Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Dark Winds: Season One Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 18, 2022

Graham Roland's made-for-TV series "Dark Winds: Season One" (2022) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of AMC Studios. The only bonus feature on the release is a documentary on the making of the series. In English and Navajo, with optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles. Region-A "locked".

Out here, pal, your .38 is not your best protection.

Graham Roland’s made-for-TV series Dark Winds tackles the same original material Errol Morris’ feature film The Dark Wind did back in 1991. This material comes from a series of excellent novels written by Tony Hillerman that blend crime and Native American mysticism in much the same way Raymond Chandler’s classic novels mix up crime and cynical humor. Does this mean that Hillerman and Chandler’s novels share the same noirish qualities as well? Yes, but for obvious reasons, Hillerman stayed far away from the hustle and bustle of the American metropolis.

The TV series and the feature film’s approaches to the original material from Hillerman’s novels, however, are quite different. Indeed, even though both do not dramatically alter the nature of the complex relationship between Navajo police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, the drama that flourishes around them has little in common. More importantly, the TV series uses portions of one particular story and then frivolously expands it into a mosaic of small segments that ultimately produce an entirely different story with a distinct contemporary personality.

The TV series is set during the 1970s and begins with a bank heist in a sleepy town somewhere in the Southwest. Moving very quickly and efficiently, the robbers successfully get away with the loot and then disappear into the scorching Arizona desert. Shortly after, Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon), a veteran cop, begins investigating a very strange murder case that quickly frustrates him but earns him a new partner, Chee (Kiowa Gordon), who over the course of a few days makes several rookie mistakes and eventually confesses that he is working undercover for the FBI and tracking down the robbers. The bank heist case and the murder case then gradually merge and Leaphorn and Chee begin suspecting that members of the Buffalo Society, a radical Indian militia group, could be involved in both.

Broken into six episodes -- Monster Slayer, The Male Approaches, K’e, Hooghandi, Ha’iinlni, HoozhooNaashaa -- each approximately fifty minutes long, the TV series bets heavily on style and authenticity but fails to tell an engaging story as Hillerman repeatedly did in his novels. There are a couple of reasons for the failure. First, the quality of the writing is not good enough. It is routinely at odds with Hillerman’s characterizations and unable to replicate the mood of the drama they are associated with in the novels. As a result, the crucial relationship between the heavy neo-norish ambiance and dark allure of Native American mysticism never materializes. Second, the cast is average at best. McClarnon is the only actor that handles his character with authority and has a proper grasp of the mood of the drama. Unfortunately, Gordon and the supporting cast, the many non-professional actors, and the desire to politicize the drama with contemporary messaging about the white man’s sins effectively collapse the project. Finally, the editing could have been a lot more convincing as well. Many transitions that connect past and present events or parallel developments are oddly introduced and frequently create the impression that bits of material might have been haphazardly cut.

The outdoor footage is often breathtakingly beautiful, which makes the mismanagement of the TV series even more frustrating. A lot of the aerial footage, for instance, is of the kind that makes viewing Outback Noir gems like Mystery Road, Goldstone, and Red Hill a very special experience.

Dark Winds: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.00:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Dark Winds: Season One arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of AMC Studios.

Dark Winds: Season One produces some top-quality visuals that easily shine on Blu-ray. This is hardly surprising because all of its six episodes were shot with modern equipment that captures light and shadow(s) with striking precision. So, delineation, clarity, and depth are almost always of reference quality. However, I noticed two examples of light "stuttering" that lasted approximately a second, possibly second and a half. It was as if a few frames struggled to move at a proper speed and had to overlap. I assume that casual viewers will miss what I saw, but I wanted to mention the effect. The more obvious "stuttering" appears at the 0:20.03 mark, where Leaphorn's truck is seen passing by. Colors saturation and balance are fantastic, easily some of the best I have seen recently. There are no stability issues. (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).

Dark Winds: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only a standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Portions of Navajo are used as well. There are optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles and automatic blue subtitles for the Navajo exchanges.

The dialog is always very clear and sharp. I think that balance is excellent as well, though there are some sections that feature whispering where minor fluctuations exist. I thought that the dynamic contrasts could have been better. I am unsure if the fact that Dark Winds is a TV project had something to do with it, but the 5.1 track does not produce a lot of excitement. There are no encoding anomalies to report.

Dark Winds: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Show Me More: Dark Winds -this program takes a closer look at the conception and production of Dark Winds: Season One. Included in it are clips from interviews with cast and crew members as well as executive producer Robert Redford. In English, not subtitled. (33 min).

Dark Winds: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A TV series based on Tony Hillerman's novels about Leaphorn and Chee made primarily with native American actors and produced by Robert Redford sounded like an unmissable project, so my expectations were instantly raised very high. Unfortunately, I found the series quite underwhelming. As I expected, it had some wonderful visuals from beautiful Arizona, but it moves so far away from just about everything that makes Hillerman's novels special that I could not get used to it. To be honest, I think that the writing is not good enough, and Zahn McClarnon, the one actor that handles his character with authority and has a proper grasp of the mood of the drama, needs legit support if he is expected to save the entire project. Hopefully, as Dark Winds: Season Two emerges, a boutique label will manage to put Errol Morris' The Dark Wind, which is also inspired by Hillerman's novels, on Blu-ray. The feature film is quite good.