Light Sleeper Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Light Sleeper Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 7, 2018

Paul Schrader's "Light Sleeper" (1992) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include a vintage trailer for the film; archival Q&A session with Paul Schrader and cinematographer Ed Lachman; and exclusive audio commentary by film critics Emma Westwood and Sally Christie. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

What's your pleasure?

There is no other film in Paul Schrader’s oeuvre that has as stylish of a prologue as Light Sleeper does. Ed Lachman instantly sinks it in a neon-lit New York City night and then Michael Been’s stunner “World on Fire” sets the mood as the dealer goes to work. The visuals and the music come together just perfectly.

The name of the dealer emerges not too long after that, though it never becomes clear if it is real or an alias. When his wealthy clients page him and he delivers their orders in luxury condos or fancy night clubs, he identifies himself as John LeTour (William Dafoe). Real or not, the last name feels most appropriate because while the dealer sells it always looks like he is on some sort of a bizarre exploratory tour of the city.

But he isn’t independent. He works for Ann (Susan Sarandon), who owns the business and does all of the negotiations and contract work that get them the best product on the market, and coordinates deliveries with her assistant, Robert (David Clennon). She has hired a personal driver for him and pays him a salary, not a share of all sales that they generate together. The dealer does not mind because he isn’t saving or planning to do anything special with his life. As long as he has enough to buy CDs and cover his rent, he feels good.

For years, however, his boss has been working on a plan which culminates with the termination of her current business and the emergence of a new fashion company with branches around the world. Her plan does not have a spot for the dealer, but only because he has never expressed interest in being a part of it. If he decides to move out of the dealing business with her, she will welcome him with open arms.

While trying to figure out what the future holds for him the dealer accidentally meets his former lover (Dana Delany), who left him when she kicked her drug addiction and started rebuilding her life. The two then spend some time together and he begins fantasizing that they could restore their old relationship, but when tragedy strikes his world abruptly spins out of control.

Schrader is back on his turf with Light Sleeper and the confidence with which he makes different moves on it is instantly recognizable. So the transition into the reality of dealer is incredibly authentic and while the film lasts it really does feel like he is a real person delivering a motley crew of wealthy junkies their favorite fix.

However, what the film focuses on is not the mechanics of the dealing business, but the dealer’s struggle to insulate his personal life from his work and begin rebuilding it. This soon becomes a fascinating process of self-reevaluation that then gradually simplifies for him the nature of happiness and freedom and how they define one’s existence.

The balance between authenticity and the neo-noir stylization is really masterfully managed, and it is essentially what makes the film so engrossing. Even a slight motion in favor of one over the other would have instantly made it look unbearably pretentious.

Dafoe does a terrific job with his character and really carries the film on his shoulders. Delany was a terrific choice to play the ex-girlfriend who is trying to redirect her life as well. Surprisingly, Sarandon is the weak link and never quite convinces that her character actually has the instincts to survive and prosper in a cut-throat business.

Light Sleeper Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Paul Schrader's Light Sleeper arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment.

The release is sourced from an older master that was apparently supplied by StudioCanal. However, while there are some small but obvious limitations on display, it is actually a pretty good master that is free of problematic digital tinkering. Unsurprisingly, plenty of organic qualities are retained, and excluding some small fluctuations during the darker footage that could have been minimized with better encoding optimizations the rest looks quite pleasing. Obviously, some nuances are capped and on a larger screen the areas where density struggles to remain consistent become easy to recognize, but there are no distracting digital anomalies. (Think sharpening or contrast boosting). Colors are nice and there are some pretty decent supporting nuances as well. Image stability is very good. Lastly, a few dirt spots pop up here and there, but they are very small and will not impact negatively your viewing experience. All in all, even though there is certainly room for meaningful improvements, the current master has decent organic qualities that make it easy to enjoy the film. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Light Sleeper Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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 is very healthy. I assume that the audio was fully remastered when the current master that StudioCanal have for licensing was prepared because it is very clean and properly balanced. I don't know if a 5.1 mix was ever created with Paul Schrader's involvement, but to be honest, I thought that the 2.0 track served the film really, really well. And this is certainly important to underscore because there is a lot of great music throughout the film that is essential for its intended atmosphere.

Light Sleeper Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Light Sleeper. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• VHS Promo - old promotional VHS trailer for Light Sleeper. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Q&A Session with Cinematographer Ed Lachman and Paul Schrader - in this archival video session, director Paul Schrader explains how the idea for Light Sleeper came to him and how the film acquired its identity. There are also some interesting comments about a possible relationship between Taxi Driver, American Gigolo, Light Sleeper, and Raging Bull, with the idea being that the main protagonist in all four films is essentially the same person at different stages of his life. In English, not subtitled. (31 min).

• Commentary - in this new audio commentary, critics Emma Westwood and Sally Christie discuss in great detail Paul Schrader's background, and specifically his transition from criticism to directing, the evolution of his style, the genesis of Light Sleeper and its themes and atmosphere, etc. The commentary was recorded exclusively for Umbrella Entertainment.

• Cover - reversible cover.

Light Sleeper Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I am tempted to say that Light Sleeper is Paul Schrader's most stylish film because Ed Lachman's lensing and Michael Been's atmospheric tunes do some really special things in it. But I find it difficult to discard American Gigolo because there is an equally special retro vibe in it and the quality of its material is even better. On the other hand, Schrader has an old theory that Light Sleeper and American Gigolo are actually part of a tetralogy of films whose main protagonists are essentially the same man at different stages of his life, so this makes it easier not to draw a line between them. Regardless, Light Sleeper is definitely worth seeing and owning, so it is great to finally have it on Blu-ray. RECOMMENDED.