The Hessen Conspiracy (aka The
Hessen Affair/2008/Anchor Bay DVD)
Picture: C+ Sound: C+ Extras: D Feature: C+
It is
harder and harder to do good stories about WWII since the era and subject have
been done so often, but a recent attempt that did not get much notice that at
least tried was Paul Breuls’ The Hessen
Conspiracy (2008) which takes place as the war ends and involves two U.S.
officers (Billy Zane and Lyne Renée) with outstanding service who intend to
take over and live in a castle once belonging to no less than German royalty
now destroyed by Hitler’s plans, failed or not.
However,
they discover a giant gems holding that is very, very valuable and decide to
change their future residency plans by figuring out a plan to get these valuables
secretly out of the country to sell them.
Besides having trouble trusting each other, they have to be careful of
all around them. So what will happen?
The
results are mixed and the Nicholas Meyer/Ronald Roose script can be on the
talky side, but it was just a project that did not know if it wanted to be a
thriller, drama or mystery. Meyer alone
is great at all of them, but maybe the script was not translating to the screen
as intended. Either way, despite good
sets, costumes, acting and the like, this lands up not being as good as it
could have been and you get the feeling you’ve seen much of this before. Zane can still carry a film, however, so fans
will want to see it and others interested should still give it a look. It even is supposed to be “based on a true
story”.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is a little weak with limited shadow
detail in the Video Black and other depth and detail issues, but I would like
to see this on Blu-ray to compare as I think this could look better. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix spreads out what is
simple stereo with few highlights and is too much in the front and center
channels in this mix. The recording
(especially of the dialogue) is just fine, but there is a lack of soundfield
throughout. There are no extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
