Bloodline – Vinegar Syndrome Labs (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: West Germany/USA, 1979
Director: Terence Young
Writer: Laird Koenig
Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, James Mason, Claudia Mori, Irene Papas, Michelle Phillips, Maurice Ronet, Romy Schneider, Omar Sharif, Beatrice Straight, Gert Fröbe, Wolfgang Preiss, Gabriele Ferzetti

Release Date: September 24th, 2024
Approximate Running Times: 117 Minutes 6 Seconds (Theatrical Version), 141 Minutes 27 Seconds (Television Version)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Versions)
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English (Both Versions)
Subtitles: English SDH (Both Versions)
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $49.98

"After extremely wealthy pharmaceutical tycoon Sam Roffe is murdered while skiing in the Alps, his daughter Elizabeth is shocked to learn that, per her late father's will, she has been appointed to take over his drug manufacturing empire. Equally shocked are her scheming relatives, each saddled with financial burdens they hoped would be alleviated through a significant company sale. But when Elizabeth vows to do everything in her power to resurrect the ailing company, thus preventing the sale, it's not long before a mysterious, black-clad assailant begins killing anyone helping Elizabeth to achieve her goal. All the while, dead bodies of nude young women are washing up along the river banks of Europe, victims of a savage, snuff film-making serial killer..." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (Both Versions)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative".

Bloodline, the theatrical version, comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 43.1 GB

Feature: 31.1 GB

Bloodline, the TV version, comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 37.8 GB

Feature: 37.4 GB

Outside of some stock footage, which has some imperfections, the rest of the source looks excellent. Flesh tones look healthy, color saturation, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always retains an organic look.

Audio: 5/5 (DTS-HD Mono English - Both Versions)

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. There are two versions, quality-wise, these two tracks sound similar. Dialog always comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced and robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras on disc one include a theatrical trailer (1 minute 30 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an interview with stunt driver François Doge titled Off-Road (23 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German with removable English subtitles), an interview with Clemens Keiffenheim, second assistant director: Germany titled Stupid German Money (53 minutes 27 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson.

There are no extras on disc two. 

Other extras include reversible cover art, and a spot gloss slipcover (limited to 3,000 units).

Summary:

Terence Young directed Bloodline. He is also known for Wait Until Dark, Red Sun, The Valachi Papers, Dr. No, From Russia with Love, and Thunderball.

An heiress of a wealthy pharmaceutical tycoon tries to keep her deceased father's company afloat after a series of costly accidents and attempts on her life.

Anyone familiar with Sidney Sheldon should know what to expect from Bloodline. People unfamiliar with his work may be disappointed by Bloodline's absence of explicit or graphic content and gore. Though the thriller genre was pushing the boundaries in these two areas in the 1970s, especially in regards to international-made thrillers, Bloodline comes off as a rather tame thriller. That said, Bloodline better resembles a primetime soap opera like Dallas or Dynasty than a jet-set giallo.

Bloodline succeeds in two areas: an engrossing premise and narrative that keep you on the edge of your seat. There are a variety of suspects to choose from in the dysfunctional family whose patriarch was murdered. The characters are fully developed, revealing their potential motives, and flashbacks are employed to give additional information about them. That said, the narrative has a lot of moving parts, which nicely come together in the finale. Also, the main difference between the two versions is that the TV version further fleshes out a character whose key is to solve the mystery.

Bloodline’s cast is an impressive collection of international and Hollywood actors and actresses. Though most of them are not given much to do, Audrey Hepburn (Charade) really shines in the role of the protagonist Elizabeth Roffe, the daughter of the murdered man. Terence Young’s direction does a great job getting the most out of his cast; unfortunately, there is a lack of thriller moments that affect the momentum. Ennio Morricone's remarkable score is Bloodline’s greatest asset. For a film that’s overflowing with talent in front and behind the camera, Bloodline never reaches its fullest potential. Ultimately, despite its shortcomings, Bloodline's positives far outweigh its negatives.

Bloodline gets an excellent release from Vinegar Syndrome Labs that comes with a solid audio/video presentation, two versions of the film, and informative extras, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer