There are a lot of major films that just vanish from conversations over the last few decades. Most of us get into movies by watching them on television. During the ’70s to the early ’90s, you could catch the oddest of films pulled from the vaults and run during Night Owl theaters. When TV stations stopped signing off after The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, they needed programming that was cheap and would last until the crack of dawn. Indie UHF stations also needed to fill up afternoons with their matinee theaters before the kiddies got home from school and could watch animated shows. But over the last 30 years, stations have found other things to run instead of movies. We get reruns of the talk shows, late night news and dreaded infomercials. The movies that do get run are rather recent and extremely popular. Back in the ’80s, I have a foggy memory of stumbling home and watching a few minutes of movie that featured Emma Peel from The Avengers and Kojak before passing out. Since this was the pre-internet era I pondered if it was merely a dream. Thankfully this movie is real and The Assassination Bureau is now coming out on Blu-ray.
Assassinations during the 19th Centuries were rather ragged affairs that often ended with more misses than hits. At the start of the 20th Century, trend reversed. Why the big change? Journalist Sonia Winter (The Avengers’ Diana Rigg) uncovers a unique group known as The Assassination Bureau. For the right price, they’ll take out anyone you want. Winter sets up a meeting with the head of the organization Ivan Dragomiloff (Gladiator‘s Oliver Reed). She offers him £20,000 and names her target. He’s startled for realize it is himself. Turns out Lord Bostwick (Kojak‘s Telly Savalas) has put up the money. Instead of refusing the deal, Ivan takes the money and informs his board that he will be the target. But they won’t have an easy time taking him out. And to make it interesting, he will be killing them. Ivan is a master of disguise so there’s no telling who he will be. Dangers game of cat and mouse leads to a chase around pre-World War I Europe with a plot that leads into the causing incident.
The Assassination Bureau is a fun film with the so many people getting blown up along the way. There is a steampunk feel to the action as the secret society is pushing technology beyond the industrial revolution. The final scene involves the weaponizing of a zeppelin on a castle attack.
This would be the second film to feature Diana Rigg and Telly Savalas in 1969. They were also part of the underrated On Her Majesty’s Secret Service with George Lazenby as James Bond. Oliver Reed was considered a bit too rough to replace Connery as Bond. But here we get a glimpse of what Reed would have been like in OHMSS. I don’t think Reed could completely pull off the romance and heartbreak required of the Bond role in that film. Reed is great when facing off with Telly and having fun with Rigg.
It’s great to finally see The Assassination Bureau in the daylight. The weirdness I saw a few decades ago has stood up and I was about to stay up to see the whole film this time.
The video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The 1080p transfer beings out the Technicolor joy. The audio is LPCM Mono is clear enough to hear the ticking of a bomb. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary with Kim Newman and Sean Hogan gets into the history of the film and how it was produced. They point out how the book and the titled card has The Assassination Bureau Limited. But the movie is sold as The Assassination Bureau. They link the film back to the Around the World in 80s Days.
Right Film, Wrong Time (27:30) has Matthew Sweet on The Assassination Bureau. He goes into the how Jack London bought the idea for the book from Sinclair Lewis. He died before he finished the pages. Robert L. Fish completed the book in 1963 around the time of the JFK Assassination. The book was set in America, but the movie took it to Europe.
Trailer (3:02) shows off the secrecy of the film. There’s a lot of people taken out in this teaser.
Image Gallery has 62 images including lobby cards, press photos and posters
Arrow Video presents The Assassination Bureau. Directed by Basil Dearden. Screenplay by Michael Relph and Wolf Mankowitz. Starring Oliver Reed, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas, Curd Jürgens & Philippe Noiret. Rating: PG Rated. Running Time: 110 minutes. Release Date: April 25, 2023.
