Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.0

In Bruges Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 9, 2019

Martin McDonagh's "In Bruges" (2008) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Second Sight. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new video interviews with cast and crew members; archival featurettes; deleted scenes; gag reel; and more. Also included with this release is a 50-page soft cover book with new writing by Ian Christie, Dr. Eamonn Jordan, and Bomb Magazine archive interview with Martin McDonagh. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Awkward confession

After screwing up a simple job in London two Irish hitmen arrive in Bruges, Belgium, and get a room in a family-owned hotel. The older one, Ken (Brendan Gleeson), immediately begins working on a plan to get to know the ancient city better, while his younger partner, Ray (Colin Farrell), declares that it would be a struggle to share a room with him and find something meaningful to do amidst the historic buildings and canals. Their boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes), who is still fuming, occasionally calls to make sure that they are keeping low profiles, as he has instructed them.

Initially, Ken and Ray’s stay in Bruges is as uneventful as desired by Harry, but while wandering around the freezing town Ray bumps into Chloe (Clemence Poesy) and decides to take her out for dinner. Chloe is supposed to be working with a tech crew shooting a movie, but after welcoming Ray to her place confesses that she is the crew’s favorite drug dealer. Ray then meets Chloe's partner and he quickly makes it clear that he isn't fond of his accent and seriously dislikes seeing him touching Chloe.

As Ray tries and fails to remain cool during the disastrous date, Ken receives a call from Harry with new orders, and because they threaten to break the bond he has with his partner, he ignores them. This leaves Harry, an uncompromising professional, with one last option to get what he wants to be done -- hop on a plane to Bruges and do it himself.

Martin McDonagh’s directorial debut probably looked great on paper but in its current form is a hugely underwhelming film that at times even looks flat-out amateurish. There isn’t a shortage of very obvious reasons why the film stutters so badly, either. Here are a few:

The script, which was also produced by McDonagh, is essentially a mosaic of colorful ‘situations’ where the leads are expected to keep rehashing old clichés about the dim-witted but cool British gangsters that now hordes of other crime films have used to appeal to the masses. The only new trick here is that instead of having the fireworks in, say, London, Manchester, or Liverpool, McDonagh relocates them to the peaceful and historic city of Bruges. But this isn’t exactly a new trick either, because there is a whole range of other British crime films that have used exotic locations on the continent to spice up their action. (Sexy Beast and The Business immediately come to mind, and both are already out on Blu-ray).

The glue that is supposed to hold these ‘situations’ together is a heavy dose of the brash humor that usually flourishes in these types of genre films. Unfortunately, McDonagh’s script is far from impressive and there are only a couple of scenes where the jokes that pop up deliver the type of laughs that made the likes of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Layer Cake genre hits. The majority of the time there is simply a whole lot of bad character posturing and random lines missing their targets.

Virtually all of the footage that was shot across Bruges is magnificent and quite easily makes the film look like a much, much bigger project than it was. Unfortunately, McDonagh’s inexperience also shows practically everywhere, and in the end, it is very easy to tell that a good opportunity to deliver an interesting film was in fact wasted.

The soundtrack blends original music by Carter Burwell (No Country for Old Men) and a few original tunes by the likes of Regina Spector (“That Time”), The Pretenders (“2000 Miles”), and The Dubliners (“On Raglan Road”), amongst others.

In Bruges Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Martin McDonagh's In Bruges arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Second Sight.

The release is sourced from the same master that Universal worked with when it prepared the North American release of In Bruges. I don't see anything to be unhappy about, and I think that the film looks gorgeous in high-definition. There is a lot of footage from the ancient city that was shot at different times throughout the day and night and on my system it looks simply spectacular. Depth and fluidity, in particular, are wonderful. Colors are lush, nicely balanced, and having very strong organic qualities. Rather predictably for such a recent film, image stability is outstanding as well. (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).

In Bruges Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The 5.1 track replicates the original studio mix for the film, so its qualities are essentially inherited. There are no technical issues to report. Clarity, depth, sharpness, and balance are excellent throughout the entire film, and the soundtrack reveals plenty of effective dynamic nuances.

In Bruges Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interviews -the following four interviews are brand new and were conducted exclusively for Second Sight's release of In Bruges. The comments in them address the production history of the film and its visual style and sense of humor. A few of the interviewees also share information about their backgrounds and the events that led to their transitions to the film business. In English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Director of Photography Eigil Bryld. (22 min).
  2. Editor Jon Gregory. (16 min).
  3. Production designer Michael Carlin. (13 min).
  4. Actor Eric Gordon. (14 min).

• When in Bruges - this program features interviews with Martin McDonagh and cast members discussing their collaboration on In Bruges and impressions of the historic city. In English, not subtitled. (14 min).

• Strange Bruges - the same group of interviewees addresses the personality of Bruges and its role in the film (as another key character). In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Deleted Scenes - a collection of deleted scenes. In English, not subtitled. (19 min).

• A Boat Trip Around Bruges - a lovely featurette with panoramic footage from the historic city. With music. (6 min).

• Gag Reel - a couple of hilarious gags. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Six Shooter - presented here is Martin McDonagh's very first short film, which he completed in 2004. In English, not subtitled. (29 min).

• Screenplay - Faber and Faber screenplay with exclusive cover artwork by Thomas Walker.

• Book - 50-page soft cover book with new writing by Ian Christie, Dr. Eamonn Jordan (author of From Leenane to LA: The Theatre and Cinema of Martin McDonagh) and Bomb Magazine archive interview with Martin McDonagh.

In Bruges Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Foreign gangsters running wild in the ancient city of Bruges certainly sounds like a terrific idea for a great genre film. But at least as far as I am concerned this isn't what Martin McDonagh's In Bruges is. I found the posturing of its characters quite awful and its sense of humor seriously ineffective, at times even perplexingly random. To be honest, it just feels like too many directors keep using the same formula that made Guy Ritchie successful but there are no more decent tricks left for them to impress with. This is the main reason why I found In Bruges so frustrating -- it could have been unique but it ends up rehashing the same old cliches in a fairly amateurish fashion. If your take on the film is drastically different and you wish to have a quality release of it in your collection, consider this Limited Edition from Second Sight. The technical presentation of the film is solid and there are some very good exclusive new bonus features on it. However, keep in mind that it is Region-B "locked".