HIDDEN AGENDA (Marc S. Grenier, 2001)

[savagesketch]

This month's episode is here! This time, we're chatting 2001's HIDDEN AGENDA! Craig Cohen, the host of the SlyCast was gracious enough to join the show once again to help me make sense of this convoluted film of Dolph's from the early 2000's. It's not one of Lundgren's better films, but it's still loads better than AGENT RED. Craig and I still had fun chatting this one; check it out!

https://imustbreakthispodcast.wordpress ... en-agenda/

Please feel free to rate and review the show on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever else you go to subscribe! Reviews are greatly appreciated!

[Jox]

Wow, that was a harsh view of the film...



* "Concept of fear" was a tagline but never a working title (except for the German release).

* Dolph himself had dismissed the 2002 rumor about his retirement, he had several projects in development but 9/11 held up a few to be green-lit, and his younger daughter had just been born so he just wanted to spend as much family time as he could. As usual article that spread the rumor had over-interpreted his words to make the headlines.

[Moltisanti]

Listened to this episode. This must have been a hard one to record because the film is just so mundane. Not as howlingly bad as AGENT RED. It's just sort of there. The Lundgren film equivalent of tap water. You can add a slice of lemon to it, but you still don't have much.

Thankfully you get past DETENTION and you'll be headed to some better films to discuss.

[Jox]

German Blu-ray to come out from NSM Records as a Mediabook in 2021 https://www.facebook.com/multimediaulri ... 7684613357

[Jox]

HIDDEN AGENDA was in production 20 years ago...!


(trade advert announcing principal photography)

[Jox]

20 years ago today, I was a 22-year old trainee at the French releasing company Metropolitan Filmexport (COVER-UP, JOSHUA TREE, MEN OF WAR, THE EXPENDABLES 1,2,3) going to my first Cannes Film Festival, and I had the chance and privilege to attend, in 35mm, one of the two screenings of HIDDEN AGENDA for the Market at the Arcades cinema.

HIDDEN AGENDA MOONSTONE CANNES D MOONSTONE2001 copy 5.jpg (69.4 KiB) Viewed 10614 times

[Jox]

Announced 4 years ago, HIDDEN AGENDA is finally getting German Blu-ray release on July 30 in five cover variant Mediabooks
https://www.pretz-media.at/de/nsm-records
https://www.medienversand.at/advanced_s ... c_subcat=1
https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B0957F ... B0957FLDD4


(click to enlarge)

SPECIAL FEATURES:
* English: DTS-HD 2.0 / German: DTS-HD 2.0
* 24-page Booklet with text by Mike Blankenburg
* Limited and numbered Mediabook
* 2K Remastered
* Original Trailer
* German Trailer
* Behind the scenes (Extended version)
* Behind the scenes (Short version)

[Jox]

I received my Blu-ray, and the film looks as good as it probably ever gonna get.

And like I said before I have a soft spot for this title. Having seen it for the first time on the big screen at Cannes 2001 may have influenced me, but coming in between AGENT RED and DETENTION, I think HIDDEN AGENDA is vastly superior to the aforementioned vehicles despite obviously having a few flaws.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
* English: DTS-HD 2.0 / German: DTS-HD 5.1
* 24-page Booklet with text by Mike Blankenburg
* Limited and numbered Mediabook
* 2K Remastered
* Original Trailer
* German Trailer
* Behind the scenes (Long version)
* Behind the scenes (Short version)

The original Moonstone Ent. trailer (not Lionsgate's) has been remastered in HD (the SD version looked more like a VHS).

As for the two behind the scenes featurettes, the longer version is the 17 minutes one that was included on some international DVDs (like Spain, Italy, France).
The shorter version is a 4 minutes edit of the longer one, focusing on fewer scenes being set up and filmed.

The booklet is mostly an extended bio-filmography of Dolph illustrated with stills from HIDDEN AGENDA.

As for the cover I chose this one below, which may not be an obvious choice but I always found it a bit more "indie" and intriguing despite beyond its simplicity.
Also, the official poster shown by Moonstone at Cannes and sent to international distributors was a variant of this one with a portrait of Dolph on the top right.
It also makes the rest of the Mediabook quite "classy".

[Jox]

German Blu-ray 3D packshots
(click for larger images)

[Jox]

German "Hardbox" edition, limited to 50 units (and a rather misleading cover art)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CVL5oiSKFVW/
https://www.facebook.com/multimediaulri ... 2721250851



EDIT:
Pre-order at https://www.pretz-media.at/de/hartboxen ... ox-blu-ray

[Jox]

Standard Amaray case edition to be released January 28
https://www.amazon.de/Hidden-Agenda-Blu ... 09M4YFGF6/

[Jox]

Standard Amaray case edition to be released January 28
https://www.amazon.de/Hidden-Agenda-Blu ... 09M4YFGF6/

Back cover

[savagesketch]

Standard Amaray case edition to be released January 28
https://www.amazon.de/Hidden-Agenda-Blu ... 09M4YFGF6/

Surprised that they're still going forward with this phony cover... In the movie, there aren't any explosions or helicopters, no Army humvee, and that's not even Dolph's body! Didn't work in 2002, and it's even more hilarious nowadays.

[Jox]

I think sometimes their thinking will be that it's the key art used in the US "so we'll use the same as them"...



Personally, I always liked the poster that production / distribution company Moonstone had originally made and sent out to the international distributors. It's kind of the opposite of what you'd expect for an action thriller, and it's so minimalistic it almost looks artsy (which is a plus in my book). As seen as a full on one-sheet hung at their booth of the 2001 Cannes market, it looked even better:



(The only gripe I have is the "concept of fear" tagline.)

[lhz]

Just a post about this movie after almost 15 years since I first viewed it on my French edition dvd at the time. I didn't recon anything of it except some fugace flashes. So let's say it, I was a bit excited when my German blu ray was delivered to me (and yes I waited on purpose to get the standard case with original cover and not media book version ) and knowing this was the first time ever releasing in HD added more fuel to my expectations.

First I'd like to give a little thumb up to the good folks of NSM for the quality of the overall edition ! The image is clean and beautifully remastered on HD yet still highly natural ! I was really impressed and didn't expect this level of exigency. I watched it on my 4K blu ray player with upscaling on my OLED TV and it was really stunning. Did NSM usually have this level of minuteness on the titles they own ?

Quick words about the movie, even if it is not the best Dolph's DTV and of course far from the standard-quality of his various directing efforts, it is highly superior to the usual bad level of movies we got from him at the time. So I think it must be re-place in the context of this particular dark times for Dolph fan.
Even if the movie obviously suffers from this Canadian TV production looks and have at some occasions low production value, there are still some nice moments with artsy vibes (the goodbyes with Sonny in the blizzard) and original one yet a bit bizarre (Dolph fantasm colorful moment) plus special mention for the cozy atmosphere you can feel on Jason Price's restaurant. And last but not least: good old real huge explosion with big blast and not bad CGI like nowadays.
So yes the pitch seems a lot more smarter than it really is with the complex-looking tech-geek sentences Dolph and his team throwing to the audience and the body-count is surprisingly low compare to the usual Dolph standard but I take it for what it is a good old DTV from a revolute era and from a hard career time for Dolph yet with a surprisingly good HD treatment for making it desirable for any Dolph's fan.

A last confidence, the cold frozen atmosphere of HIDDEN AGENDA made me think a lot about JILL RIPS at some moments (one of my fav Dolph-DtV ever) and the opening Men of War sequence too. We should debate one day about our favorite Swedish actor and his connection with winter he got in many of his movies