen, Rutanya Alda, Joyce Easton, William Finley

Release Date: October 28th, 2013
Approximate Running Time: 117 Minutes 57 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.851 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: UK (18)
Sound: DTS-HD 4.0 Stereo English, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region B
Retail Price: £19.99 (UK)

"John Cassavetes gives his most sinister performance since Rosemary's Baby as a man who kidnaps the telepathic son of his colleague (Kirk Douglas), aiming to turn him and similarly gifted individuals into human weapons. Meanwhile, Gillian (Amy Irving), is worried enough about the destructive potential of her own powers to agree to be institutionalised - but is the Paragon Institute all that it's cracked up to be?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "The Fury has been exclusively restored by Arrow Video, Carlotta Films and Shock Entertainment for this release. All work was overseen by James Whale at Deluxe Digital Cinema - EMEA London.

The original 35mm negative was scanned in 2K resolution of a pin-registered Arriscan, and the film was fully graded using the Nucoda Film Master color grading system. Restoration work was carried out using a combination of software tools and techniques. Thousands of instances of dirt, scratches and debirs were carefully removed frame by frame. Damaged frames were repaired, and density and stability issues were significantly improved.

Throughout the restoration process, care was taken to ensure that the film's original texture, details, grain structure and soundtrack remained unaffected by digital processing."

The Fury comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42.8 GB

Feature: 35 GB

This is a solid transfer that is vastly superior to the transfer that Twilight Time used for their Blu-ray release. Flesh tones look correct; color saturation, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid; and the image looks organic.

Audio: 5/5 (DTS-HD 4.0 Stereo English, DTS-HD Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD 4.0 stereo mix in English and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Both audio tracks sound great; dialog always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, ambient sounds are well-represented, and John Williams' score sounds robust. The main difference between these two audio mixes is that the stereo mix offers a slightly fuller sound experience. Included with this release are removable English SDH subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery, a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a short film directed by Sam Irvin titled Double Negative (17 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival interview with director Brian De Palma (6 minutes 3 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival interview with producer Frank Yablans (6 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actress Carrie Snodgrass (5 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actress Amy Irvin (4 minutes 45 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an interview with cinematographer Richard H. Kline titled Blood on Lens (27 minutes, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Fiona Lewis titled Spinning Tales (13 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with filmmaker Sam Irvin titled The Fury: a Location Journal (49 minutes 49 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an isolated score track, reversible cover art and a thirty-eight page booklet (first pressing only) with cast & crew credits, an essay titled Who’s Afraid of John Cassavetes? Written by Chris Dumas, an interview with author John Farris by Chris Dumas, an interview titled Brian De Palma Discusses The Fury by Paul Mandell, cast & crew information for Double Negative, and information about the transfer.

Summary:

After the huge success of Carrie, Brian De Palma would be given the chance to direct his first studio picture. To this point in his career, all the films that he had directed had been sold to the major studios after their completion. It's not surprising that the subject matter for The Fury, his first major studio project, bears a striking resemblance to his previous feature film, Carrie. Since Hollywood has an obsession with repeating itself when something is successful.

What starts off as an action-themed film as Kirk Douglas’s character narrowly escapes death from those who are holding his son captive quickly turns into a thriller with supernatural leanings. That said, the emphasis on the supernatural continuing to build to a fever pitch that culminates in a truly unforgettable ending can be summed up as "explosive."

From a narrative standpoint, there are no areas that are lacking. All the characters and their motivations are clearly defined. The Fury is wonderfully paced so that each shocking revelation has just the right amount of time to sink in. The action-oriented moments are rock solid, and the special effects moments are well done, especially considering when The Fury was made.

Being that this is a Brian De Palma film, it should not be surprising that the visuals are first-rate. Time and again, he takes what would be ordinary moments and turns them into something extraordinary. One such moment is a scene with Amy Irvin’s character, who is surveying the room. As she stands in the middle of the shot, the camera gives her a literal 360-degree overview of her surroundings.

Key collaborators on The Fury include cinematographer Richard H. Kline (Body Heat) in his one and only collaboration with Brian De Palma, composer John Williams (Star Wars), and editor Paul Hirsch; The Fury marked his sixth of ten films on which he collaborated with Brian De Palma. And though John Williams has more than one film score that is better known than the one he composed for The Fury, The end result easily ranks amongst his finest work as a composer.

From a casting perspective, The Fury features a remarkable cast that is anchored by rock-solid performances from veteran actors like Kirk Douglas (Spartacus) and John Cassavetes (Rosemary’s Baby). There is also a wide array of recognizable faces in secondary roles, like William Finley (Phantom of the Paradise), Charles Durning (Dog Day Afternoon), and Daryl Hannah (Blade Runner) in her first screen appearance.

If there is any area in this film that does not gel, it would be its two leads, Amy Irvin (Carrie) and Andrew Stevens (The Seduction), who portray two young adults whose psychokinetic powers are being exploited. Of these two performances, Amy Irving is good, with moments where she verges on great, while Andrew Stevens gives a wooden performance that makes his performance all the harder to take seriously. Ultimately, despite its shortcomings, The Fury is a vastly underrated film that should sit firmly next to Brian De Palma’s more highly regarded films.

In terms of audio, video, and extras, there is no better release than this one from Arrow Video, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer