Review for Persuaders The: Complete Series (Blu-ray) (UK)

Anybody who has read this site for any length of time knows that ITC's The Persuaders! is my all time favourite classic tv series. I've reviewed both previous incarnations of the show on DVD released over the last eleven years, and regularly trot it out for my own amusement so I'd consider myself something of a Persuaderphile. I've been salivating at the thought of a BD release of the show since Network's Retro-Action 1 sampler earlier in the year which included the episode Chain of Events. Up to then I'd been something of an HD telesceptic - I'd been of the opinion that shows made before HD television should be viewed in standard definition the way they had been intended. The Retro-Action 1 disc completely revised that opinion. ITC's sixties series were always made with the highest production values - positively cinematic - but I'd always thought that with HD you'd see the joins. The dodgy wigs, the fablon woodwork and the like. I need not have worried. The Persuaders stands up to the closest examination and looks breathtaking.

*images are not taken from the Blu-rays and are included for illustrative purposes only.  They do not reflect the image quality of the discs.

At the risk of being accused of hyperbole, I'd say the restoration of the show is nothing short of dazzling. The episodes have been polished up beautifully; practically spotless with brilliant colour and excellent contrast. They look better than a lot of modern-day tv shows.  The question was asked on Twitter whether it was worth double-dipping on this set given Network's excellent 2006 DVD set. The answer is a resounding yes.

The episodes themselves come on five Blurays, five episodes to a disc and four on disc five. The HD extras (production footage, stills, alternate title sequence and the Saint episode) are included on these discs while the SD extras on a further three standard DVDs. The main extras disc is a completely reauthored edition from the previous DVD set. While much of the content on that disc is the same, a number of very pleasing additions have been made - not least the reunion of Curtis and Moore on The Alan Titchmarsh Show and the inclusion of PDF material - scripts, annuals, brochures and the like. The two DVDs containing the "movie" versions (episodes edited together for theatrical release) are reissues of the H & I discs of the previous set.


The short-lived (24 episode) series starred Hollywood Royalty Tony Curtis and Pinewood Royalty Roger Moore at the height of their respective powers. It was the story of two idiots - an English idiot called Lord Brett Sinclair and an American idiot called Danny Wilde and the adventures they got into with miscellaneous dollybirds. It was the British take on the buddy movie or series and predated the likes of Starsky and Hutch.

The series was created out of an episode of Sir Roger's preceding series The Saint - The King of Diamonds where Simon Templar had found himself partnered by a Texas oilman adventurer played by The Champions' Stuart Damon. Unfortunately for Damon he wasn't sufficiently a big name for the US TV networks whose patronage of the series was required. Rock Hudson turned the producers down cold, as did Glenn Ford (who Sir Roger describes in his autobiography as one of the most selfish actors. I cannot imagine them working well together, no matter how I try). Tony Curtis was on a shortlist given the producers by the networks and thankfully with a bit of finagling they were able to secure his services.

The reminiscences of the production team in the 2006 documentary included in the extras tend to tell what a pain in the neck Tony Curtis could be, but on screen he is the consummate professional - the perfect partner to Moore in the Persuaders double act.  A word of warning to parents about this particular extra - Tony Curtis's unparliamentary language relating an anecdote about filming with Joan Collins.

Video
I have to reiterate the images I've used to illustrate this review with are taken from the previous DVD release on account of I can't do Blu-ray screen grabs.  They in no way reflect the image quality of the Blu-ray discs.

The episodes are presented in their original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, windowboxed within the Blu-ray native 16:9 frame. Interestingly the episodes can be zoomed in without losing heads, so it would seem the technicians were possibly shooting the series as widescreen safe (maybe automatically).

Bitrates hum along around the 16-20Mbps rate, which is about two-thirds the bit rate of a top-line BD title. As I've mentioned above, the restorations of the episodes are nothing short of magnificent. Colours are vibrant, detail impressive and contrast excellent considering the age of the source material.

Audio
Two channel mono, which is as good as it gets.   Selected episodes have audio commentaries with Roger Moore, Tony Curtis and production staff.  Again, a word of caution that language can get a little salty occasionally.

Extras:
At the risk of offending Network who have put a lot of work into the extras on this set, I'd just like to point out that most importantly for me (and I suspect many fans who have hard-of-hearing family members) This set has subtitles!!!! 20/10 on this score, Network.

The exhaustive extras included in the set are:
• Recently found production footage (including some behind the scenes) (mute, HD) - some alternative takes complete with clapperboards, optical material by Chambers and Partners. Described as "Text, Textless, Process and Post", which isn't a solicitors' specialising in movie law but raw episode titles in English and sometimes French, background plates for the titles and other bits and pieces. Roughly half-an-hour's worth of stuff per each of the five discs, so quite an insight into television production of the era.
• Extensive image galleries of rare and previously unseen stills (HD)
• The Saint: The Ex-King of Diamonds (HD) - the previously mentioned "pilot" for The Persuaders! with Stuart Damon and looking absolutely amazing in HD. Please Network, a set of HD Saint episodes.
• Previously unseen alternate title sequence (HD) - almost identical to the final version used apart from one or two odd shots.
• Moore and Curtis reunion on the Alan Titchmarsh Show - in a way rather poignant. Tony C is obviously ailing by the time this was made, but his look of amazement when Titchmarsh announces Sir Roger is priceless.
• Contemporary French interview footage from 1971 - avec les subtitles Anglais.
• 1972 Sun TV Awards footage - The Persuaders hoover up the top awards.
• BECTU History Project audio interview with Johnny Goodman - audio only.
• The Morning After - Remembering The Persuaders! exclusive documentary - fascinating viewing but with the aforemention caveat about language.
• AVROSkoop documentary - a Dutch programme that goes behind the scenes of the show.
• Top of the Pops - Pan's People star in a promo film for The Persuaders theme. They don't do much real dancing as such, and are all dressed in pinstripe suits so nothing really to show off what made Pan's People the stuff of many a seventies' adolescent's dreams.
• European and (mute) UK promotional spots - Curtis and Moore on a Chinese restaurant set (from Death In The Family) doing a series of promo pieces.
• Trailers and archive newsreel footage
• Tony Curtis interviewed by Russell Harty
• French titles and commercial break bumpers
• All four international feature-length compilations with trailers.
• Script and Memorabilia PDFs - some of the really fascinating stuff included on this disc - pages from ITC promotional material, pages from various annuals which included Persuaders material, and most strikingly the scripts.  *Users of multiregioning software AnyDVD may want to deactivate the program when trying to open the PDFs, as it appears to clash.
• Although unavailable for review, the set includes tv historian Andrew Pixley's exhaustive 156-page viewing notes book.

Conclusion:
This is the definitive set of The Persuaders! If, like me, you're a dyed in the wool Persuaderphile, you've just got to treat yourself to this set.  Although I've got these check discs, I'm saving up my pennies to get the finished product, and if that isn't a recommendation I don't know what is.