Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Blue Steel Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 3, 2023

Kathryn Bigelow's "Blue Steel" (1990) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include new program with editor Lee Percy; new program with production designer Toby Corbett; vintage trailer for the film; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Rookie cop Megan Turner (Jamie Lee Curtis, A Fish Called Wanda, Halloween) kills an armed robber (Tom Sizemore, Heat, Strange Days) in a supermarket and during the chaos somehow loses his gun. Later, Turner is questioned by her superiors and after providing a shaky description of the event that is not confirmed by the witnesses is suspended.

A few days later, Turner is approached by an elegant broker (Ron Silver, The Entity, Timecop) who takes her to a fancy restaurant and makes her feel like a princess. Initially, Turner is as overwhelmed and confused as a first-time lottery winner -- her date is that handsome, polite, and intelligent -- but after she regains her composure decides to enjoy her prize and begins dating him.

But the broker turns out to be a dangerous psychopath who feels an inexorable urge to kill. He is also convinced that he and Turner are not very different and it is only a matter of time before she realizes it. Eventually, Turner discovers that the broker is in fact crazy and responsible for a string of recent murders, but the only person willing to take her ramblings seriously is a lonely detective (Clancy Brown) whose personal life is in shambles as well.

Blue Steel is impossible to take seriously. It feels like the creation of a bold but inexperienced bartender who attempted to introduce a very special new cocktail by mixing all sorts of different liquors and failed miserably because they turned out to be utterly incompatible. Indeed, in this film large parts of the narrative are quite simply incompatible with other parts of it in such striking ways that they effectively destroy its integrity.

The two leads are oddly grotesque, too. The rookie cop is given a massive arsenal of terrible lines that make her look so ridiculous it is hard to imagine no one raised a red flag. "I like to slam people's heads up against the walls." What kind of a statement is this? She is this unhinged and not a single person around her can tell? The broker is an even bigger maniac but somehow is allowed to roam free and everyone finds him attractive. Is this a New York thing? The finale where the two keep shooting at each other in slow motion is a classic endurance test as well.

Brad Fidel’s ambient score is allowed to make its presence felt during a couple of short sequences and they are the only ones that work rather well. In the most effective one, the broker rents a helicopter for his date and they fly over the city.

Kathryn Bigelow co-wrote the script with Eric Red (The Hitcher, Near Dark) and completed Blue Steel in 1989. It was her third feature film. Oliver Stone was one of its six producers.

Blue Steel Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Blue Steel arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment.

In 2011, French label Metropolitan produced this release of Blue Steel, which was sourced from an old and quite inconsistent master. This release offers an almost identical presentation of the film.

Portions of the film could look rather decent. However, if you have a bigger screen you will easily conclude that they do not have an acceptable organic appearance. Why? Because the master has been sharpened. As a result, many visuals reveal clumpy grain and harshness that produce all kinds of other visual anomalies, like edge enhancement, odd highlights, etc. Colors are stable but balance can be better, especially in very bright and very dark areas where many nuances collapse. Image stability is good. I noticed a few blemishes and black marks, but there are no distracting debris, damage marks, cuts, stains, or warped frames. All in all, to look as it should Blue Steel will have to be fully remastered at least in 2K because at the moment it does not have a proper organic appearance. (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).

Blue Steel 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.

Even if the in the future the original audio is fully remastered, I do not think that there will be any substantial improvements. Many of the shootouts throughout the film already sound outstanding and the dialog is clear and very easy to follow. Could I be wrong? Of course, but I do not see the areas where there is room for meaningful enhancements. I think that you will be very pleased with the quality of the current lossless track.

Blue Steel Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Blue Steel from Lionsgate Films. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• "A Hired Gun" - in this exclusive new program, editor Lee Percy explains how he entered the film business and recalls what it was like to work with Kathryn Bigelow on Blue Steel. In English, not subtitled. (11 min).

• "Staring Down the Barrel" - in this new program, production designer Toby Corbett explains what attracted him to his field and how collaborated with Kathryn Bigelow on Blue Steel. There are also some interesting comments about the particular stylization of certain sequences. In English, not subtitled. (9 min).

• "The Phallic Woman" - in this new program, critic Jennifer Moorman discusses Blue Steel. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

• "A Profound Emotional Response" - this exclusive new video essay was created by critic Chris O'Neill. In English, not subtitled. (13 min).

Blue Steel Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The more I revisit Kathryn Bigelow's Blue Steel, the less I like it, and I have never been a fan of it. This film tries to be so many different things and fails on so many different levels that from time to time it looks like an awful parody. Some of the lines that are uttered in it, for instance, are beyond atrocious, so given that its drama is supposed to be taken seriously, I have always wondered how they survived in the cutting room. Via Vision Entertainment's release is sourced from an old and quite inconsistent master, so at the moment Blue Steel does not have an acceptable organic appearance. The release is included in After Dark: Neo Noir Cinema Collection Two, a seven-disc box set.