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Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Black Mass (Blu-ray) (2015)

Black Mass (Blu-ray) (2015)

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Released 17-Feb-2016

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Crime Drama Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Black Mass: Deepest Cover, Darkest Crime
Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Johnny Depp: Becoming Whitey Bulger
Featurette-The Manhunt for Whitey Bulger
Rating Rated MA
Year Of Production 2015
Running Time 122:36
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 1,2,3,4,5,6 Directed By Scott Cooper
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Johnny Depp
Joel Edgerton
Benedict Cumberbatch
Dakota Johnson
Kevin Bacon
Peter Sarsgaard
Jesse Plemons
Rory Cochrane
Adam Scott
David Harbour
Juno Temple
Case Standard Blu-ray
RPI $29.95 Music Junkie XL


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 5.1
French Dolby Digital 5.1
German Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 1080p
Original Aspect Ratio 2.40:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired
French
German
Italian
Spanish
Dutch
Danish
Finnish
Greek
Icelandic
Norwegian
Swedish
Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

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Plot Synopsis

    More than anything else, Black Mass is an actor’s showcase; a golden opportunity for actors to show off their talents by embodying historical characters. It’s the latest cinematic endeavour for director Scott Cooper, whose previous movies (Crazy Heart, Out of the Furnace) are also more notable for their acting than storytelling. Black Mass is bolstered by magnificent performances and a solid technical presentation, yet its two-hour running time merely amounts to a number of effective set-pieces, with Cooper unable to bring it all together in an overly substantive fashion. Still, it’s difficult to entirely write off this competent gangster thriller, which certainly has its strong points.

    In the 1970s, ruthless criminal James “Whitey” Bulger (Johnny Depp) is poised to take over an Irish mob crew known as the Winter Hill Gang in his homeland of South Boston, standing in stark contrast to his brother Billy (Benedict Cumberbatch), a U.S. senator. On the other side of the law is Bulger’s childhood pal John Connolly (Joel Edgerton), an FBI agent torn between his friendship with the volatile mobster and his professional responsibilities. To gain immunity from criminal activities, Bulger agrees to work as an FBI informant, which he uses to his advantage, gaining unprecedented power as he feeds the Feds minimal information while Connolly protects his interests from within the bureau. But Bulger’s misdeeds continue to pile up, and Connolly’s superiors at the FBI begin to dig deeper.

    Written by Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth, the movie is predominantly based on Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill’s 2001 novel “Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob,” staying true enough to the real-life events while taking a certain degree of dramatic license when it comes to certain characters. Parts of the film are framed through the eyes of Jimmy’s associates - including Kevin Weeks (Jesse Plemons) - who talk to the FBI about their involvement in the gang and knowledge of Bulger’s countless crimes. It’s an interesting way to justify the narrative, which does boil down to a “greatest hits” compilation of Bulger’s most active years. There is only so much that can be done within the confines of a two-hour motion picture, thus Black Mass provides more of a sprawling snapshot as opposed to an intimate character study. Indeed, Cooper’s film does come together well enough on its own merits as a dramatisation, but the subject matter would be better served as a TV miniseries, as it seems like portions of the movie are missing, with the large ensemble of supporting characters flopping in and out without making much of an impact.

    For maximum authenticity, Black Mass was predominantly lensed on location in South Boston, and many of the historically accurate scenes were shot in the very spot where they actually took place (including the infamous Bulger burial site). Cooper aims for a filmic aesthetic reminiscent of motion pictures from the 1970s, with a deliberate, desaturated colour palette and gloriously old-fashioned cinematography, relying on steady long shots rather than shaky-cam or quick-cutting. Shot on 35mm film stock, Black Mass carries a gorgeous texture, and the rest of the production values are spot-on, recreating Boston from the ’70s and ’80s with ease. The period-specific detail is superb, with nothing seeming phoney, and there’s a sense of authority that pervades most every frame, enhanced by Junkie XL’s moody, effective original score. Cooper’s storytelling may need improvement, but there’s little to complain about from a technical standpoint.

    Without a doubt, Black Mass belongs to Depp, who turns in some of his greatest work to date as the fearsome Bulger, disappearing into the role with laudable abandon. Brutal and scary, this is not simply more quirkiness from Depp - it’s a completely unflattering character for the heartthrob to play, and he’s covered in convincing make-up to hide his natural good looks. Cooper wisely lets Depp command the frame, allowing his extraordinary work to speak for itself without any unnecessary cinematic flourish. Even though Depp missed out on major awards (he still hasn’t won an Oscar), this is arguably one of the best performances of 2015. Equally solid is Aussie actor Edgerton, who demonstrates yet again why he’s a talent to watch. Black Mass spends a fair chunk of time concentrating on Bulger and Connolly’s relationship, showing how each of their lives are affected by their arrangement. But there are a lot of other characters in this story, all of whom are played by recognisable performers, including Kevin Bacon, Dakota Johnson, Peter Sarsgaard, Adam Scott, David Harbour, Juno Temple, Corey Stoll and Julianna Nicholson. Of particular note is the always-reliable Cumberbatch, who’s nicely understated as Bulger’s brother, while Plemons also makes a positive impression playing Kevin Weeks. It’s a shame that there isn’t more breathing room for a cast of this calibre, however.

    Black Mass does fall short of being the instant gangster classic that it had the potential to be, and one must wonder if an extended cut might be able to improve the limited scope of the narrative. Nevertheless, this is a noble attempt to dramatise Bulger’s rise and fall, showing enough of the man’s ghastly criminal acts to paint a sobering portrait of one of America’s most notorious gangsters. Flaws and all, Black Mass is worth watching, if only for Depp’s exceptional performance.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    Roadshow presents this gangster yarn on Blu-ray in 1080p high definition, framed at 2.40:1, via the MPEG-4 AVC video codec. Let’s not mince words here: Black Mass looks gorgeous in HD, sporting one of the best video transfers in recent memory. Cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi shot the picture on 35mm film stock with Arriflex cameras, and it looks reminiscent of movies from the 1970s by design, with a desaturated colour palette and noticeable grain. It’s a magnificently faithful replication of what I recall seeing at the cinema, leaving very little room for improvement.

    Detail and sharpness stick out the most at first glance. In close-ups, detail is staggering, which permits us to marvel at the wonderfully authentic make-up effects and the accurate period-specific clothing. Even in medium or long shots, the transfer never falters, retaining a refined cinematic texture and always exhibiting plenty of detail. Colours are perpetually stable, faithfully retaining the distinctive look that Cooper and Takayanagi strived to achieve. In addition, there is a thin but noticeable layer of film grain, which serves to augment the detail. The grain is always refined rather than blocky, and makes for a beautifully textured image.

    This is a dark movie at times, and blacks always look inky, giving the video a degree of depth. Luckily, no unsightly crush crops up, with spot-on clarity and delineation no matter the lighting conditions. Added to this, the encode avoids all other digital anomalies, with nothing in the way of aliasing or banding - it’s smooth sailing from start to finish. Even though people who prefer crystal-clear digital video may have issues with Black Mass, it looks gorgeous in my eyes, and it remains absolutely true to the intentions of the filmmakers. It’s borderline demo material.

    Several subtitle options are available.


Video Ratings Summary
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Audio

    In keeping with most new release Blu-rays these days, Black Mass receives a very robust DTS-HD MA 5.1 track that sounds spectacular. The disc also includes several lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks in different languages. Large chunks of the movie involve characters conversing, and luckily the dialogue is well-prioritised, coming through the front channels effectively. The track also has music and ambience to handle, and it does so with utmost confidence; scenes on the street have rear-channel activity for atmospherics, and Junkie XL’s original music comes through with incredible clarity and oomph.

    Although noticeable separation is infrequent, gunshots and punches pack plenty of impact, and even though this isn’t an overly showy movie in terms of audio, the mix never falters in any department. Indeed, I did not detect any drop-outs, nor is there any muddiness. Black Mass sounds exceptional on Blu-ray.

Audio Ratings Summary
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Extras

    A respectable selection of special features are included, though an audio commentary would have topped off the package nicely.

Black Mass: Deepest Cover, Darkest Crime (HD; 23:00)

    A better-than-average segment which covers the making of the movie, featuring interviews with director Scott Cooper and many of the cast and crew. The real-life story of Whitey Bulger is talked about, with Cooper discussing the specifics of the case and why he was attracted to the movie. Black Mass was shot in Boston, in many of the real locations where certain events took place, and it’s interesting to hear Cooper and Depp discuss various aspects of the production.

Johnny Depp: Becoming Whitey Bulger (HD; 12:24)

    As the title implies, this featurette is all about Depp’s portrayal of Bulger. Depp talks about the research he undertook for his performance, while the extensive prosthetics (including contact lenses) are also covered. Many of the cast and crew chime in to praise Depp’s work, as well.

The Manhunt for Whitey Bulger (HD; 61:38)

    Rather than a documentary about Bulger’s entire life, this substantial extra is solely concerned with the manhunt for the infamous criminal, who was on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for many of the sixteen years that he was on the run. It traces Bulger’s movements during the time that he was a fugitive, and many of the real people involved in his capture are on hand to talk about how Bulger was caught. This is an excellent inclusion to the disc and a terrific companion piece to the movie.

R4 vs R1

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    In terms of supplemental material, all releases worldwide are identical. Buy local.

Summary

    Black Mass is straightforward and it's never overly inspired, but it does work well enough thanks to competent technical specs and wonderful acting. Just don't expect Scarface. I would be very interested in an extended cut, though, if there is any deleted material floating around.

    Roadshow's Blu-ray is a real keeper. Video is gorgeous, as close to perfect as I've seen lately, while audio is strong and there is a terrific supply of extras which complement the movie nicely. I just wish Cooper and Depp did a commentary. What a shame. All things considered, this disc comes recommended.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Callum Knox (I studied biology)
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Review Equipment
DVDPlayStation 4, using HDMI output
DisplayLG 42LW6500. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated.
AmplificationLG BH7520TW
SpeakersLG Tall Boy speakers, 5.1 set-up, 180W

Other Reviews NONE