7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Mysterious outsider Dwight's quietly itinerant lifestyle is changed forever when he returns to his hometown in Virginia to exact vengeance for a brutal crime once committed against his family. Proving to be an inexperienced assassin, he finds himself caught in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family.
Starring: Macon Blair, Devin Ratray, Amy Hargreaves, Kevin Kolack, Eve PlumbThriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
All filmmakers, and particularly those working with a smaller budget, should take note of Blue Ruin, a perfect example of genre moviemaking done right. The picture commands the screen with powerful emotions and solidly constructed characters operating on basic premises through a darkly disturbing world of murder and doubt. The film leaves behind any false pretenses or worthless side stories and focuses instead like a laser on delivering a tight, troubling, and terrifying experience that examines the human condition through the prism of revenge and the motivations and driving forces that push men to the extreme when the bonds of family are upset by outside forces. This is raw, unapologetic, straightforward cinema at its best, a low-key powerhouse of a motion picture that confidently walks along a straight-and-narrow path, never veering off course form the opening shot to the revelatory and bloody finale.
Take aim.
Blue Ruin's 1080p transfer, sourced from a digital shoot, frequently looks very good. It does come with the usual upper-middle-end digital issues, such as an inherent flatness to the image and a noticeably glossy overlay, but the majority of the image satisfies HD requirements. Details, though very clean and a little smooth by nature, are suitably complex and crisply defined, from facial features and hair all the way down to the tattered surface of Dwight's Pontiac. The image is clear and robustly defined even at distance, where objects retain shape and clarity, even complicated elements like natural vegetation. Colors are nicely displayed, appearing even and bright. Red blood particularly stands nicely apart on white attire. Black levels, however, are frequently pale and flat with little depth or vitality. Skin tones, on the other hand, never struggle with a drift from natural. Light banding is also evident across the screen on one or two shots but doesn't warrant more than a cursory mention. Despite a few issues, Blue Ruin looks great on Blu-ray, particularly considering its budget roots.
Blue Ruin arrives on Blu-ray, courtesy of Anchor Bay Home Entertainment, with a fairly robust and satisfying DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track runs the gamut of sonic information and sends all of it into the listening area with combinable accuracy. Action effects are infrequent but crucial. Gunfire rings out precisely in every scene in which it's a sonic factor, whether heard up-close during the finale or from a greater distance during a key middle-stretch scene where the shot cracks from a distance. Support elements are nicely integrated into the track; the sounds of a carnival flow nicely into the stage early on and more natural elements like birds and insects and rolling beach waves help define several other scenes throughout. Music is even and nicely delivered; some heavier beats are deliberately muddled when heard from inside a car, for example. Dialogue plays clearly and accurately from the center. Given the quality soundtrack -- and everything else here, really -- one would never guess that the film comes from meager roots.
Blue Ruin contains an audio commentary, deleted scenes, a camera test, and a making-of featurette.
Blue Ruin represents just how effective not only smaller budget cinema can be, but how powerful to-the-point moviemaking can be. This is a relentlessly grim, laser-focused, and emotionally challenging watch, a movie that never detours and takes the path of both least and most resistance, least in terms of flash and most in terms of dramatic weight. The film compares favorably to classics like No Country for Old Men in terms of tone, structure, and style, embracing the "less is more" approach that's proven time and again to be one of cinema's finest avenues towards success. Solidified by strong performances and nearly flawless craftsmanship, Blue Ruin makes for one of the finest films of 2013. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of Blue Ruin features quality video, excellent audio, and a decent little collection of bonus content. Highly recommended.
2011
2014
2015
1995
2007
2009
2018
2013
2015
2017
1996
1984
2023
2019
Paramount Presents #37
1999
2018
Limited Edition
1965
trust_
2010
1974
2018