The Incident

Summary

“Where were you, buddy?”

Twilight Time released the realistic thriller The Incident in 2018 on Blu-ray. I had not heard of this film but was glad to check it out due to Twilight Time’s solid track record and the great ensemble cast in the film. From the beginning of the film, I was pretty much glued to my seat. 

The film begins in New York City with two young thugs, Joe Ferrone and Artie Connors (Tony Musante and Martin Sheen,) intimidating a pool hall owner when he reminds them that they have been closed for twenty minutes. The two aggressive youths then harass a girl walking down the street while laughing and drinking a bottle of hooch. The next decision they make is to mug a man. After discovering that their prey only has eight bucks in his wallet, they beat the man ruthlessly and head for Time Square. A different nightm, husband and wife Bill Wilks and Helen Wilks (Ed McMahon and Diana Van der Mils) are having marital issues with one another. They board the subway train while carrying their sleeping daughter in their arms. A sexually aggressive young man named Tony Goya (Victor Arnold) and his virginal lover Alice (Donna Mills) board the same subway car. Pfc. Felix Teflinger (Beau Bridges) with his broken arm in a sling boards the train along with his army buddy Pfc. Philip Carmatti (Robert Bannard.) An older couple (Jack Gilford and a Thelma Ritter) in a rift with their ungrateful child board the train. A married couple in an argument over finances and their lack of children, Muriel and Harry Purvis (Mike Kellin and Jan Sterling,) board the train. Douglas McCann (Gary Merrill), an alcoholic that lost his family and job, boards the train at the same time as a closeted homosexual named Kenneth Otis (Robert Fields.) Kenneth misunderstands Douglas and makes an advance on him. An African American couple named Arnold and Joan Robinson (Brock Peters and Ruby Dee) also board the train arguing about differing opinions of political militancy. Arnold wants change now, even violent change, and Joan wants to let change come more naturally over time. Things get interesting when Joe and Artie enter the train and immediately start in on the passengers. The film becomes tense immediately and doesn’t let up.

The Incident is an excellent thriller. It was made fifty one years ago and its intensity has not been diminished by time. Shot in documentary fashion, the film makes you want to take a shower from the actions of the two relentless psychopaths featured in the film. Watching the film, it is easy to understand why Terence Malick would later recruit Martin Sheen for his excellent first film Badlands. Martin Sheen’s performance is even more impressive considering it was his onscreen debut. Tony Mussante (best known for his starring role in Dario Argento’s The Bird With Crystal Plumage) delivers an intense and convincing performance as the intimidating Joe. From the moment these two come on screen, you root against them. By the end of the film the tension reaches a boiling point.

The film is a true ensemble. Aside from the two great villainous performances the film is full of strong supporting performances. Brock Peters was a great actor and he gives a multi-faceted performance in the film. Beau Bridges is convincing as the Oklahoman caught up in the drama. I always appreciate when a character from the South or Mid-West doesn’t lay on the accent extremely thick, and Beau Bridges has no trouble sounding the right notes. The character is not meant to be a simple man, just a Southerner. I could list all the other great supporting actors above, but I will summarize by saying that they are all very good in the film. 

The film captures New York as it was barreling towards the worst era of crime in its history and it captures the country’s morale in 1967. The direction by Larry Peerce is essentially flawless and the black and white cinematography by Gerald Hirschfield is stunning. The score is credited to Terry Knight, but the actual score is by Charles Fox. It is a solid score in that it only is used in roughly ten minutes of the film. Given the documentary style realism of the film, this was the right call. Overall, The Incident is a great thriller. It is definitely worth your time.

Video

20th Century Fox have provided a great-looking new transfer in 1080p with an MPEG-4 AVC encoding and 1.85:1 aspect ratio. 20th Century Fox took exceptional care of the film’s elements and have done an incredible job on this restoration. Fine detail is very good. A fine level of grain is present that lends to the great look of the transfer. I have no complaints here. The cinematography by Gerald Hirschfield is beautiful on Blu-ray.

Audio

Twilight Time have provided a DTS-HD MA 1.0 track. It has excellent fidelity to the original elements. This film is primarily dialogue based but the sounds of the train in the background have good depth of field for a mono track. The dialogue is clear and I did not notice any noticeable hiccups in the audio. The minimally used score by Charles Fox sounds very good whenever used in the film.

Supplements:

Audio commentary by Director Larry Peerce and film historian Nick Redman – this excellent commentary track gives a fantastic amount of detail into the production of the film. It was interesting that this film almost fell apart when their financial backing backfired early in production. Also interesting were Larry’s recollections of the cast. Nick Redman is an excellent interviewer and the questions are very insightful. Fans will be very pleased with this track.

Original Theatrical Trailer

Isolated Music and Effects Track

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5 

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 3/5

Overall – 4.5/5

The Incident is still as incendiary as when it was made. Brutality has been around since the dawn of man, so The Incident has aged well. The actions of the amoral characters in the film serve as a mirror to the worst human notions, and their actions feel just as frightening today as they did in 1967. The Incident features a fantastic ensemble cast and beautiful black and white cinematography. Twilight Time have licensed a gorgeous transfer from 20th Century Fox and the commentary track with Larry Peerce and Nick Redman is well worth your time. This film and release come highly recommended.

Portions of this review appeared on Blu-ray Authority in 2018.