Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Before and After Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 13, 2019

Kino Lorber has released Director Barbet Schroeder's 1996 film 'Before and After' to Blu-ray. The picture, which stars Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson, was previously released to Blu-ray by Mill Creek in 2012. This disc notably includes an audio commentary track that was not on the older release. The video presentation is not drastically altered from the Mill Creek disc. Audio is presented in a two-channel lossless configuration where the Mill Creek disc featured 5.1 lossless audio.

The Ryan family -- father Ben (Liam Neeson, Taken), mother Carolyn (Meryl Streep, The River Wild), son Jacob (Edward Furlong, American History X), and daughter Judith (Julia Weldon, Parallel Sons ) -- is a well-to-do upper-middle-class family that seems safe and secure, impenetrable and sheltered from the dangers of the outside. That illusion is shattered when a typical family evening -- Judith's practicing on the piano, Carolyn's just home from a tough shift at the hospital, and Ben's making his famous chili dinner -- is interrupted by a visit from local law enforcement officer and family friend Fran Conklin (Daniel von Bargen, The Silence of the Lambs). Fran's visit isn't social or cordial. He arrives with bad news: a local girl is dead, and there's a strong possibility that Jacob's somehow involved in her death. Ben takes the news poorly. He doesn't believe Jacob capable of such a deed, and he refuses to cooperate until Fran can return with a warrant. Fran promises to come back with the appropriate documents, and Ben uses that time to search his son's car. He finds bloody evidence and chooses to destroy it in the hope of protecting his son, whose whereabouts are unknown.

The court-ordered search, on the other hand, turns up no evidence tying Jacob directly to the crime, but authorities do find a nude picture of the now-deceased girl, evidence that all but cements the connection between the victim and the suspect. Ryan family attorney Wendell Bye (John Heard, Home Alone) recommends the family hire a more experienced, more ruthless attorney (Alfred Molina, An Education) whose tough questions, no-nonsense approach, and dedication to Jacob's freedom rather than the truth doesn't sit well with Carolyn. As the parents struggle to come to terms with what their son may or may not have done, as Jacob's whereabout remain unknown, the case takes several turns for the bizarre and seems headed in a direction where there's no easy solution for a matter which might tear a community -- and a family -- apart forever.

For a full film review, please click here.

Before and After Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Before and After's 1080p video presentation appears to be sourced from the same master used for the Mill Creek release, but the presentation is not identical. It's pleasantly filmic, maintaining an agreeable grain structure that supports good textural yield to both assorted clothing and location details, including key environments like the Ben's garage or Jacob's messy bedroom. The picture is fairly dark and bleak, but that's not a hindrance to what is a steady, perfectly satisfying filmic image, Print wear is minimal. Colors are not particularly robust, with even white snow appearing fairly bland and bleak. Color is where the most obvious change comes into play between this and the Mill Creek disc. Kino's presentation offers more deeply saturated colors, tightening up blacks and adding a bit of contrast to the palette. The Mill Creek disc looks a little flat and pale in comparison. Both are good presentations, but slight advantage to Kino Lorber.

Before and After Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release of Before and After features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack; the 2012 Mill Creek issue featured a 5.1 lossless track. Despite the absence center, surround, and subwoofer channels, the track really isn't all that worse for the losses. Dialogue obviously drives the film, and it images perfectly well to the center, so seamlessly and clearly it's a wonder that the center channel is not activated. Music enjoys suitably wide spacing and good instrumental clarity and flow. The "tastefully good use of the surrounds" noted in the review of the Mill Creek disc is obviously absent here, but watching the film with two-channel audio does not leave any element wanting for more functional space. Everything is handled just fine as-is, so those opting for this disc won't be missing anything major compared to the Mill Creek presentation.

Before and After Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release of Before and After notably includes an audio commentary track not previously available on the Mill Creek disc. The track features Director Barbet Schroeder and Editor Lee Percy who deliver a fairly dry track, one that takes time to recount plot and the purpose of most every scene in some detail. They also cover some technical details (though occasionally glossing over detail when ideas are introduced) and allow some dry spells to creep into the track as well. It's a serviceable listen but it's hardly the finest track out there. The disc also includes trailers for Before and After (480i, 2:46), Silkwood, The Good Mother, Gun Shy, and The Doctor.

Before and After Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The moral of the story here appears to be that honesty equals integrity equals a cleaner conscience equals a stronger family equals a lesser sentence. Keep that in mind the next time an altercation leads to death; "manslaughter" is still no joke of a charge. Before and After tells the somewhat gripping tale of a young boy's involvement in the death of his girlfriend, his family's struggle with the facts, and the decision to cover for the boy or reveal the truth. The film is of a high quality, with strong performances and a mostly gripping narrative. It struggles through a few "movie of the week" stretches of dialogue and drama, as well as a rather weak effort from Edward Furlong, but on the whole Before and After proves a gripping, highly watchable Drama. Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release of Before and After features perfectly good video and audio, neither of which are drastically different from the Mill Creek disc. This release adds a commentary track. It's also $10 more at time of writing. Is a fairly dry commentary, slightly deeper colors, and a reduction in audio channels worth the premium price? Not really; pick up the Mill Creek disc instead.