Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Narc 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 19, 2024

The French Connection has been repeatedly cited, including on some of the supplements included with this very release, as having helped inspire Narc, but some of those selfsame supplements also offer writer and director Joe Carnahan indulging in what almost amounts to free association in terms of other media which may have helped spark this gritty enterprise, including Errol Morris' The Thin Blue Line, some of Sidney Lumet's seventies output like Serpico, and even hardscrabble detective novels by the likes of Elmore Leonard and Dashiell Hammett. A cacophonous opening in fact plays somewhat like an "on foot" version of the famous car chase from Friedkin's classic, with undercover cop Nick Tellis (Jason Patric) trying to apprehend a drug dealer and inadvertently causing a calamity when a potential hostage situation quickly develops. Already Narc is off to an intentionally disjoined, confusing start, and that off kilter sensibility will continue to permeate a story that finds Nick attempting to rehabilitate his image (and career) as he's tasked with investigating the apparent murder of another undercover cop.

Nick is paired with older cop Henry Oak (Ray Liotta), and suffice it to say both Henry and Nick as well as the dead cop whose murder they're investigating have some undisclosed tethers which the screenplay slowly but surely begins exploring. Carnahan seems to be moving in a "traditional" corrupt cop direction for quite a while in this often unbelievably visceral and frequently violent story, but if it is a "direction", it's frankly more misdirection, as a very late info dump finally reveals. The film includes a lot of disjunctive editing that includes some flashback material, adding to an already "jumpy" feeling that is part and parcel of the main story itself.

Narc received a previous Region B Blu-ray release by Via Vision for the Australian market, and Svet Atanasov's Narc Blu-ray review provides more plot information for those who may be interested.

Narc 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from Arrow's 1080 standalone release. While the bonus disc in this package is 1080, there is no 1080 presentation of the feature, which is why the 2K score above has been left blank.

Narc is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow includes the same insert booklet for both its 1080 and 4K UHD releases of the film, which offer the following information on the restoration:

Narc has been exclusively remastered by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with the original stereo audio. The 5.1 audio has been included with in the new Atmos mix.

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K 16 bit at Fotokem. The film was restored and graded in 4K SDR, HDR10 and Dolby Vision by Silver Salt Restoration, London. Review and approval by the filmmakers was completed at Illuminate, Hollywood. An original release print sourced from Director Joe Carnahan was also scanned for reference purposes.

The stereo and 5.1 mixes were sourced from Paramount. Additional audio remastering was completed by Matt Jarman, Bad Princess Productions.

The Atmos mix was produced at Deluxe Audio London.

The new restored master of Narc has been approved by Director Joe Carnahan and Director of Photography Alex Nepomniaschy, ASC.

This is an impressive looking 4K upgrade, though those with an aversion to at least intermittently chunky yellow grain may well prefer Arrow's 1080 version. The organic qualities of both the 1080 and 4K releases by Arrow can't be understated, but rather interestingly the 4K presentation tends to point up some almost more "video" like looking moments, as in the Thomas Crown Affair-esque use of split screens (see screenshot 4), where grain does not spike and in fact where things can kind of look surprisingly sleek and glossy. Some of the most noticeable changes between Arrows 1080 and 4K UHD release come courtesy of HDR / Dolby Vision, however (rather interestingly, I didn't get the Dolby Vision prompt on this disc, though the info button clearly showed it in the HDR field). The film's intense "look" is discussed in detail in several supplements, but suffice it to say the post production bells and whistles tweaking may admittedly make this unusually heterogeneous looking, but the 4K presentation maintains an unexpectedly consistent level of fine detail, and the palette, while hugely variant, is especially vivid in this 4K version. Both the ice cold blues of much of the police procedural material as well as briefer warm moments (some of which are flashbacks), those often with almost sepia undertones, all offer substantial highlights not as discernable even in Arrow's excellent 1080 presentation. As I mention in the 1080 review, the overall look here seems to be somewhat darker than the Via Vision release, though with less of a purple cast. Shadow detail may suffer a bit as a result, but I found the overall color timing to be preferable, at least based on screenshots (I don't own the Via Vision release).

Narc 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Narc features both DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Dolby Atmos tracks. The fact that the disc defaults to the stereo track may subliminally indicate that the Atmos track, while nicely immersive, may not provide regular engagement of the Atmos speakers, at least in the way most audiophiles may expect. Instead, there's a general spill of surround activity that, yes, occasionally involves Atmos engagement, but as is perhaps hinted at in the insert booklet verbiage I've included above, this is really for all intents and purposes probably more of a 5.1 track, with good, consistent use of the side and rear channels for a lot of unsettling ambient environmental material. There's some really nice layering of effects and dialogue in some of the split screen material, but throughout the film the many "on the road" scenes as well as a glut of outdoor material provide excellent opportunities for nicely placed background effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Narc 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One (4K UHD)

• Audio Commentary with editor John Gilroy and director Joe Carnahan


• Introduction by Joe Carnahan (HD; 00:12) is accessible under the Play Menu and is authored to proceed directly onto the main feature.

Disc Two (1080) includes some archival supplements ported over from the Via Vision release for the Australian market. Svet's Narc Blu-ray review of that version provides some more details on those supplements.

• Shattering the Blue Line: Joe Carnahan on Narc (HD; 13:42) is a newly produced interview with Carnahan, who discusses a number of different properties which helped to inspire this motion picture.


• Shooting Narc: Alex Nepomniaaschy's Vision (HD; 10:06) is an interesting video essay focusing on the cinematographer.


• If You Live Another Day (HD; 16:20) is a new interview with actress Krista Bridges.


• The Journey of the Costume (HD; 18:31) is a new interview with costume designer Gersha Phillips.


• Archival Featurettes

  Making the Deal (HD; 13:20)

  
  

  The Visual Trip (HD; 13:02)

  
  

  The Friedkin Connection (HD; 9:50)

  
  

  Shooting Up (HD; 19:26)

• EPK Interviews features unedited footage from 2001 and 2002 with the following:

  Joe Carnahan - Shoot Interview (HD; 31:41)

  
  

  Joe Carnahan - Edit Interview (HD; 1:11:09)

  
  

  Diane Nabatoff (HD; 21:52)

  
  

  Alex Nepomniaschy (HD; 18:03)

  
  

  Ray Liotta - Shoot Interview (HD; 28:30)

  
  

  Ray Liotta - Edit Interview (HD; 22:47)

  
  

  Jason Patric (HD; 15:31)

  
  

  William Friedkin (HD; 36:04)

• Trailer (HD; 2:26)


• Image Gallery (HD)

Additionally, Arrow provides another really nicely appointed insert booklet, this one with both new and archival writing in abundance. A folded mini poster is also included. Packaging features a slipcover.

Narc 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Narc may seem like it's going down a well traveled path, and while it is in fact doing that very thing, there are some rather interesting detours the story takes, including a late revelation that puts everything in a new context. Carnahan probably overplays his "style" card on occasion, but the film is viscerally intense and Patric and Liotta are both excellent. Technical merits are solid and the supplemental package is outstanding. Recommended.