Cop (1988)

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General		Extras
Category	Thriller	None
Rating
Year Of Production	1988
Running Time	106:12
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	James B. Harris
Studio Distributor	Sony Pictures Home Entertain	Starring	James Woods Lesley Ann Warren Charles Durning Charles Haid Raymond J. Barry Randi Brooks Steven Lambert Christopher Wynne Jan McGill Vicki Wauchope Melinda Lynch John Petievich Dennis Stewart
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$9.95	Music	Michel Colombier

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) German Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	Unknown	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired German for the Hearing Impaired French Dutch Greek Bulgarian	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

James Elroy's fascination with filth, brutes and amorality would come full circle with Cop, directed by James B. Harris in 1987. James Elroy's crime fiction has been the basis for films such as L.A. Confidential, directed by Curtis Hanson, Brown's Requiem, directed by Jason Freeland and most recently Dark Blue, directed by Ron Shelton. Currently Elroy's novel The Black Dahlia is being brought to screen by Brian De Palma with an A-list cast including Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank and Aaron Eckhart.

However, Elroy's third novel Blood on the Moon was the first to be adapted for the screen and the low budget production didn't shy away from the somewhat nihilistic themes the novel presented. This novel was also the first part of the Lloyd Hopkins trilogy penned by Elroy during the 1980s.

James Woods is perfectly cast as the hard-boiled detective Lloyd Hopkins. Woods inhabits the role with such intensity and ease that the character is both disturbingly comical yet startling as he tries to defend what he defines as innocence. The world in which Hopkins exists is hopeless as Los Angeles is a place of broken dreams, deviancy and corruption. Hopkins is a smart detective celebrated and loathed by the department and his latest assignment as he trails a mass murderer called The Poet will leave him a changed man.

Lloyd Hopkins is easily a descendent of Clint Eastwood's "Dirty" Harry Callahan character as he is unconventional and his brand of justice is excessive, ruthless and vicious. Hopkins' methods are sadistic and violent, akin to the behaviour of the criminals he opposes. The thin line between the pursuer and the pursued is at the heart of Cop. Hopkins is an irredeemable lonesome character and moments of what one would assume are sentimentality turn out to be volatile and selfish.

Nevertheless, Hopkins' search for his adversary The Poet infiltrates his professional and personal life. Cop is an unapologetic B-grade film but such sensibilities lend to the idea of a purposeless, resolute environment. Hopkins is an admirable anti-hero and like Harry Callahan before him they are men of contradiction, of explosive anger and empathy.

The films which belong to the genre of crime thrillers are hardly inspired but Cop is held together with Wood's explosive performance. Other cast members include Charles Durning, Charles Haid and Lesley Ann Warren who try their best with underwritten roles. The finale of Cop is perhaps most memorable and the extremity of the dialogue will remain with you long after the film.

Video

Cop is presented at 1.85:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.

The video transfer is decent. Colours are muted yet bright and visible and there is little over saturation. Grain exists in many scenes and there are hints of edge enhancement but it isn't a major issue as the image remains sharp and defined.

Most scenes are darkly lit and the shadows remain rich as blacks have been reproduced nicely on the DVD. There is a lack of compression artefacting and the picture is natural looking.

The English hard of hearing subtitles are clear and visible and true to the onscreen dialogue. Other subtitle options include German, French, Dutch, Greek and Bulgarian.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

The 2.0 Dolby Digital Surround track is basic. The stereo effects work effectively but are not optimal. Most of the scenes are conversational and the dialogue is clear and there are no issues with audio synchronisation.

Other languages available are French and Dutch, both 2.0 Dolby Digital Surround tracks. The late Michel Colombier composed the original score for Cop. It utilises both jazz saxophones and synthesizers. The score is most full-bodied during action scenes and is well suited to the film.

The surround channel and subwoofer usage is subtle and the majority of this soundtrack is spread across the front rather than being all-encompassing.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

There are no extras presented on this disc. The menu system is static and practical.

The Region 1 disc omits 2.0 French and Dutch Dolby Digital Surround tracks and German, Dutch, Greek and Bulgarian subtitle options.

Region 4 release omits a full frame presentation of the film.

I would favour the Region 4 version for the affordability and convenience.

Cop is a neo-noir thriller with an exciting James Woods as a hardboiled detective.

The DVD is average, with a decent transfer and audio and disappointingly no extras.

Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable sensationalist piece of 1980s crime cinema which will undoubtedly gain new cult status on DVD.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall