6.3 | / 10 |
Users | ![]() | 4.0 |
Reviewer | ![]() | 2.0 |
Overall | ![]() | 2.8 |
A female rookie in the police force engages in a cat and mouse game with a pistol wielding psychopath who becomes obsessed with her.
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Ron Silver, Clancy Brown, Elizabeth Peña, Louise FletcherThriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Action | 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 5.1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | ![]() | 2.0 |
Video | ![]() | 3.0 |
Audio | ![]() | 4.5 |
Extras | ![]() | 0.5 |
Overall | ![]() | 2.0 |
Kathryn Bigelow's "Blue Steel" (1989) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Metropolitan. The only extra on the disc is a gallery of trailers for other Metropolitan releases. In English or French, with optional French subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
The cop
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Kathryn Bigelow's Blue Steel arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Metropolitan.
The release has been sourced from an older and rather inconsistent master. Portions of the film can look quite decent but elsewhere depth is problematic. The most serious issue, however, is the obvious sharpening. There are various segments where edge-enhancement makes the visuals look quite harsh and detail suffers (see screencaptures #3, 12, and 17). My feeling is that some viewers with smaller screens may not be bothered too much by the sharpening, but the larger the screen is, the easier it becomes to see that the film does not have the fluid organic appearance that it should have on Blu-ray. The primary colors are stable but they should be much better balanced and there should be a healthier range of nuances. Image stability is very good. Finally, there are no distracting debris, damage marks, cuts, stains, or warped frames. Ultimately, while the current presentation does offer some upgrades, the age of the master that was used to source the release definitely shows and, more importantly, the film does not have a solid organic appearance. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional French subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The lossless track is very solid. During the shootouts depth is very good and clarity is consistently pleasing. The very atmospheric music score is nicely balanced with the dialog. Overall dynamic intensity is also quite good. There are no audio dropouts, pops, or digital distortions to report in our review.
Blue Steel is one very, very frustrating film. It tries to be so many different things at the same time that it becomes absolutely impossible to take seriously. If you are a fan of Kathryn Bigelow's work and for some reason want to have it in your collection, my advise to you is to wait until a local distributor reissues it. Metropolitan's Blu-ray release could look somewhat decent at times, especially if you compare it to the old DVD release, but the film does not look as it should in high-definition. RENT IT.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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