The President's Analyst

Restored !! This Is The Good Stuff !!
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Here's the short version of my review of the DVD . Here's what you need to know about this new DVD version .

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The original music has been restored . The meadow scene ( perhaps the very heart of the film ) has been restored . The picture quality is SUPERB . The audio quality is excellent .

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This is the version of this wonderful and influential film , that you want to buy .

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"That's my car gun."
After his stint starring as the eternally groovy American super spy Derek Flint, "Repeat after me: I am not a pleasure unit." in Our Man Flint (1966) and In Like Flint (1967), James Colburn starred in the wonderfully quirky, funny dark political comedy/thriller The President's Analyst (1967).

Written and directed by Theodore J. Flicker, who also worked on a number of television shows including The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Dream of Jeanie, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E, The President's Analyst stars James Colburn as Dr. Sidney Schaefer, a New York psychiatrist who finds himself in the position of being chosen to listen to the problems of the most powerful man in the world, the President of the United States. At first, it seems like a dream position, but soon Sidney realizes it's a lot more than he can handle, as the President does not make appointments with Sidney, but expects him to be 'on call' 24/7, and signals Sidney whenever he needs him through the use of flashing red signal lights...

A Winner Then, A Winner Now
This is one of the funniest movies of all time. A period piece, it satirises many aspects of the 1960s Cold War era. Every scene seems to demolish another icon. Some might complain that Ted Flicker does not know if he is making a love story, a suspense thriller, a hippie love-festival, or a high-tech shoot-em-up. But he chooses his targets carefully and his aim is true. Even the music is a parody.

Although Flicker, over the objections of the studio, removed the hilarious "meet cute" scene, in which Sidney (James Coburn) meets Nan (Joan Delaney), before release, the film is a masterpiece. (I do not know if the studio has replaced this scene for this release).

Godfrey Cambridge, who was a magnificent comedic actor and stand-up comedian, teams up with Severn Darden, who began his career with the original Second City theatre in Chicago. Their interplay is magic, and this film should serve as a special tribute to their memory.

This is the one film I...

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