5 Star

The Cars, The Suave, and The Crimes.

Following on from the success of action thrillers such as Danger Man (1960) and The Saint (1962-1969) ITC wanted to bring the British and American audiences a series that showed off the best of European locations with all the trappings of the rich and famous, hence The Persuaders. Now, fifty years on, it looks better than it ever did, on this Network exclusive collectors’ edition Blu-ray.

Retired judge Fulton (Laurence Naismith, Jason and the Argonauts, Diamonds Are Forever) has a bugbear, in that some criminals are beyond the long arm of the law, and he wants to bring them to justice. But how does he do that?

Two playboys, that is what he’ll use, one an American from the ruff streets of New York, in Danny Wilde (Tony Curtis, Some Like It Hot, The Vikings, Spartacus), and like chalk and cheese he wants the very English Lord Brett Rupert George Robert Andrew Sinclair (Roger Moore, The Spy Who Loved Me, The Saint (TV Series), Ivanhoe (TV Series)).

It is instant dislike between this pair of macho-men, which leads to a car race between Brett’s Aston Martin DBS and Danny’s Ferrari Dino 246 GT around the hills of Monte Carlo, before getting to their hotel where they decide to sort the situation with fisticuffs, and smashing up the bar, which lands the pair in front of Judge Fulton. They are faced with ninety days in jail or help the judge bring those that evade the law to justice.

That’s ninety nights as well!

When the target is a young pretty woman (Imogen Hassall, Carry on Loving, The Long Duel) they cannot refuse their first task. The pair eventually have an admiration for each other as they solve crimes and find missing criminals, for themselves and for the judge. Along the way, they  will come across many famous faces of the early seventies and now. In Joan Collins (Dynasty (TV Series), Star Trek (TV Series)), Susan George (Straw Dogs, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry), Catherine Schell (Space: 1999 (TV Series), On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), Terry-Thomas (School for Scoundrels, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines), Hannah Gordon (The Elephant Man, Made of Honour) and Lionel Blair (A Hard Day’s Night, Absolute Beginners). With great production values, and with well known directors from the cinematic world, The Persuaders stands up as good today as it did then.

A great package brought to you by Network, a must for those that remember the original show and for those into the comedy-crime thrillers.

The Persuaders! Take 50 is exclusive to Network on Blu-ray

The Persuaders! Take 50:

● The full presentation of Network’s critically-acclaimed 50th anniversary VOD celebration

● Overture: 1971 presentation with commercial breaks

● The Persuaders! 40th Anniversary Event: Featuring a Q&A with Roger Moore and Barry Norman plus some behind-the-scenes background to the event

● Greensleeves: 1971 presentation with commercial breaks

● Tony Curtis – The Persuader!: An in depth interview from 2006

● Eight movies reconstructed in widescreen from restored High Definition masters

● A brand-new 140-page book with merchandise and memorabilia