Independent British distributors NetworkDVD will release on Blu-ray Basil Dearden's The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970), starring Roger Moore, Hildegard Neil, and Alastair Mackenzie. The release will be available for purchase online and in shops across the United Kingdom on May 27th.
Roger Moore gives a career-defining performance as a businessman whose existence is reshaped by malevolent forces in this taut psychological thriller directed by Ealing Films veteran Basil Dearden. Made at a point in his career post-Saint and pre-Persuaders, this is the film that showcased Moore's big-screen charisma and ultimately lead to him taking over the role of James Bond. The Man Who Haunted Himself is featured here in a brand-new High Definition transfer from original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio.
Harold Pelham, a partner in a large electronics firm, finds himself in bewildering circumstances after recovering from a near-fatal car accident. What causes him to renounce his high business principles? Why do friends and colleagues repeatedly sight him in places he has never been? And why does Julie, an attractive girl he has seen only once, claim such an intimate relationship with him? Does Pelham really have a doppelganger – or is he losing his mind?
Special Features:
New HD transfer of main feature in as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio
Not a particularly good film, but it is an interesting one and boasts a mostly impressive performance from Roger Moore - he even limits to the eyebrow action to a single arch raise. Sounds like they're just carrying over the extras from the special edition DVD, though the audio commentary by Moore and uncredited script doctor Bryan Forbes is a good one.
The isolated score is new. I didn't think the music elements survived. The promo CD contains some sound effects so perhaps that's what they used here. Anyway, EXCELLENT film!
