After Dark, My Sweet Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

After Dark, My Sweet Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 5, 2022

James Foley's "After Dark, My Sweet" (1990) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new audio commentary by James Foley; exclusive new program with Bruce Dern; exclusive new program with Jason Patric; exclusive new audio commentary by critic Travis Woods; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The man who came from nowhere

Dirty ragged clothes. Heavy legs. A long, tired face. The man (Jason Patric) must be a homeless drifter who hasn’t washed and slept in a bed for months. But why hasn’t the scorching desert sun damaged his skin already?

There is something else about the man's face that seems odd, too. It twitches and makes his eyes move in bizarre ways. The twitching abruptly comes and goes away, leaving the impression that the man’s body is engaged in an internal struggle to permanently discard it. The man seems aware of it, but has he made a conscious decision not to interfere and let his body win the fight, or has he given up on it?

Eventually, the man reaches a lousy roadhouse and orders a cold beer. There is nothing wrong with his voice. He tries to talk to the grumpy barman but is quickly told to shut up and concentrate on his beer. The beautiful woman (Rachel Ward) that has just walked in rejects him, too. He tries one more time to engage her, but the grumpy barman interferes and makes him realize that if he does not behave, he is about to get in some serious trouble. Serious and painful. The man finally gives up, pays for the beer, and hits the road again.

A few minutes later and further up the road, the beautiful woman from the bar pulls over and offers him a ride -- to her place, where he can wash, if he wants, and even do some work for her. She is a widow and can use a strong man to help her fix her yard, but this is all she has. She does not need a seasonal worker.

A couple of days after the man moves into the shack on the opposite end of the woman’s large garden, they go out to have drinks. It is not a date. It is more of a let’s-get-to-know-each-other-better type of experience. It is when the beautiful woman introduces him to an older man (Bruce Dern) who has a job for him, too. The older man already knows that he is a former big-time boxer who got hurt, left the business, and is penniless. The job the older man has in mind is risky, but if they pull it off, they won’t have to worry about money ever again. It involves a sick kid that will be temporarily separated from his very rich parents and then returned to them, completely unharmed, in exchange for a pretty big sum of untraceable dollar bills.

In a new program that is included on this release, Patric declares that the arrival of the part he plays in James Foley’s After Dark, My Sweet was of paramount importance to him. He was waiting for it to come along and had he missed it, his acting career either would have ended or evolved in a drastically different way. Apparently, he poured his soul into the part and still thinks of it as his best work.

Patric’s detailed assessment of his performance as well as Foley’s direction and the quality of the film they made together is quite emotional but extremely accurate. (I am intentionally not highlighting crucial details from it because I do not wish to spoil the drama, but Patric’s explanation of why the film works is a perfect summation of how I feel about it). The original material from Jim Thompson’s novel is quite tricky to visualize because the majority of it describes thoughts, sensations, impulses, and moods, which means that in the film the storytelling has to rely heavily on the ability of the stars to ‘speak’ via facial expressions. Patric’s facial expressions, in particular, have a vital relationship with the environment around him, so his performance is what the film feeds off of to build its atmosphere and ultimately acquire an identity.

While certainly easy to profile as neo-noir, After Dark, My Sweet has the allure of contemporary Americana as well. If there is one thing that Foley could have done differently to make it even more attractive, it would have been to further emphasize this quality by expanding the presence of the hot desert. There is something magical about the connection between this unique genre and the desert that instantly transforms any film that has a proper understanding and appreciation of it into a cinematic jewel.

A very simple but stunning score by Maurice Jarre (Lawrence of Arabia) greatly enhances the visuals.

After Dark, My Sweet Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.31:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, After Dark, My Sweet arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment.

After Dark, My Sweet is the best presentation in the After Dark: Neo Noir Cinema Collection One six-disc box set. The release is sourced from an older master, but the film has the most consistent and attractive organic appearance. Obviously, the master has some noticeable limitations, but even on a larger screen the visuals tend to look very good. The best news is that there are absolutely no traces of digital tinkering. Density levels are strong as well. Delineation and clarity range from good to very good, while depth is just a notch below what I consider to be very good. So, what are the master's limitations? There are small ranges of highlights that could have been managed better, but this is a very typical shortcoming on these types of masters. The most noticeable ones pop up during daylight footage, though trained eyes will spot some even during indoor footage (see screencapture #19). The current range of primaries and supporting nuances is lovely, but some could look fresher and slightly better balanced. In darker footage shadow nuances are quite good and in some areas surprisingly convincing, but this is another area where minor meaningful tweaks can be made. Grain exposure could be healthier. However, if the film is properly redone in 4K its visuals will have a very tight surface and very even grain field that would look extremely similar to what you will see on your screen now. Image stability is very good. There is room for small encoding optimizations, but you do not have to worry about any anomalies that may affect your viewing experience. During the opening credits, I noticed a few dark spots and blemishes, but there are no distracting large cuts, marks, warped or torn frames to report. All in all, even though I would enthusiastically welcome a proper 4K makeover of After Dark, My Sweet, I think that the current technical presentation is very nice. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

After Dark, My Sweet Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

The audio is crisp, clean, and stable. Maurice Jarre's subtle score easily breathes throughout the film as well. However, I wonder if in the future there might be a 5.1 mix that opens up a few areas a tad more. Would such a mix make a significant difference? Well, there are plenty of small dynamic nuances that produce interesting contrasts -- the overlapping of the flashbacks and the footage from the present clearly would benefit at least a little bit -- but on the other hand there isn't any intense action that can make a very big difference. Regardless, I think that the 2.0 track serves the film very well.

After Dark, My Sweet Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary One - in this exclusive new audio commentary, director James Foley has some quite interesting comments about the decision to shoot After Dark, My Sweet in the 2.39:1 ratio (as opposed to the more common 1.85:1 ratio); the setting of the film, which in Jim Thompson's novel is not Palm Springs but New York; the fact that the film was not conceived to be a film noir/neo-noir; the casting of Jason Patric and Rachel Ward; the manner in which non-explicit scenes actually function as X-rated scenes (with Ward's seduction of Patric in particular); the conception of Maurice Jarre's score and its unique qualities. At the end of the commentary, Mr. Foley also recalls a very interesting conversation he once had with Gene Hackman.

• Commentary Two - in this exclusive new audio commentary, critic Travis Woods offers a wonderful in-depth analysis of After Dark, My Sweet, the work and reputation of Jim Thompson as well as the novel that inspired James Foley to shoot his film, the common description of the film as 'soleil noir', etc. This is a wonderful commentary, too.

• "Light on a Film Noir" - in this exclusive new program, James Foley discusses in great detail the conception of After Dark, My Sweet, from the adaptation of Jim Thompson's novel to the shooting and editing processes; his obsession with the French New Wave and how the film allowed him to express it through it, which is how it evolved into 'film soleil'; the film's eroticism and its lacks of explicit material; the narrative construction; Jason Patric' performance and how it gives the film its personality; and how he survived the nasty rules of the game called film industry. In English, not subtitled. (33 min).

• "Primal Precipice" - in this exclusive new program, Jason Patric discusses his background, the audition process for his part in After Dark, My Sweet, what the part meant for him and his career (apparently, Mr. Patric was convinced that if he did not get the part at all, or get it right, he could abandon acting), the complex personality of the ex-boxer, and his interactions with Rachel Ward and Bruce Dern. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).

• "Call Me Uncle Bud" - in this exclusive new program, Bruce Dern explains why his family did not think that the show business was a particularly honest business and how he developed his passion for cinema, and discusses his how James Foley directed After Dark, My Sweet (which was apparently like a theater play), the unique tension Jason Patric channeled through his character (which had something to with his father), etc. Also, at the end of the program, there is a very interesting comment about the competition between After Dark, My Sweet and The Grifters, which is also based on a brilliant novel by Jim Thompson. In English, not subtitled. (13 min).

• "A Psychotic of Goodwill" - in this exclusive new program, Robert Polito, author of Savage Art: A Biography of Jim Thomson, discusses the image and legacy of Jim Thompson as well as his rather difficult relationship with the film world. There are some quite interesting comments about Stanley Kubrick's fascination with Thompson's work. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

• Theatrical Trailer - presented here is a vintage U.S. trailer for After Dark, My Sweet. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Booklet - 60-page illustrated booklet featuring essays by critics Walter Chaw and Pater Galvin.

After Dark, My Sweet Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Apparently, James Foley was not aware that his film After Dark, My Sweet was 'soleil noir' until shortly after its U.S. premiere he read a positive review of it in a major publication. Well, this does not surprise me at all because 'soleil noir' is just another fancy description invented by critics who could not accept that After Dark, My Sweet and its many relatives from the great Neo-Noir Renaissance of the 1990s -- like Kill Me Again, One False Move, and Romeo Is Bleeding -- are essentially very stylish pieces of Americana. Of course, they have certain noirish qualities, some of them very prominent too, but if you look closer you will realize that virtually all share the exact same Americana genes. In an outstanding exclusive new program, Bruce Dern declares that "the math is better in After Dark, My Sweet" and suggests that it should have been more successful than the other big neo-noir film that sunk it at the box office, The Grifters. Even though I like The Grifters a lot, I am with Dern. After Dark, My Sweet is a much more complex film, with better characterizations and superior style. I just wish that Foley had spent more time in the beautiful desert to further enhance its ambience. Via Vision Entertainment's release is sourced from an older but lovely organic master and features an outstanding selection of exclusive new bonus features. It is included in After Dark: Neo Noir Cinema Collection One, a six-disc box set. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.