7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
When Detroit auto workers Zeke, Jerry and Smokey find bills piling up and pressures bearing down, they decide to rob their corrupt union office. In a cruel twist, their small haul becomes a nightmare when the heist goes horribly wrong and their once-loyal friendship turns to fear, betrayal and murder.
Starring: Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel, Yaphet Kotto, Ed Begley Jr., Harry BellaverDrama | 100% |
Crime | 14% |
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
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Paul Schrader's "Blue Collar" (1978) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and archival audio commentary by Paul Schrader and critic Maitland McDonagh. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Sit down, keep quiet, we know what's good for ya.
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Blue Collar arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
The release is sourced from the same older remaster that Universal supplied to Indicator/Powerhouse Films in 2018 for this Region-B release of Blue Collar. I don't know when it was prepared, but it does not have the typical flaws that the studio's much older masters from the DVD era exhibit. (If you are familiar with Universal's output then you should know what I refer to -- boosted sharpness and contrast, edge-enhancement, problematic depth and density, etc.). However, this remaster still has a fair share of limitations. For example, plenty of the darker/indoor footage does not have optimal shadow definition and in some areas the grain becomes rather noisy (screencapture #14 demonstrates the limitation very well). Quite predictably, depth also struggles there. The good news is that the overall density levels of the remaster are still quite nice, with the well-lit footage usually conveying best results. Also, the lack of digital enhancements ensures that the film's basic organic qualities are retained. Obviously, the native resolution limitations remain, but this is an entirely different issue. The color scheme is stable and quite nice. However, there is room for improvement, especially during the darker areas that I mentioned above. Image stability is very good. There are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. However, a few white specks pop up. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional Enlgish SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I am unsure if a new remaster with remixed audio can deliver any improvements in the audio department. There are a few areas -- mostly during the bar footage and some of the larger mass sequences -- with some dynamic unevenness, but it is quite easy to tell that this is native quality of the original soundtrack. Clarity, depth, and overall stability are excellent.
Currently, Blue Collar is perhaps the most relevant political film to come out of the '70s because it correctly identifies all of the key factors that more than four decades ago initiated the destruction of large parts of America's Heartland. However, what is truly remarkable about this film is that, perhaps somewhat unintentionally, it also points a finger at the ideological hypocrites that willingly directed the destruction while pretending to defend the interests of those that suffered the most. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Import
1978
1973
2016
Special Edtion
1979
The Convincer
2011
1972
2011
2017
2018
1981
1973
2019
2016
Shout Select
1973
2010
Choice Collection
1958
1970
House of Cards / To Play the King / The Final Cut
1990-1995
2010
1992