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In the Line of Fire: Special Edition (Blu-ray) (1993)

In the Line of Fire: Special Edition (Blu-ray) (1993)

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Released 4-Mar-2020

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Thriller Audio Commentary-Wolfgang Petersen (Director)
Featurette-Behind The Scenes With The Secret Service (19:57)
Featurette-The Ultimate Sacrifice (22:15)
Featurette-Catching The Counterfeiters (5:29)
Featurette-How'd They Do That? (4:54)
Deleted Scenes-x 5
Trailer-Vantage Point, Damages
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 1993
Running Time 128:36
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By Wolfgang Petersen
Studio
Distributor

ViaVision
Starring Clint Eastwood
John Malkovich
Rene Russo
John Mahoney
Dylan McDermott
Gary Cole
Fred Dalton Thompson
Case Standard Blu-ray
RPI ? Music Ennio Morricone


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby TrueHD 5.1
French Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0
Portuguese Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 1080p
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English
English for the Hearing Impaired
French
Spanish
Portuguese
Arabic
Indonesian
Korean
Chinese
Dutch
Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

     Frank Harrigan (Clint Eastwood) is a dinosaur, a relic of a past age, the only Secret Service agent still active who had been on duty protecting President Kennedy when he was killed. The guilt and remorse still plagues Frank; his marriage failed and he is a cantankerous older man who drinks too much alone and plays piano in a bar. His new Secret Service partner Al D’Andrea (Dylan McDermott) is wary of him. But redemption beckons; when a credible threat to kill the current President is discovered, Frank persuades his boss and mentor Sam Campagna (John Mahoney) to reassign him to the Presidential Protection Detail.

     The head of the protection detail Bill Watts (Gary Cole) is not impressed and Frank quickly gets offside with female agent Lilly Raines (Rene Russo) and the White House Chief of Staff Harry Sargent (Fred Dalton Thompson) who refuses to change the President’s appearance schedule; the election is in six weeks and they are behind in the polls. The threat to the President is all too real; Mitch Leary (John Malkovich) is an ex-CIA black ops assassin, ruthless, technical proficient and a master of manipulating his appearance. When Leary discovers that Frank was one of the detail who had not been able to save Kennedy, he commences a cat and mouse game with Frank, phoning him regularly but always staying just out of reach. Frank, a classic bull in a china shop, makes mistakes and misjudgements in public which embarrass the President so he is removed from the protection detail. But Frank is determined not to lose another President for he knows that Leary will strike during the Presidential fun raising dinner in LA just before the election.

     Clint Eastwood made In the Line of Fire immediately after Unforgiven (1992) continuing his transition from action man to more mature roles. In In the Line of Fire, though, he has it both ways, still being the (older) action man while romancing Rene Russo, twenty four years his junior in a relationship which on screen fails to convince or gel. Otherwise, however, Eastwood is as watchable and charismatic as ever carrying off the older, jaded, agent very convincingly. John Malkovich can be one of the most creepy, chilling and mesmerising villains on screen and he is excellent here as the foil, or perhaps the other side of the character, of Eastwood’s agent. Malkovich was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for his role as Leary, one of the three Oscar nominations In the Line of Fire received (the others were for the screenplay and editing) but he lost out to Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive (1993).

     In the Line of Fire was directed by Wolfgang Petersen who came to prominence with the Oscar nominated Das Boot (1981) before moving to Hollywood and specialising in blockbuster action type films such as The Perfect Storm (2000), Troy (2004) and Poseidon (2006). In the Line of Fire is competent filmmaking. The integration of Eastwood into real campaign footage is seamless, the depiction of Secret Service agents and their duties authentic, the climax tense and exciting. However, while the film sets up the scenario fairly quickly the screenplay by Jeff Maguire tends to meander in the middle section of the film, bogged down by the love story. Indeed, despite the film’s length of 128 minutes, the development and fate of other characters, such as Dylan McDermott’s D’Andrea, is perfunctory.

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Transfer Quality

Video

     In the Line of Fire is presented in the 2.40:1 aspect ratio, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.

     This is almost a faultless video presentation of the film, a joy to watch. Shot on film, In the Line of Fire has a wonderful depth in almost every frame, with foregrounds and backgrounds equally firm. The pans across the crowds as the motorcade pass are solid. Close-ups of Malkovich’s face show every pore, of Eastwood’s every wrinkle. Colours are beautiful and natural, night scenes, such as Eastwood walking through the dark streets in his beige trench coat, clearly delineate every street light and shadow. Skin tones are natural, contrast and brightness consistent. Marks and artefacts were absent except for some slight edge enhancement.

     English and English subtitles for the hearing impaired plus French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Dutch, Indonesian, Korean and Arabic subtitles are also available.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     Audio choices are English, French and Portuguese Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1. The English audio commentary is Dolby Digital 2.0.

     This is an active audio track with almost always something happening in the rears and surrounds. There is the radio, voices in bars or at functions, cars and engines in the background, the city at night, the crowds as the motorcade passes when motorcycles roar around the sound stage. Shots reverberate, glass breaking and impacts have a good depth. Through it all, the dialogue is always clear. The subwoofer provided appropriate support to the aircraft engines, shots and impacts. The score is by the maestro Ennio Morricone; it was good but lacks the classic Morricone touches so if his name had not have been in the end titles I would not have recognised this as a Morricone score. Which can be good or bad I suppose.

     There are no lip synchronisation issues.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

     These extras, except the Previews and BD Live, were on the Collector’s Edition DVD that was released here two decades ago. Other extras that were on the DVD, such as the Teaser Trailer, TV Spots and Biographies, are not on this Blu-ray.

Previews

     On start-up an ad for Blu-ray HD discs (0:32) plays followed by trailers for Vantage Point (2:32) and Damages (1:37). The same ad and trailers can be accessed via the “Previews” tab in the extras menu.

Audio Commentary by Director Wolfgang Petersen

     Petersen sits down with J.M. Kenny, the producer of the Special Edition DVD, who asks Petersen questions as they go along. This is an informative and interesting commentary as they talk about the cast of the film, how it was like working with Eastwood, the music, production, set and sound design, locations, the look of the film and the colour scheme, visual effects and integrating real campaign footage into the film and balancing the love story and the thriller elements. This is now 20 years old, made as Petersen was working on The Perfect Storm, but it is still worth a listen.

Showtime Special: Behind the Scenes with the Secret Service (19:57)

     In the Line of Fire was made with the active cooperation of the US Secret Service. This TV special, narrated by Bob Snow, retired Assistant Director of the Secret Service who was the technical director of the film, is both a “making of” and a short history of the Secret Service’s role as a protection detail for the President. Using on set and film footage plus footage of the Secret Service’s training exercises plus comments from a number of current and retired agents, director Wolfgang Petersen, cast Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich and Rene Russo and two producers, covered is the training and motivation of Secret Service Agents, the commencement of the role of the Agency as protection for presidents in the early 20th century, the characters played by Eastwood and Malkovich and the aim of the filmmakers to make the depiction of the Secret Service agents and their duties as authentic as possible.

The Ultimate Sacrifice (22:14)

     This is a more standard “making of” with on set footage, film clips, Secret Service training exercise videos and comments by screenwriter Jeff Maguire, producer Gail E Moore, technical advisor Bob Snow, cast Clint Eastwood, Dylan McDermott, Rene Russo and some serving Secret Service Agents. The extra covers the genesis of the project, what the story is about, what drew Eastwood to the role and his character, the contribution of Snow and the Secret Service, the recruitment and training of Agents and what goes into protecting a public figure like the President.

Featurettes

     Two short featurettes:

     How’d They Do That (4:54): An unidentified man shows how they were able to composite the movie characters into real footage of Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign.

     Catching the Counterfeiters (5:29): When the Secret Service was formed in 1865 their role was to catch counterfeiters, and this is still one of their functions. Two agents discuss the evolution of counterfeiting from printing to digital production and show the security measures incorporated in new US currency.

Deleted Scenes (5:01)

     A text screen warns that the deleted scenes have variable video and audio, and indeed there are numerous artefacts and an audio drop out in one scene. The scenes can be selected individually or there is a “Play All” option:

BD Live

Previews

     Same as the “Start-up Ads.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

     This Blu-ray is identical to the US Region All Blu-ray release of In the Line of Fire except that one omits the previews.

Summary

     In the Line of Fire is a good thriller, Eastwood’s screen presence is as strong as ever and the action is well staged as one would expect from Petersen. But the pace is perhaps too deliberate, the love interest unconvincing and the development of other characters perfunctory. In rottentomatoes.com the critics’ score is a whopping 96%, the audience score only a slightly lower 79%. The film is good, but I think those are generous.

     On the other hand, on Blu-ray In the Line of Fire looks and sounds wonderful, which would justify an upgrade from the DVD for fans. The extras, although not new, are numerous and genuine.

     In the Line of Fire was supplied for review by ViaVision Entertainment. Check out their Facebook page for the latest releases, giveaways, deals and more.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Ray Nyland (the bio is the thing)
Friday, April 10, 2020
Review Equipment
DVDSony BDP-S580, using HDMI output
DisplayLG 55inch HD LCD. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderNAD T737. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated.
AmplificationNAD T737
SpeakersStudio Acoustics 5.1

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