Director Spotlight: Castle Keep / Bobby Deerfield Blu Ray Review (Mill Creek)
Castle Keep is a 1969 war film directed by Sydney Pollack (Bobby Deerfield, The Interpreter, Random Hearts, The Firm, Out of Africa, and Sabrina). It’s written by Daniel Taradash (A Little Bit of Heaven, Picnic, Hawaii, and Storm Center) and David Rayfiel (The Firm, Sabrina, Intersection, Death Watch, Three Days of the Condor, and Out of Africa). It’s based on the novel by author William Eastlake. Near the end of World War II, American Major Abraham Falconer (played by: Burt Lancaster from Local Hero, Field of Dreams, Control, Tough Guys, Zulu Dawn, Airport, Go Tell the Spartans, The Island of Dr Moreau, and 1900) leads his weary eight-man squadron which includes Beckman (played by: Patrick O’Neal from Under Siege, The Stepford Wives, and The Stuff), Rossi (played by: Peter Falk from Columbo, The Princess Bride, and Murder by Death), Clearboy (played by: Scott Wilson from The Walking Dead, In Cold Blood, Behind the Mask, and The Last Samurai), DeVaca (played by: Michael Conrad from Scream Blacula Scream, Hill Street Blues, and The Longest Yard), and Bix (played by: Bruce Dern from The Burbs, The Hateful Eight, The Driver, and Nebraska) to a pristine medieval castle. The owner Count of Maldorais (played by: Jean-Pierre Aumont from Heartbeat, Lili, and Jefferson in Paris) shelters the brave servicemen in hopes they will defend his fortress and his priceless collection of art masterpieces from the advancing the dangerous German troops, but the servicemen have plans of their own!!!! 
Castle Keep is a late 60’s war feature from the legendary Sydney Pollack. The acclaimed director did a little bit of everything when it came to cinema. It’s a interesting and different take on World War II and Battle of the Bulge. It’s a little more artsy than your typical war movie and it tries to deliver a strong message over just pure action which makes it stand out from others at the time. It goes in it’s own world so some of it not very accurate when it comes to the actual history but I see why they did it because it turns out to be pretty entertaining. It’s a decent amount amount of action and violence in Castle Keep. Burt Lancaster is kinda unlikable as the tough leader but his role is very original so it grabs your attention. Most of the characters here are a little wacky and they all have something unique that sets them apart from each other. It has a solid supporting cast that includes all kinds of familiar faces like Patrick O’Neal, Peter Falk, Scott Wilson, Bruce Dern, Michael Conrad, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Astrid Heeren, Tony Bill, Caterina Boratto, and Al Freeman Jr. This was much better than expected. It’s a refreshing different spin for the classic sub-genre!!!!
Bobby Deerfield is a 1977 drama directed by Sydney Pollack (Castle Keep, Jeremiah Johnson, The Yakuza, Three Days of the Condor, Tootsie, and Absence of Malice). It’s written by Alvin Sargent (The Spider-Man franchise, Unfaithful, Ordinary People, and Straight Time). It’s based on the novel “Heaven Has No Favorites” from Erich Maria Remarque. It’s grossed $9,300,000 worldwide at the box office. Formula One auto racer Bobby Deerfield (played by: Al Pacino from The Godfather franchise, Heat, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Carlito’s Way, Scarface, Sea of Love, Scent of a Woman, Donnie Brasco, and Any Given Sunday) is a calculating, control-obsessed loner who has become used to winning the checkered flag on the track. When he witnesses a fiery crash that kills a teammate and seriously wounds a competitor, he becomes unsettled by the specter of death. During a visit to the survivor, Deerfield’s world is further set askew when he meets Lillian Morelli (played by: Marthe Keller from Marathon Man, Hereafter, Fedora, Black Sunday, and The Formula), a quirky, impulsive woman that’s life is racing against time!!!! 
Bobby Deerfield is one of more forgotten and less known movies from the iconic Al Pacino. Filmmaker Sydney Pollack tries something different once again with this one. It’s really not what you think it’s going to be. I remember when I originally heard about Bobby Deerfield, I figured it was going to be an action packed racing film. Honestly, there’s only a little amount of racing in Bobby Deerfield despite that being his profession. It’s more of a drama and character study. Al Pacino as Bobby is mainly a loner. He kinda becomes a womanizer and he tries to juggle two different women which includes his wife Lydia (played by: Anny Duperey from Blame It on Rousseau, Une famille formidable, and Grand Hôtel) at the same time while dealing with a tragedy during a race. Marthe Keller plays a dying woman that’s just trying to enjoy her life for the short time that’s left. Al Pacino and Marthe Keller have solid chemistry. It’s honestly a unlikable romance since Deerfield is married and he is cheating on his wife here. I guess it tries to justifies itself with him almost dying himself in a really bad crash. I’m not too familiar with most of cast here, it’s mainly foreign actors that I haven’t seen in much. Bobby Deerfield is about 25 minutes too long, it really drags at times and it feels longer than what it is. Don’t get me wrong, Al Pacino is top notch as the lead. It’s a great performance and he makes it this worth watching just because of his presence here. Marthe Keller holds her own against the legendary performer. Everyone else is decent but no one really grabs my attention besides those two in this. I haven’t seen Bobby Deerfield in forever, I remember liking it more back in the day but I was a little disappointed during this revisit. It’s just average to me. I can kinda see why this one doesn’t get brought up alot when it comes to Al Pacino or Sydney Pollack. It’s not bad or anything, it’s just nothing special. I wouldn’t go back and watch this many times again. As a double feature like this Director’s Spotlight is supposed to be, it’s a welcomed bonus. I would have never originally thought I’d prefer Castle Keep over this film because I remember being bummed out about missing out on Bobby Deerfield’s original Twilight Time release but it’s the better feature out of the two. 
Let’s discuss these high definition presentations from Mill Creek Entertainment! These two 1080p (2.35:1) transfer for Castle Keep and (2.40:1) transfer for Bobby Deerfield. Castle Keep is a little rougher than Bobby Deerfield when it comes to it’s restoration. I wish Mill Creek would have put these films on separate discs rather than sharing them on one because it does effect the overall picture quality. I will say that it’s awesome that Castle Keep is finally available on blu ray in the states thanks to Mill Creek and it’s a solid upgrade compared to the older DVD. Bobby Deerfield was originally released by Twilight Time in 2016 but it’s out of print for awhile now so it’s nice to see it out again with this double feature. Castle Keep has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. Bobby Deerfield has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Bobby Deerfield sounds much better than Castle Keep if you want to compare the two films. Bobby Deerfield’s best moments are during the race scenes and Castle Keep has lots of action during it’s running time. I really wish it had an 5.1 track like the other feature on here. Both are still solid regardless. All of the dialogue is very clean, the action/drama is elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. They both have English SDH subtitles. There’s no extras on this disc. If you own any previous editions, hold on to them for their bonus material. This Director’s Spotlight can be purchased at a decent price so it’s definitely worth adding to your collection. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!! 
