7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.9 |
A partially deaf New Jersery sheriff must investigate the NYPD officers he idolizes--potentially exposing the evil doings of some of New York's finest.
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Peter BergCrime | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
In the heyday of the Hollywood studio system, the biggest stars were frequently shoehorned into one typecast role after another, and they rarely if ever were expected to Act (with a capital A) in a showy, overtly demonstrative way. Sometime after the decline of the studio system, when stars were more responsible (in both good and bad ways) for their own careers, it became more of a rite of passage for big draws to de-glam themselves and go for that Academy Award with a performance that defied expectations and proved they were more than just pretty faces or hunks of beefcake. Marilyn Monroe, a star who kind of straddled the transition from the studio system to more personally run careers, did this quite convincingly in Bus Stop, a film which was greeted with a famous review stating, “Meet Miss Monroe: Actress" (a review I mentioned in my review of the Blu-ray release of The Lincoln Lawyer). Other stars in the sixties and beyond regularly played against type and eschewed Hollywood glamour (think of Elizabeth Taylor in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? for a good example), often raking in critical acclaim and, yes, that sought after Oscar in the process. One gets the impression that the 1997 film Cop Land might have been designed, at least in part, to do the same sort of job for Sylvester Stallone, here at least somewhat cast against type as a semi-deaf, overweight sheriff of a small New Jersey town across the river from New York City, a town where a bevy of actual New York City policeman have come to live and who have set up their own private “the law can’t touch me” domain. Stallone is on record as stating the film did the exact opposite for his career, beginning an eight year or so journey through a wasteland where no one would hire him to portray him for his usual stock in trade action roles but who similarly wouldn’t bring him on board to essay something more character driven. So much for the vagaries of show business. Looking back on it with 20/20 hindsight, while Cop Land is certainly a flawed film and one a bit too full of its top tier casting for its own good, Stallone actually comes out of the picture looking surprisingly good, with a nicely understated performance that proves that, yes, he can act. Meet Mr. Stallone: Actor.
Cop Land is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is a curiously schizoid transfer which looks fantastic some of the time, especially with regard to extreme close-ups in good to above average lighting conditions, but which then backtracks into muddiness, softness and overwhelming grain in other sequences. Some of this might be due to second unit work on location, as several sequences which were obviously done outside on location, as in the amusement park scene with the ferris wheel, are noticeably softer and more ragged looking than other sequences in the film. Colors are accurate and well saturated, though again the softer segments seem somewhat washed out. There's rather rampant edge enhancement on display throughout this transfer, and it should perhaps be noted that this particular artifact hardly ever bothers me, so the fact that it was so noticeable may up some more persnickety viewers' concerns. On the whole, though, this is certainly a well above average transfer, albeit one with intermittent problems that viewers need to keep in mind. I'd actually say that with the soft sequences taken out of consideration, this merits a solid 4 star rating, but with the less than stellar elements here I've erred on the cautious side with my ranking.
Cop Land boasts a very effective lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that is notable for some very inventive sound design, especially with regard to the last twenty minutes or so of the film when (slight spoiler ahead) Freddy is almost entirely deafened by a purposeful gunshot blast to his one good ear. That final sequence plays out in a really effective muffled environment replete with the internal sound of Freddy's escalating heart rate as a number of violent episodes occur. Before that sequence, the film does a superb job in consistently maintaining an involving and immersive sonic experience, one which is full of boisterous LFE with some great action sequences involving gunfire or explosions, but which also presents dialogue moments very effectively. Surround channels very capably recreate the big city atmosphere of New York as well as the quieter climes of Garrison, New Jersey. Fidelity is excellent throughout this mix, with really great dynamic range and well prioritized dialogue, effects and score.
As an actor's piece, Cop Land is aces, with full bodied work by a slew of fantastic performers. As a cohesive drama, the film is simply too stuffed with sidebars to ever develop real momentum and emotional impact with regard to Freddy's plight. Every time it seems as if Freddy is finally going to emerge front and center, yet another subplot intrudes and the film's energy is dissipated as a result of that tendency. If you can get past that element, though, Cop Land has a lot to recommend it. While there are some niggling issues with the image quality of this release, the sound is fabulous, and overall the film and Blu-ray come Recommended.
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