Mr. Nice Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Mr. Nice Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 29, 2012

Screened at the Edinburgh Film Festival, Bernard Rose's "Mr. Nice" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy MPI Home Video. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original theatrical trailer and a standard featurette with raw footage from the shooting of the film in Spain and Wales. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The good times

I did not know who Howard Marks was prior to seeing Bernard Rose’s Mr. Nice. I am unsure if I should have, but half of Wales probably thinks otherwise. Apparently, the man is something of national hero there, which is quite strange, considering that during the late 70s and 80s he controlled approximately 10% of the world’s hashish trade.

Marks (Rhys Ifans, The Boat That Rocked, Mr. Nobody) was a smart guy. He entered Oxford University as a graduate student hoping to get a degree and land a good job but instead discovered marijuana, LSD, and free love. For awhile he was in heaven. Then a friend (Jack Huston, Factory Girl, Outlander) asked him to help bring home a car full or product. He did and the world suddenly opened up for him.

A Pakistani businessman (Omid Djalili, The Love Guru, The Infidel) told Marks that he can deliver any amount of hashish as long as someone would get it into the country. In the beginning Marks doubted him, but the businessman wasn’t lying. A couple of months later, Marks and Jim McCann (David Thewlis, Gangster No. 1, Kingdom of Heaven), a top IRA guy who could get anything through customs, became partners. McCann was so impressed with the profits that at one point he even offered to supply planes.

An old friend (Christian McKay, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger) who had landed a job with MI6 also approached Marks with an interesting offer – if Marks agreed to provide the agency with good information about McCann and his comrades, they would offer him a type of protection that even some of the country’s prominent politicians did not have. Marks immediately agreed. Of course, the MI6 agent had no idea what type of business his friend was running.

The girl (Chloë Sevigny, Boys Don't Cry, American Psycho) Marks was seeing, however, knew exactly what her lover was doing - which is why when one of his partners explained to him how much more they could make if they were to expand into the good ol’ U.S. of A., she begged him to stay home and work with the people he knew. But Marks ignored her advice, and instead befriended an ambitious businessman (Crispin Glover, Wild at Heart, The Doors) from California who was looking for a reliable supplier.

Once Marks set foot on American soil, luck turned its back on him. He lost a large shipment worth millions of dollars; then the DEA and CIA went after him. MI6 also finally figured out what he was doing and made it clear that they were no longer interested in his services. In 1980, after years of living under a false identity in Spain, Marks was captured and extradited to the United States. He was sentenced to 25 years in jail.

Marks apparently made some brilliant decisions during the 60s and 70s, but the film does not make it perfectly clear whether he was a visionary businessman or an incredibly lucky guy who simply met the right guys with the right contacts. If anything, the film’s quasi-jokey tone implies that he was very much in love with the products he was selling.

The accuracy issue aside, the performances are great. Ifans is outstanding as the ambitious Welshman who at one point apparently believed that the sky truly is the limit. His monologues, in particular, are absolutely hilarious. Sevigny is somewhat underused but also convincing. Thewlis is perfect as the IRA lunatic who fell in love with the drugs and forgot about the cause.

Note: Last year, the film was screened at the Edinburgh Film Festival.

Mr. Nice 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, Bernard Rose's Mr. Nice arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of MPI Home Video.

The high-definition transfer is very strong. Detail and clarity are outstanding, with quite a few of the large panoramic vistas also boasting tremendous fluidity. As the film progresses, the color-scheme and, to a certain extent, contrast fluctuate, but these changes in color saturation and image tonality are indeed intended. There are absolutely no traces of edge-enhancement. The high-definition transfer is also free of problematic banding and aliasing issues. Grain is well resolved and stable. Finally, there are absolutely no stability issues to report in this review whatsoever. All in all, the high-definition transfer is every bit as impressive as the one E1 Entertainment used for their Blu-ray release of Mr. Nice in the United Kingdom. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Mr. Nice Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0 (with portions of Spanish). For the record, MPI Home Video have provided optional yellow English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track has a very good dynamic amplitude. During a few of the action scenes, the rear channels also get a decent amount of activity. The retro soundtrack also benefits from the lossless treatment, though the music never quite takes over the film. The dialog is crisp, clean, and easy to follow (but the optional English subtitles are quite invaluable here as occasionally the accents become quite thick). For the record, there are no problematic pops, cracks, distortions, or audio dropouts to report in this review.

Mr. Nice Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Mr. Nice. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• The Making of Mr. Nice - a standard featurette with raw footage from the shooting of the film in Spain and Wales, with short comments by actors Rhys Ifans, David Thewlis and Chloe Sevigny, producer Luc Roeg, and the real Howard Marks, among others. In English, not subtitled. (11 min, 480/60i).

Mr. Nice Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bernard Rose's Mr. Nice is a very entertaining little film which chronicles the life of legendary Welsh drug dealer Howard Marks. The film is based on Mr. Marks' book, which became a bestseller in the United Kingdom. This U.S. Blu-ray release of the film, courtesy of MPI Home Video, looks and sounds very impressive. However, it misses some of the excellent supplemental features found on the UK Blu-ray release. Regardless, I still think that it is worth a look. RECOMMENDED.