Legend of the American Sniper Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Legend of the American Sniper Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 15, 2020

History and Hollywood have made heroes of snipers. Stories of legendary marksmen like Carlos Hathcock and Chris Kyle are well known both in military circles and beyond, and Hollywood has recently made an art form out of the sniper genre with films like Sniper, American Sniper, and Enemy at the Gates making big box office bucks. Even the video game industry has gotten into the act. Mill Creek's Legend of the American Sniper aims to remove history's grace and cinema's grandeur in telling the real story of who a sniper is, what a sniper does, and how the sniper decisively turns the tide of battle as part of larger unit, not as a lone wolf.

Numerous interviewees with military connections and distinguished service lists bring the story of Legend of the American Sniper to life. The film is constructed in such a way that interviewees cover a broad range of topics that altogether share the story of the sniper's career, spanning from training to life after service. Static interviews are often broken up by images from the field, some seemingly real, some perhaps manufactured for this documentary; it's sometimes difficult to tell. A few still photos are interspersed, too, as the topics covered include the myths of the “one shot, one kill” mantra and the "confirmed kills" counts particularly in the Vietnam era; the perception that snipers are without a conscience; the physical and psychological makeup of the successful sniper; the training processes; the physics of hitting the target at long range; technological advancements that aid the sniper's skill sets; Ghillie suit purpose and construction; the gear that snipers carry to the mission; the bolt action and M4 rifles with which the sniper fights; becoming a sniper; and the mental need to and emotions around making that first kill in combat.

Legend of the American Sniper's mission is to set the record straight on what it means to be a sniper. While there's some truth to popular culture portrayals, the documentary aims to explore the life of the sniper at the ground level, removed from production values and glamorized history texts to look at the real life and work of these highly trained, highly skilled, highly motivated, but very human marksmen. They are not “John Wayne” or “prima donnas,” or “elitists.” They work in support of infantry and are not, usually, "lone wolves" but rather integral parts of a larger mission in support of larger military units. The film also takes some time to explore law enforcement sniping as well: the numerous similarities and important differences between how military snipers operate in the fields of battle abroad and how SWAT snipers work in support of heavily armed police departments within the United States.

The film is simplistic in its technical layout. Interviewees speak to the ordered subject matter that spells out what's like to be a sniper, how one becomes a sniper, the experiences of the sniper in combat, and so on and so forth. It's a rather fascinating discussion in its total, and the film editors have assembled the expert interviews with orderly cadence and a surprising level of thoroughness for a film that runs at just 90 minutes in length. The technical quality is not up to par for a major Hollywood production, however. The film was clearly made on a budget and even recycles some of the stock footage scattered throughout, but by-and-large the essential content holds up to scrutiny. Those with a passion for learning more about the military should find the film quite enjoyable, even if it's lacking in presentation polish.

Legend of the American Sniper Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Legend of the American Sniper takes aim on Blu-ray with a nuts-and-bolts type 1080i, 1.78:1-framed transfer. Basic clarity is decent enough. Static shots depicting the various interview subjects show good core definition of clothes and faces and the environments in which they sit, which often include some interesting military paraphernalia to enjoy. There's a show-and-tell sequence partway through the film that explores guns, Ghillie suits, and other gear and while the close-up shots don't much move the needle, basic clarity is functional and not hindered by excessive compression artifacts. Some of the video footage from war zones and "out in the field" do suffer from a myriad of technical shortcomings, notably macroblocking but there are various other issues in play, too. This is not the prettiest Blu-ray ever released but it does get the job done in support of the basic documentary narrative beats.

Legend of the American Sniper Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Legend of the American Sniper's LPCM 2.0 uncompressed soundtrack is not particularly noteworthy, but then again neither are the film's sound design elements all that interesting. The track is comprised primarily of interviewee dialogue, which is adequately clear and images well enough to the soundstage's center portion. There's an underlying hiss that is at times in accompaniment (check the 62 minute mark for one of the most prominent examples) and there's an unmistakable hollowness to much of the presentation, but baseline detail and definition are fine insofar as the material is conveyed to crude satisfaction. Underlying music runs through just about the whole film. It's not interesting in spacing, detail, or any other component. It's just sort of there. Same with a few scattered sound effects, like gunshots, which play below both dialogue and music and mostly fill space rather than perform any duties of prominence.

Legend of the American Sniper Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Legend of the American Sniper Blu-ray includes no supplemental content. A digital copy code has been included. No DVD copy has been bundled in. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

Legend of the American Sniper Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

At one point in the film, an interviewee states that only 15% of a sniper's workload involves actually pulling a trigger. There's much more to the process that the film explores in detail. After watching the film, it's easy to take that statistic at face value, if not consider it to be a bit high. The battlefield processes alone are complex, and take into account the physical demands, the mathematical requirements, the mental fortitude, and the complex system of gear needed to complete mission and return home safely shows that sniping isn't just about getting into position and pulling a trigger. The film does a great job of exploring the mindset required to be a sniper, which might be the film's most fascinating component, even beyond a breakdown of training regimens, weapons and tactics, and all of the other materials the film covers. Mill Creek's Blu-ray is disappointingly, but expectedly, without special features. The video and audio presentations are lacking in precision but do get the job done inn support of the basic material. Recommended.