6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
An aging cat burglar takes on a young apprentice. Although the young guy is a bit green and wild, the pro sees potential and attempts to instill in him the ideas of pride in his work and caution. Unfortunately, the young man is too young and foolhardy to listen.
Starring: Burt Reynolds, Casey Siemaszko, Sheila Kelley, Lorraine Toussaint, Albert SalmiComedy | Insignificant |
Adventure | 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 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Bill Forsyth's "Breaking In" (1989) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive new audio commentary recorded by Bill Forsyth, screenwriter John Sayles and filmmaker and critic Daniel Kremer, as well a vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
That's my life's work. And the kid is taking credit for it.
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Breaking In arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
The release is sourced from a new 2K master that was prepared exclusively for it. This master has very strong organic qualities that instantly make it obvious that it offers the best technical presentation of the film to date. I am going to mention first the one area where I think there is still room for some minor yet meaningful improvements. Some of the darker areas look a bit too dark, so there is a certain amount of crushing that collapses native details/nuances. To be clear, the crushing isn't as pronounced as the one witnessed on the recent 4K master that was prepared for The Long Goodbye, but it is easy to recognize. Obviously, it does have a minor impact on the perception of depth as well, but the overall quality of the visuals is still very nice. The rest I like a lot. Clarity is consistently very pleasing, plus stability is excellent. The color palette is good too, though ideally saturation levels could be even better. There are no traces of problematic digital work. The entire film is free of distracting age-related imperfections. (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 English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The lossless track should meet all of your expectations. Clarity, sharpness, and depth are really good, and even though there isn't any notable action in the film, dynamic nuances were excellent as well. I do have to say that I am a little surprised to see that MGM did not create a 5.1 track for this film, but the the two-channel audio does everything it is supposed to do.
Bill Forsyth would have delivered a vastly superior film had he directed Breaking In in Scotland with Scottish actors. In its current form Breaking In relies on Burt Reynolds to do all of the heavy lifting, while Casey Siemaszko drifts away and leaves the impression that he was quite simply not the right actor to do the part of the young thief. It is easy to argue that Forsyth mismanaged the film, but it is just as easy to speculate that with Siemaszko contributing he likely did the best he could. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a very healthy new 2K master that was prepared exclusively for it, and features an excellent new audio commentary with Forsyth, screenwriter John Sayles, and filmmaker and critic Daniel Kremer. If you are a fan of Breaking In, pick up a copy for your library. Otherwise, consider a rental first.
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