The Man Who Haunted Himself - Imprint Films Limited Edition [AU Import]

In the bonus features on Imprint/Via Vision's new Blu-ray for The Man Who Haunted Himself, it is stated that this 1970 slow burn thriller is one of the films of which the late Sir Roger Moore was fondest in his career. Known largely for playing suave and essentially superhuman heroes like James Bond and The Saint's Simon Templar, Moore relished the opportunity to "act" for once. That is, to portray a character who is meant to be fairly grounded in everyday reality and unpack what it's like to be that guy.

Of course, the film puts Moore's ordinary guy, Harold Pelham, in some extraordinary circumstances. At first glance, Pelham is an unremarkable stuffed shirt, seen driving cautiously home to the suburbs from his executive job in London. But something odd happens. Pelham suddenly starts speeding recklessly on the motorway and even unbuckles his seatbelt. A wrong move leads him to a grievous accident. He seemingly dies on the operating table in the hospital, but is revived with... two heartbeats? The second heartbeat quickly disappears off the monitor -- but maybe it's not gone for good.

After his recovery, Pelham tries to return to normal life. He puts on a brave face for his wife and kids, but he can't bring himself to get intimate with his wife Eve (Hildegarde Neil) again. At work, he tries to delay a merger with another company because he suspects they want to take over and strip the firm for its most valuable secret assets.

But then, people start telling Pelham about interactions they've had with him that he knows they've never had. A young photographer (Olga Georges-Picot) approaches Pelham about continuing an affair that he knows he never even started. Gossip starts building that Pelham leaked valuable information to the company attempting the buyout, when he knows that he is the one trying to find the leak. Is there somehow a second Harold Pelham?

The film prevents Pelham from seeing his double -- even when they are supposedly minutes from crossing paths with each other -- and it prevents the audience from seeing them in the same place at the same time. This builds a delicious set of mysteries for viewers: Is there really a double? If there is, what is his goal? If there isn't, is Pelham pulling a con job or is he truly schizophrenic? Freddie Jones is deliriously wonderful as an eccentric psychiatrist that Pelham consults when he's trying to figure out if he's being gaslit or if he's actually losing his grip.

The Man Who Haunted Himself, adapted from Anthony Armstrong's short story, is so good at ratcheting up the tension from Pelham's confusion-turned-paranoia that I wish the whole film was as strong. Moore may have been excited to play a real person, but the scenes concerning marital strife and suburban ennui are frankly dull and draggy. The details of the corporate takeover -- although they can be read as analogous to Pelham's fear about the double taking over his whole life -- are also a bit dry. Much better is watching Moore, slowly pushed to the end of his rope, as he tries to piece together the confounding details of his double's activities. Your mileage may vary as to whether you find the film's resolution satisfying; for this viewer it was kind of mezzo mezzo.

The filmmaking team of Basil Dearden, Michael Relph, and Bryan Forbes were responsible for a number of noteworthy late '50s and early '60s English films running the gamut from topical melodrama (Victim) to crime comedy (The League of Gentlemen) to sci-fi (Man in the Moon) to a jazz-steeped neo-noir retelling of Othello (All Night Long). The Man Who Haunted Himself would prove to be a swan song for the team, as director Dearden was killed in a car accident shortly afterward. Bizarrely, the accident happened near the locations on the M4 motorway that were used to film Pelham's accident at the beginning of the film.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Imprint's limited edition release of The Man Who Haunted Himself comes in a sturdy cardboard slipcase. The included booklet is a full-color reprint of the original press book for the film. Fun! When loaded, the disc opens with a few disclaimers and logos before ultimately landing on a still menu with music.

No details about the restoration included in the packaging here, but I was immediately taken aback (pleasantly) by the sharpness and depth of the AVC-encoded 1080p 1.75:1 transfer. A little internet research reveals this is probably the same master as Kino's 2019 disc, although encoded at a notably higher average bitrate. Colors are vivid and details are strong. A few random shots are a little soft, as are certain optical effects shots predictably, but the overall look is organically sharp and appealing. Film grain is noticeable but also looks satisfying in motion.

The soundtrack is presented in a dual mono LPCM 2.0 mix. Some era-related limitations here but overall the sound design is quite appealing. Dialogue is strong and easily understood. Music and effects are well-balanced, with each given a full-bodied platform here. An isolated music-only audio option is also offered in LPCM 2.0 dual mono (see Special Features below). One subtitles option: English SDH.

Imprint’s Blu-ray brings over the Roger Moore-Bryan Forbes commentary that dates back to the early ‘00s Anchor Bay DVD (and was also included on Kino Lorber’s OOP 2019 Blu), but most of the extras here are new or newly collected on a release.

• Audio commentary by Roger Moore and Bryan Forbes, moderated by Jonathan Sothcott - Recorded in the early ‘00s, this is a chummy conversation between Moore and studio exec/uncredited writer Forbes (later known for directing The Stepford Wives), with journalist Sothcott there to perk them up with questions during the lulls.

• Audio commentary by Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons - A brand-new film scholar commentary that is high-energy, entertaining, and well-researched. A welcome addition to the package.

• Isolated music score track - Michael J. Lewis’s score cues, presented on their own in LPCM 2.0 mono.

• The Man Who Became a Friend (HD, 15:50) - Gareth Owens, who was Sir Roger Moore’s assistant for the last fifteen years of his life, discusses the fond memories about making this film that Moore had shared with him.

• The Men Who Were Haunted (HD, 31:39) - A talking-heads-driven piece, full of grey-haired guys gabbing about their working experience on this film. Reminiscences come from camera operator James Devis, assistant editor Roger Guertin, assistant director Dickie Bamber, actor Freddie Jones, art director Michael Pickwoad (who is admittedly more salt-and-pepper in the hair area), and unit manager John Comfort.

• Alfred Hitchcock Presents: “The Case of Mr. Pelham” (25:28) - A 1955 episode of the classic TV anthology directed by Hitchcock himself and based on the same story as this film, starring The Seven Year Itch’s Tom Ewell in the lead role.

• Roger Moore: A Matter of Class (50:10) - A biographical portrait for TV from 1995. It’s focused largely around an interview with Moore, with other comments from famous friends like Gregory Peck, Michael Caine, Jackie Collins, and Tony Curtis. Plenty of James Bond talk with some discussion of his other roles.

• Photo Gallery (HD, 20:21) - No audio, but it plays as one continuous chapter rather than as discrete navigable images.

• Theatrical Trailer (HD, 3:09)

The Man Who Haunted Himself is a tense little thriller featuring a pre-Bond Roger Moore as an ordinary Englishman who ends up stalked by the embodiment of the things he spends all his energy repressing. The film meanders whenever it tries to offer a character study but the thriller elements are all nicely calibrated to ratchet up tension. Imprint/Via Vision's Blu-ray looks and sounds great, and it is impressively stacked with bonus goodies for such a relatively rare catalog title. That kind of care deserves a shout-out. The disc comes Recommended.