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Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Dark Blue: Special Edition (2002)

Dark Blue: Special Edition (2002)

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Released 8-Jun-2004

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Action Main Menu Audio & Animation
Audio Commentary-Ron Shelton (Director)
Featurette-Code Blue
Featurette-By The Book
Featurette-Necessary Force
Gallery-Photo
Theatrical Trailer
Easter Egg-The Fire Next Time
Rating Rated MA
Year Of Production 2002
Running Time 113:06 (Case: 118)
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Ron Shelton
Studio
Distributor

MGM
Starring Kurt Russell
Scott Speedman
Michael Michele
Brendan Gleeson
Ving Rhames
Kurupt
Dash Mihok
Jonathan Banks
Lolita Davidovich
Khandi Alexander
Dana Lee
Chapman Russell Way
Marin Hinkle
Case ?
RPI $29.95 Music Terence Blanchard
Peter DiStefano
Perry Farrell


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English
French
English for the Hearing Impaired
Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

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

Plot Synopsis

    Dark Blue is very reminiscent of a number of other movies. Immediate comparisons will be made to Training Day and L.A. Confidential. Given that the screenplay was written by David Ayer, who also penned Training Day, and the original story was written by James Ellroy, who penned L.A. Confidential, this may be less than surprising. This particular movie features Kurt Russell, along with Ving Rhames and a couple of old colleagues from Felicity - Scott Speedman and Dash Mihok - amongst a generally very strong cast.

    In 1992, the American (and World) public was shocked by some home video footage resulting from a traffic stop after a furious car-chase through the streets of Los Angeles. The tape showed a seemingly defenceless (black) man being savagely beaten by three (white) police officers, while their supervisor stood by and watched. The man's name was soon known around the world - Rodney King. This movie is not about the King trial, but the huge public expectations regarding the outcome of the trial provide an undercurrent of tension which forms an important backdrop to the film.

    Eldon Perry (Russell) is an experienced, somewhat jaded detective, having been raised in a family of policeman and having spent many years on the toughest streets of Los Angeles. He is partnered with a rookie detective - the fresh-faced Bobby Keough (Speedman). As tensions in the city increase with the imminent announcement of the Rodney King verdict, the two police officers are handed a new case to investigate. In the Jack O'Hearts case, two street thugs kill a number of innocent civilians during the commission of a robbery on a corner store. All is not as straightforward as it first seems however, when it is revealed that the apparently hardworking owner of the store is involved in prostitution and loan-sharking. Despite robbery being the obvious motive, the cash register is unopened...

    Keough is under investigation for fatally shooting a suspect, but with Perry to corroborate his story the investigating board decide that it was an "in policy" shooting. Unfortunately, the shooting was carried out by Perry himself after Keough nervously dropped his gun. The support of Perry and of (Bobby's uncle) senior policeman Jack Van Meter (Brendan Gleeson) means that Keough finds himself painted into a corner and is increasingly asked to manipulate the facts of the Jack O'Hearts case... with deadly consequences. The investigating board vote was not unanimous however - Deputy Chief of Police Holland (Rhames) senses that there is a cover-up going on, and determines to uncover the truth. He enlists the assistance of Sergeant Beth Williamson (Michael Michelle), who just happens to be - unwittingly - sleeping with Keough. Unbeknownst to Keough, she also used to be a bed partner of Holland... This tangle of relationships and indebtedness can only lead to trouble and pain for all concerned, as a sickening web of police corruption is gradually uncovered.

    The final reel takes place in a genuinely novel setting as violence and mayhem erupts on the streets after the King verdict is announced. The story does not present the police force in a good light and there is certainly no sugar-coating of either the violence, corruption or the characters themselves. It is always refreshing to watch a film in which the denouement suits the feel of the movie, and integrity is not sacrificed to provide a happy ending.

    Russell puts in a very strong performance in this film, but unfortunately the material, whilst well written, is simply not all that original. It has all, quite simply, been done before...and slightly better. Corrupt police officers, alcoholism, disintegrating marriages and a rookie's need to "do the right thing" - whilst possibly realistic - do seem a tad formulaic. Don't get me wrong - this is certainly a good film...perhaps it's just a case of a couple of years too late. This is a shame, because it appears that the story was written many years ago - originally based around the events of the 1965 Watts riots, as opposed to the 1993 riots which erupted after the jury's "innocent" verdict on the beating of Rodney King. Had it made the screen five or ten years earlier it could quite possibly have earned itself a couple of Oscar nominations.

     As it stands, despite the strong lead performances, gritty dialogue and tight direction, the story seems just too familiar to warrant more than a single viewing. Training Day is a more gritty and absorbing rookie cop/jaded cop picture and L.A. Confidential has far better pacing, suspense and intrigue. Dark Blue can easily be recommended as a rental for dedicated fans of the "police corruption" sub-genre who are looking for more of the same, but will be a doubtful purchase for most people. Given that MGM are enforcing a rental window on the DVD, I suspect that there will not be too many buyers by the time the sell-through release is available.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The video quality of this transfer is generally very good.

    The video is presented 16x9 enhanced at 2.39:1 which is the original theatrical aspect ratio. According to the audio commentary, the use of Super 35mm film stock allowed a wide screen aspect ratio with a deliberate level of grain. So, the presence of minor grain throughout the film is unsurprising. It adds to the gritty feel of the film and is nowhere near distracting.

    There are a lot of strong colour filters applied to this film, with a frequently sepia-hued look to the dusty suburbs alternating with a deep blue vibe at other times. Somewhat appropriately, given the dark nature of the subject matter, the film features quite a lot of dark scenes, but blacks are well rendered with no low level noise, and shadow detail is generally good throughout. Probably due to the filtering/processing, colours sometimes look a little subdued but I am sure this was intentional. Where a more vivid palette is chosen, it comes across well with no colour bleeding in evidence. Skin tones look fine - although that "California tan" is fairly prevalent, lending faces a slightly orange hue at times.

    There are no obvious compression artefacts in the transfer. There is some mild edge enhancement present from time to time, visible as a bright halo around the characters (for example on the uniform at 24:23, the railings at 44:24 or Keough's jacket at 26:34 and 65:15), but it was never significant enough to become a distraction, even on a projected image. I noticed no significant instances of aliasing. The telecine wobble evident in the opening titles is not apparent during the feature.

    Film artefacts are detectable on occasion - somewhat surprisingly perhaps - given the recent vintage of the film. These are always minor and fleeting, so they do not spoil what is overall rather a stylish, and stylised look.

    Both the standard English, and the English for the Hearing Impaired, subtitles are very good - following the dialogue closely with the latter providing attribution for off-screen dialogue. There are some occasional dropped words, but not enough to alter the meaning of the lines.

    This disc is single sided and dual layered with the noticeable, but fairly brief layer change cropping up at 80:12 as Keough picks up the phone.

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

Audio

    The overall audio transfer is technically good, without being demonstration material.

    The sole audio track for the main film is presented in English Dolby Digital 5.1 encoded at 448 kbps. The dialogue is always crystal clear (although some of the urban jive does benefit from the availability of subtitles) and I noticed no lapses in audio sync.

    The music is credited to Terence Blanchard (Malcolm X, Summer Of Sam) and it does a very good job of building the tension in the film. The score varies between an ephemeral synthesizer and choral feel, to a rather plaintive brass vibe in the later scenes. The additional music is largely of the hip-hop type and suits the urban ghetto setting very well. Whilst the music plays second fiddle to the gritty dialogue in the audio department, it is very apposite.

    The front soundstage is very satisfying with a nice spread of activity across the front speakers. There is some decent panning across the front speakers and they anchor the dialogue well at all times.

    The surround speakers get a workout throughout the film, to give quite an enveloping sound. They are mainly used to carry the atmospheric music track. The soundstage is understated, but does add to the overall ambience of the film very well - enveloping without drowning you in cheap sound effects. There is not too much evident in the way of directional effects, but there are a few localised effects - both from music and ambience - during the film.

    The subwoofer is used throughout to carry the bass from the musical soundtrack, and picks up its pace a little when the riot scenes kick in from around the ninety minute mark. It doesn't often draw particular attention to itself but does help to fill out the bottom end of the audio transfer quite well.

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

Extras

    There are several extras available on this disc.

Menu

    The main menu consists of a video montage of scenes from the film accompanied by a loop of the score and various police sirens. It enables the selection of playing the movie, choosing one of thirty-two chapter stops, activating the subtitles and accessing the following features:

Audio Commentary

    Director Ron Shelton provides a commentary track which is informative but a little dry. Worth a listen but not one of the best I have heard.

Internal Affairs

    A collection of featurettes in the typical EPK style. All are presented non 16x9 enhanced in varying letterboxed ratios. The audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 encoded at 192 kbps.

Photo Gallery

    A collection of two dozen silent photographs from the set of the film.

Theatrical Trailer

    A rather good trailer which whets your appetite for the feature. Running for 1:51 and presented 16x9 enhanced at 2.35:1 with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack encoded at 192 kbps.

R4 vs R1

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

    The Region 1 release of this film also carries a 1.33:1 transfer, but other than minor language and subtitle variations is the same as the Region 4 release. Unless you simply must have the Pan and Scan version, buy whichever is cheaper.

Summary

    Dark Blue is almost excellent. Had it been released before L.A. Confidential and Training Day it could have been hailed a masterpiece...unfortunately it wasn't...and it isn't. It is, however, a strong entry into the "police corruption" DVD library, and the backdrop of the Rodney King trial provides a pleasing additional level of depth to the screenplay. Well worth a rental for fans of its ilk, it will not be an essential purchase for other than the most dedicated of fans.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio transfer is very good.

    The extras are reasonably interesting for a single viewing.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel O'Donoghue (You think my bio is funny? Funny how?)
Saturday, January 31, 2004
Review Equipment
DVDHarmony DVD Video/Audio PAL Progressive, using Component output
DisplaySanyo PLV-Z2 WXGA projector. Calibrated with Video Essentials/Digital Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 720p.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials/Digital Video Essentials.
AmplificationOnkyo TX-SR600 with DD-EX and DTS-ES
SpeakersJensenSPX-9 fronts, Jensen SPX-13 Centre, Jensen SPX-5 surrounds, Jensen SPX-17 subwoofer

Other Reviews NONE