7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Set in 1944 France, an American Intelligence Squad locates a German Platoon wishing to surrender rather than die in Germany's final war offensive. The two groups of men, isolated from the war at present, put aside their differences and spend Christmas together before the surrender plan turns bad and both sides are forced to fight the other.
Starring: Peter Berg, Kevin Dillon, Arye Gross, Ethan Hawke, Gary SiniseWar | 100% |
Holiday | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
2043 kbps
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Keith Gordon began his career in Hollywood as a bright young actor co-starring or giving supporting performances in genre films such as All That
Jazz (1979), Dressed to Kill (1981), Christine (1983), and Back to School (1986). Gordon also co-produced and starred in
the small indie dramedy Static (1985) and later directed his first feature, The Chocolate War (1988). I hadn't heard of either of those
indies and was surprised to see Gordon's name appear under the writing and directing credits of the World War II drama, A Midnight Clear
(1992). Gordon's adaptation of William Wharton's 1982 novel of the same also was independently funded. The production companies A&M Films and
Beacon Communications raised money through international sales, while Sony's subsidiary, Columbia/TriStar Homevideo, as well as Interstar Releasing
and HBO, all pitched in on the domestic side. A Midnight Clear was made for $5-$7 million.
The film is narrated by Will Knott (Ethan Hawke), a 19-year-old sergeant and member of the US Infantry and Reconnaissance Squad tasked to retrieve
information on German troop movements. The combustible Maj. Griffin (John C. McGinley) has assigned Knott and five other young American soldiers to
stake out an old, abandoned French chalet where they find wine, blankets, and paintings. This chateau is situated by the Ardennes Forest. The film is set
during the winter of 1944-45 in a no man’s land demarcating the borders of France, Luxembourg, and Belgium. Knott and his squad were initially in the
World War II Army Specialized Training Program where they all scored an average of 150 on their IQ tests. Originally, there were twelve in this intelli
gence unit camp but six have already perished so Knott balks at the idea that having "intelligence" will help ensure success or survival in a war zone.
Vance “Mother” Wilkins (Gary Sinise, in his movie debut) is the oldest at 26. He's called "mother" because he always asks the men to pick up after
themselves. Armenian Cpl. Mel Avakian (Kevin Dillon) may be the true leader since he's the best soldier and his comrades look up to him. Paul “Father”
Mundy (Frank Whaley) is a seminary dropout who serves as the squad's moral conscience. Stan Shutzer (Arye Gross) is the only Jewish member of the
group and fluent enough in German to act as an interpreter. Bud Miller (Peter Berg) is a soldier who can almost act as a decoy since he looks German
(and is the alter-ego of Wharton's real-life character in the novel).
Anybody Home?
A Midnight Clear makes it official debut on North America on high-def courtesy of Shout Select. Shout! Factory's boutique label has employed the
MPEG-4 AVC codec on this BD-50. The second of the five features Gordon has directed to date appears in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. A
decade ago, Gordon posted on IMDb that Beacon Pictures prepared a new HD master in 2007, which has been the floating around Europe the last eight
years. Second Sight released a 20th Anniversary Edition in the UK that used it, as did German label KSM in 2012 and French label Sidonis in 2014. The
print on the Shout disc has some small specks and flecks during the first reel but looks mostly clean throughout. Columbia TriStar released a LaserDisc of
the film in 1992 in 4:3 "open matte" and lazily followed suit a decade later with roughly the same transfer, which Gordon denounced on the new
documentary as "not very good." I've built a comparison of the two transfers so you can see the discrepancies in framing and color temperature. The DVD
has a moodier, gray tinge. It's also darker. The Shout has vastly superior contrast.
The Shout transfer looks similar to how various critics described the release prints. Michael Mills of the Palm Beach (FL) Post summed up the
palette as having an "almost monochromatic color scheme." The late great Roger Ebert observed the dichotomous appearances: "Everything is dark
[nighttime interiors] or blinding white [wintry landscapes]." The Hartford (CT) Courant's Malcolm Johnson explains how cinematographer Tom
Richmond lensed the opening scene: "in a subdued, almost haunting way...clear winter day with a pale blue sky." (See Screenshot #s 3 and also #10.)
Jerry Roberts of the News (CA) Pilot saw Richmond's compositions as two-dimensional. He shoots "everything flat, striving solely for cerebral
effect and mood." Candice Russell of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel thought the fire's "golden light" stood out. You can see it reflected on Will's face in
#2.
Shout has encoded the feature at an average video bitrate of 33300 kbps.
Screenshots 1-15, 17, 19, 21, 23, & 25 = Shout Select 2020 BD-50
Screenshots 16, 18, 20, 22, & 24 = Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment 2002 DVD-5
Shout has given the 105-minute feature twelve chapters. (The LD had thirty-five, while the DVD had twenty-eight.)
Shout has supplied the film's original stereo mix, rendered here as a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo (2043 kbps, 24-bit). (Second Sight provided an LPCM
2.0 track, which is 16-bit.) The master is generally in excellent shape with no audible defects. Dialogue is discernible with variant pitch levels depending on
the character speaking and his position in the frame. While A Midnight Clear doesn't boast that much wall-to-wall action (i.e., less than a handful of
scenes), I feel it could have benefited from a 5.1 boost. Second Sight's OOP does but it's a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. The KSM GmbH BD-25 does include
an English DTS-HD MA 5.1 option, though there's no English stereo track.
In the archival audio commentary, Keith Gordon explain that composer Mark Isham and him didn't want the film to feature a traditional WWII score. Isham
brought a New Age approach to the material. He weaves in synth chords and light percussion with a small choral group, who provide haunting vocals. Isham
additionally writes in percussive elements with the keyboard as underscore. It's one of the composer's most original efforts and a shame that it still hasn't
been released on an album.
My audio score is 3.75/5.00.
Unlike the three other European Blu-rays, this Shout edition includes optional English SDH.
A Midnight Clear is an outstanding war drama boasting a wonderful collection of young actors just coming into their own. Keith Gordon's writing stays true to Wharton's prose and his direction produces several terrific performances. Shout Select's HD transfer doesn't come from a 4K scan but it looks as good if not better than the European transfers. The 42-minute retrospective doc features all-new interviews with Gordon and four of his stars. On Second Sight's UK disc, there's also an older making-of doc (from the 2000s) titled A Winter's War which runs a little longer. If you desire an uncompressed English 5.1 remix, you'll want to hunt for the German disc. Although the Shout isn't a definitive package for the film, it still comes STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.
Warner Archive Collection
1949
1962
1967
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1958
1977
1945
1976
1954
1953
La Battaglia d'Inghilterra
1969
1959
1925
1993
1952
1969
Fragile Fox
1956
Special Edition
1958
1970
1949
1968