With the
responsibilities of world peace, the national debt, and dessert
choices at state dinners constantly on his mind, it seemed like a
good idea to find the President of the United States an analyst to
help him deal with these burdens. In The President’s Analyst, Dr.
Sidney Schaefer (Coburn) wins the coveted job, but not without a
price – governments from all over the world are soon targeting the
hapless doctor. Some want him to spill whatever secrets may have
been discussed in the Oval Office, while others want to silence
him permanently to prevent him from possibly revealing that very
information!
CRITIQUE
From the start
of DVD, studios have slowly but surely released their old titles
to DVD-land, fulfilling vintage movie-buffs' and goers'
collections to the deepest core. It’s almost like CDs in a way, when record
companies slowly but surely release those Vinyl classic albums on
CD. There are still many albums that haven’t gotten the CD
treatment, and I suspect that’s the same with DVDs. But rest
assured, one of many titles has finally gone to DVD, the
well-known satirical 1967 flick starring the late-great James
Coburn, The President’s Analyst.
This is my first time viewing of the film, but as I watched many
other films came
to mind before and after this 1967 flick. For the time period and
with some of the romantic and cheesy moments, Breakfast at Tiffany's
came to mind. In the parts where Schaefer is being chased by all
sorts of agencies, I was reminded of Pink Panther and North
by Northwest. And for the over-the-top ness and satirical aspects which
run all straight through the film, films like Dr. Strangelove and
The
Producers seemed topical and/or similar.
But the most obvious of aspects that came
to mind while watching this movie was the real-life scenarios this
movie attempts to satirize. Even if the events take place at the tail
end of the 60’s, much recent headlines of going-on’s in DC pretty
much parallel this film. Despite the outdated sound quality
and picture quality, and even the filmmaking, this film can very well
be compared to politics of governments today, especially to the
Homeland Security act.
The President’s Analyst starts out rather comical, yet slow, and
eventually works its way up the
chain to the protagonist being chased by sinister people. There
are many hidden jokes and gags to finds, and my guess is you have
to watch the film a few
times to catch them all. But one thing that really got a laugh out
of me is that by the middle half you have all these countries with
agencies and spies attempting to get at Schaefer one way or
another. It’s funny in an over-the-top way, but also in the way of
how it's realistic; sad but true, and that’s really the
whole concept of satire. Also, since it takes place in the 60s, much of the 60s music and
influence is carried out nicely, including a couple of scenes
featuring
hippies.
The only complaint I have is how the President of the United
States was portrayed. The poster art from the 60s and the front
cover of the DVD has James Coburn to the left sitting
in the chair and to the right, you see what appears to be the
President laying down on the couch. However, you never get to see
the President in the film at all. Now, I understand why this was
done in one reason, they made the President more symbolic than what
he truly is, but it's still a letdown. I was very interested in
the interaction between the analyst and the President, as well as seeing
the “hence-the-title”, and I thought in some form or another it
would've been shown. I’m sure this would’ve made the film more comical
than what it was trying to do.
With The President’s Analyst, writer/director Theodore J.
Flicker presented a
dark-satirical tale with much care and passion. His script is just
pure brilliance, much of the dialogue is very easy-following,
charming, witty, and entertaining. Much of the film has that amateuristic feel, and it was obvious the director wasn’t trying to
be artsy-fartsy but rather just trying different things most
directors are interested in when they start out. Flicker is not a
total stranger of that time period, he has been involved with
many known and unknown projects, including the popular Dick Van Dyke
Show.
THE VIDEO
Paramount
presents The President's Analyst in 2:35 widescreen format.
Seeing as though this is part of the fine-line of Paramount’s
widescreen collections, much care went in for at least
attempting to darken the picture so it fits
and enhances the viewing in widescreen form. I have many
of their titles so this isn’t the first to be
updated with picture quality. And the fact that it’s a 60s film,
there are a few grainy spots here and there, and the tail end of
the film sort of fades out of the darker color, but through and
through, the film is presented to near perfection as the print
allows.
There are a few scenes where the color red
is seen (films
like Charly, Creepshow, and Marine also have this effect.) It’s
a silly filmmaking technique, but it worked well here. The
picture quality defeats the awkwardness this effect may have on
people viewing the film.
THE AUDIO
Paramount
presents The President's Analyst in only Dolby Digital English
Mono. Dialogue is clear. Music is fantastic, especially if you like the
similar 60s movie scores and influenced rock –n- roll. But it
is distorted and sort of awkward on the ears when heard in
stereo. It didn’t seem like much care went into the sound
quality. I have some DVDs of films that go back to the 60s and 40s and their
sound quality was remastered. This film didn’t seem like it got
that treatment.
THE EXTRAS
There are no
extras, unfortunately. If you want to consider the cheaply done menus
as an extra, then that’s all you get, as well as the feature
presentation. Commentary track, “making of”, hell – even some
trailers dating back to the release of the film would’ve been
nice. Some nifty movies get the whole package deal and some
movies don’t. It seems Paramount is good at
presenting a film in widescreen but they don't make a concerted
effort when it comes to sound
quality and extras.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The DVD is worth
buying
despite the lack of extras. For some DVDs you just have to realize
that the extra is the movie itself, nothing more and nothing less.
The President’s Analyst is a brilliant satirical masterpiece, and even
though it's outdated,
the message isn’t, and several of the film's elements can be paralleled to events at this point
in
time. Sure, the film is over the top and beyond, but isn’t that what satire is?
Worth are purchase for vintage film aficionados and/or government buffs,
or analysts.
