THE OFFENCE (1972) - A policeman (Sean Connery) begins to melt down after being exposed to years of horrific events; when he interrogates a man (Ian Bannen) accused of raping several children, his own personal demons push him to frightening extremes ... The story goes that when United Artists was trying to lure Sean Connery back to play James Bond in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, the Scottish superstar agreed on the condition that in addition to a (then) hefty payday, they would promise to back the film version of John Hopkins stage play. I may not think much of DIAMONDS (its far and away the worst of Connerys 007 films for EON), but I am grateful for it for the simple reason that it allowed this masterpiece to be made. THE OFFENCE is, simply put, one of my ten favorite films of all time. The entire cast performs to perfection and the four leads - Connery, Trevor Howard, Vivien Merchant and Ian Bannen - all give Oscar-caliber performances. Sidney Lumet - who had previously directed Connery in the equally grim THE HILL (1965) and the light-hearted caper THE ANDERSON TAPES (1971) - was the ideal director for this sort of material. Hopkins script could easily have degenerated into a claustrophobic and stagy bit of theatre on film, but Lumets dynamic staging and expert use of the camera ensures that it never comes off that way. The atonal score by Harrison Birtwistle is also remarkably effective and Gerry Fishers bleak cinematography sets the right mood. Viewers unconvinced of Connerys acting chops will be silenced by this film: he is absolutely brilliant as the tough-as-nails cop falling apart from the inside out. Bannen also gives the performance of his career as the upper-crust man who may or may not have committed a horrible crime; he is established as a man of great pride who has attained success despite having been horribly bullied in his youth and his interaction with the emotionally vulnerable and physically brutal Connery is some of the most gripping drama I have ever seen on film. I cant recommend this film too highly - and if you see it and enjoy it, by all means follow it up with Lumets first film with Connery and Bannen, the almost-as-remarkable THE HILL. Kinos new blu ray of THE OFFENCE marks the films HD debut. The disc is bare bones as they come, but it happily offers a nice, film-like transfer. The somber lighting and colors are not going to make this a reference quality release for anybody looking to show off their set-up, but the transfer replicates the look of the film very well and theres plenty of detail in the image.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 15:09:10 +0000
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