: 1280x720, providing a significant step up in clarity over DVD or TV broadcasts.
The film boasts an impressive ensemble cast, including Charles Bronson, Elliott Gould, and Verna Bloom. Charles Bronson, known for his tough-guy roles in films like "Death Wish" and "The Magnificent Seven," showcases his versatility as the lead protagonist, bringing a sense of humor and vulnerability to the character. Elliott Gould, on the other hand, adds comedic relief as the eccentric and somewhat unhinged Soviet agent, Vodnoy. Telefon -1977- 720p BluRay-LAMA
Before we dissect the video quality, a reminder of why this film matters. Telefon posits a terrifyingly simple premise: The KGB has planted 54 "sleeping" agents throughout the United States. These are normal American citizens—a mechanic, a teacher, a soldier—who do not know they are spies. They have been brainwashed via Pavlovian conditioning. A trigger phrase, a recitation of the Robert Frost poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" (translated into Russian, then back to English), activates them to commit acts of sabotage. : 1280x720, providing a significant step up in
In 2016, Warner Archive released a "burn-on-demand" DVD. That disc was an improvement over the VHS, but it was (480p) and used an older interlaced master. The LAMA BluRay encode, by contrast, is progressive (non-interlaced) and upscales to 720p beautifully. Elliott Gould, on the other hand, adds comedic
: Major Grigori Borzov (Charles Bronson) is sent to America to stop the rogue officer. He is paired with a double agent, Barbara (Lee Remick), to neutralize the threat before the U.S. and USSR are plunged into a catastrophic war. Production & Reception
Previous television broadcasts cropped Telefon to 4:3, cutting off important blocking. Siegel was a master of spatial tension. In the scene where Remick and Bronson argue in a motel room, the 1.85:1 framing allows you to see a sleeper agent approaching from the extreme left of the frame before the actors do. The LAMA encode restores that directorial intention.
: Bronson plays a more restrained, intellectual version of his typical "tough guy" persona, while Donald Pleasence delivers a memorably unsettling performance as the antagonist.