The Tourist

There are some films which are so heavily marketed that it is almost impossible to go to the cinema without seeing a trailer for the film or sit through a commercial break without a TV spot appearing. The most recent of these was The Tourist which seemingly relied on star power to attract viewers as all of the attention was on Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie which, if I remember correctly, no mention of the name Florian Henkel von Donnersmarck whose previous film, The Lives of Others (his feature-length debut) won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, beating Guillermo del Toro's sublimePan's Labyrinth. Anyway, I digress. Despite all the publicity, I didn't see The Tourist at the cinema (partly because of the myriad trailers) so, now released on DVD and Blu-ray, now's my chance.

The Tourist begins in a sundrenched Parisian square where a British citizen, Elise Ward, is under a huge amount of scrutiny and surveillance, courtesy of the French police who are working with Scotland Yard, stops for a cup of tea at a café. With a van full of police watching her every move and others, seated nearby, relaying everything she says back to their boss in the van, leading to some confusion when a waiter thinks they also ordered tea because they were repeating Elise's order. During her breakfast, she is given an envelope by a bicycle courier (later arrested because he is suspected of being one of Elise's confidants) and the letter from her ex-lover and police suspect, Alexander Pearce, tells her to board a train to Venice. Having burnt the latter, she leaves the table and sets off but, in Scotland Yard, Inspector John Acheson supervises an elaborate procedure in which burnt fragments of the latter are treated, scanned and then manipulated by him on his computer so he can figure out the instructions and have men on the correct train.

The letter instructed Elise to find someone about the same height and build as Pearce and convince the police he is Pearce so, as Elise walks down the aisle, scanning the men for a suitable candidate, she finds one and sits down opposite him. The man, Frank, is a maths teacher from Wisconsin (actually, being American, he is a 'math' teacher) and they begin talking. Despite sitting next to a no smoking sign, he appears to be happily puffing away on a cigarette but this isn't a real cigarette, an electronic device designed to help people quit smoking. As they are talking, the Italian police on the train are watching every move and take a covert photograph of Frank which is then sent to Inspector Acheson at Scotland Yard who uploaded onto a facial recognition database, hoping to find it bears a striking resemblance to Alexander Pearce, a man wanted for embezzling millions of dollars. When it transpires the photo is of a teacher from Wisconsin, everyone seems a little deflated.

Anyway, on with the journey which finishes in Venice where Elise checks in, telling the receptionist that Frank is her husband and they want the normal room. This isn't your everyday hotel room, but a huge suite overlooking Venice with a well-stocked wardrobe which suggests Alexander Pearce has been there are already and stocked it with expensive dresses, cuts and jewellery. Whether sparks genuinely begin to fly between the two or whether Elise has an ulterior motive, Frank doesn't seem to mind but, unlike Elise, seems completely ignorant of the police photographers camped out on a boat facing the hotel and, when they get a shot of the two kissing, every Interpol agent (and those not officially associated with the forces of law and order) develop a keen interest in Frank.


Following a night on the settee, during which he dreams of a romantic encounter and passionate embrace with Elise, Frank is woken by room service bringing him a breakfast he didn't order and then two heavy set Russians with guns sneak into the room and barricade him in the bathroom, begin shooting at the door and then, when Frank escapes through a window and begins clambering over the rooftops, they give chase. One thing leads to another and he ends up in police custody where the Chief Inspector doesn't quite believe his story and put him in the cells. Meanwhile, Elise has her own agenda to follow and an English gangster is on his way to Venice.

There are numerous problems with The Tourist, the least of which is just how predictable and fluffy the whole project is with no plot twist coming as a big surprise or character development catching you off guard. I had a very hard time believing the screenplay was written by von Donnersmarck, whose The Lives of Others was an extraordinarily accomplished piece of work, renowned Oscar-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes and Christopher McQuarrie, the man who penned the intricacies of The Usual Suspects.


This is clearly a film that relies on star power and its setting to get by as there is so much attention given over to how Venice looks and making it appear as beautiful as possible with the same going for Angelina Jolie and (a slightly overweight) Johnny Depp. Jolie, as is increasingly the case, appears in each scene looking like she has been having her make-up and hair beautified for the last two hours. The only actor who really comes out with any credit is Paul Bettany who manages, against all the odds, to bring a certain gravitas to proceedings with even Timothy Dalton deciding to camp things up with a performance that isn't too far removed from his villainous supermarket manager role in Edgar Wright's Hot Fuzz! There is even an interesting cameo by Christian De Sica (son of the brilliant Italian director Vittorio De Sica) as the Italian detective who questions Frank.

In essence, this is a dispiriting and completely vacuous film that appears to be aiming for the same romantic spy thriller with suspenseful set pieces as North by Northwest, but failing drastically when compared to Hitchcock's most accessible and crowd pleasing film. The main quote on the front cover and poster is from the Daily Mail which describes it as "Hugely enjoyable... escapist fun" and that's perhaps where the problem lies as, rather than treating its subject material seriously, The Tourist becomes instantly forgettable popcorn nonsense and a film few will be talking about in five years.

The Disc

Extra Features

The bonus feature to which I was most looking forward was the commentary by Florian Henkel von Donnersmarck to see what his take on the film was and whether he had any regrets. It is a very well delivered commentary with von Donnersmarck's grasp of the English language better than many who claim it as their native tongue and it is quite amusing, given the Blu-ray's 12 certificate (the film was a 12A in Britain and PG-13 in the US) to find von Donnersmarck being bleeped out when describing some of the lines that had to be removed or changed in order to secure the PG-13 rating. When it comes to the film itself, von Donnersmarck, just like Edith Piaf, has no regrets and is proud of the lengthy picturesque shots of Venice, how beautiful film makes Angelina Jolie look and the CGI work which makes the stationary train look as if it's whizzing through the countryside.

Bringing Glamour (9:08, HD) features interviews with the likes of producer Graham King, Florian Henkel von Donnersmarck, executive producer Lloyd Phillips, costume designer Colleen Atwood, screenwriter Julian Fellowes, Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, Rufus Sewell, Paul Bettany and Steven Berkoff. They generally talk about Venice as a location and how the film brings glamour back to Venice; I wasn't aware that it had ever left. Everyone is very complimentary about the film and other members of the cast and crew so it really comes across as an EPK piece rather than anything of real substance.

Canal Chats (6:00, HD) is, as the title suggests, interviews with members of the cast and crew (particularly von Donnersmarck, Paul Bettany and Julian Fellowes) on boats in Venice as they browse the canals talk about the city, why it's a great location and their personal experiences with the city.

Travelling the Canals of Venice (3:17, HD) is another EPK piece about Venice as a location, why it is such a unique place and such a great location in which to set a film.

Action in Venice (6:28, HD) explores and examines the action sequences, mentioning the authorities wouldn't let them involve a motorcycle in one case sequence so they had to use two boats without creating high waves which would lead to the corrosion of the city itself.

The Gala (7:11, HD) has contributions from von Donnersmarck, Graham King and, in particular, production designer John Hutman, talking about how certain parts of Venice where recreated or added to in order to create the setting for the gala sequence, something about von Donnersmarck says he was extremely keen to have in the film.

Outtakes (1:25, HD) is 'hosted by' Paul Bettany, Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp and is really too brief to show anything of interest.

Interview with the Director (9:22, SD) is conducted entirely in German with English subtitles and, with a background of curtains, a lamp and a big poster for The Tourist, is clearly an EPK piece made for German TV to publicise the film.

Optimum Trailers for Sammy's Adventures, Babies, The Princess of Montpensier and Leap Year.

Being a Double Play release, this also comes with a DVD should you want to watch it in a room without a Blu-ray player or HD setup. This is also a release that, only costing a few pounds more than the standard DVD release, should apply to people considering buying a Blu-ray player in the near future.

Overall, aside from the commentary, it is a shame that there is very little of substance amongst these extra features which are all extremely brief and seem to be designed as EPK material for the DVD/BD release or features on TV.

The Picture

As is usually the case for a film shot on HD digital or 35mm (this was shot on the latter) a matter of months ago and only about 12 weeks removed from the end of its theatrical run, the HD picture, presented in AVC 1080p, has the vibrant colours, deep contrast levels and detail you would expect.

I can't imagine it's too difficult to make Venice looks like an extremely picturesque holiday destination and the perfect setting for a romantic getaway, but von Donnersmarck , production designer John Hutman and cinematographer, John Seale, find some remarkable locations from which to film the city which, with the sun shining on the turquoise canals, terracotta roofs and numerous bridges, could be used by travel agents and the Italian tourist board to persuade people to go.

Just as other films set in Venice have done, this uses the canals and the city's landscape to good effect, particularly when shooting the equivalent of a car chase with the boats speaking around the waterways without much thought for what the wake will do to the neighbouring buildings.

There isn't a great deal of CGI or other visual effects, but some colour correction has been used and there is one scene where a boat runs over someone with the effect created by splicing two different shots together in a seamless transition. When it comes to the post production digital effects, it is nice to see that there isn't too much DNR, edge enhancement or other such over use of digital correction which works against the viewing experience.

The Sound

The disc comes with numerous audio and subtitling options and the one I opted for, being a native English speaker, was the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English track which is very nicely balanced, presenting the dialogue crisply and using directional sound very well for the music, sound design and atmospherics. When it comes to the action sequences, the track is up to the job bringing the surround speakers and subwoofer to life with a swirling soundstage with plenty of LFEs for the gunshots and roar of the outward motors.

The score, by James Newton Howard, does a very good job of underscoring the romantic elements and ramping up the tension bit by bit and then maintaining it during some of the (supposedly) more suspenseful and tense scenes.

If you're wondering what audio and subtitling options are available, just look to the top left-hand corner of the screen for a full list.

Final Thoughts

The Tourist is a film that has ideas beyond its station, aspiring to be a much more serious and intricate film and the piece of popcorn nonsense it turned out to be. It is an instantly forgettable film and I really had to be on my game to remember so many details to write this review. Johnny Depp is far from the remarkable physical actor who transformed himself to play the likes of Edward D. Wood Jr, Edward Scissorhands and Raoul Duke/Hunter S. Thompson in his more memorable screen performances whilst Angelina Jolie does the sort of thing that pays the bills rather than the more challenging roles (such as in Changeling and Girl, Interrupted, the latter won Jolie her only Oscar). One of the more surprising turns is by Steven Berkoff who is a remarkably threatening presence as the gangster, Reginald Shaw, with Rufus Sewell also 'rising' to the challenge as a mysterious Englishman who attracts the authorities' attention.

If his previous film is anything to go by, Florian Henkel von Donnersmarck is capable of much better films so it is a shame to see him wasting his considerable talents on a big budget studio film like this without much in the way of artistic merit.

The disc is a very good one with plenty of extra features, despite their 'puff piece' nature, and excellent AV quality so, if you liked this at the cinema or think that the trailer makes it look like your kind of film, this is worth at least a rental. However, if you treat film seriously, buy the brilliant new 50th anniversary Blu-ray release of North by Northwest instead.