Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Mulholland Falls Blu-ray Movie Review

"This isn't America, Jack. This is L.A."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown January 5, 2025

Mulholland Falls so desperately wants to hit the highs of 1987's Brian de Palma classic, The Untouchables, you can almost taste the salt in the sweat of everyone on screen and behind the camera. But it's not The Untouchables, nor will it ever be. Not even close. It merely grasps, somewhat haphazardly, at such lofty ambitious stuff, forging a story and characters that are woefully mismanaged and light on the fundamental essence that might elevate the picture to greatness. There's also nothing here to make it a sister piece to Curtis Hanson's excellent L.A. Confidential either (released a year later, in 1997), a confident, thrilling venture every bit as good as The Untouchables (and for completely different reasons). Mulholland Falls exists in a cinematic purgatory beneath the two; never quite the hell it could be, never the heaven the other two offer.

"See, that's federal property. This isn't. This is L.A. This is my town. Out here you're a trespasser. Out here I can pick you up, burn your house, fuck your wife, and kill your dog. And the only thing that'll protect you is if I can't find you. And I already found you."

Mulholland Falls tells the story of four no-nonsense cops, nicknamed the "Hat Squad," who formed an elite unit of the Los Angeles Police Department in the early 1950s. Both feared and revered, they made their own rules to enforce the law. But when a routine murder investigation case involves one of their own, it forces the "Hats" into a confrontation with a power far greater than organized crime--one that could bring down the squad itself. Hat Squad leader Max Hoover's (Nick Nolte) personal involvement in the baffling murder threatens not only the squad, but his wife, Katherine (Melanie Griffith). Meanwhile, the jovial humor and affability of Hoover's best friend and longtime partner, Ellery Coolidge (Chazz Palminteri), masks a big temper that he attempts to contain with an even bigger appetite. Completing the quartet is Eddie Hall (Michael Madsen), the handsome ladies' man of the team, and Arthur Relyea (Chris Penn), the newest and youngest member of the squad. Directed by Lee Tamahori and written by Peter Dexter and Floyd Mutrux, the film also stars Treat Williams, Jennifer Connelly, Daniel Baldwin, Andrew McCarthy, John Malkovich, Kyle Chandler, Bruce Dern and Louise Fletcher.

Click here to read Brian Orndorf's 2014 review of Mulholland Falls, which he says "plays more like a sequel instead of an origin story, leaving out a necessary intimacy amongst the men as they carry out their severe brand of justice to preserve the dented honor of Los Angeles." Adding that it's "never a mess, but it's never cohesive either, unable to sustain a rhythm of suspense without true direction."

Mulholland Falls Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

"That's the history of the world, Lieutenant. Some people die before their time so that others can live. It's the cornerstone of civilization. War, religion, democracy. A hundred die so that a thousand may live."

Mulholland Drive first came to Blu-ray in 2014, via Kino Lorber in a since-out-of-print standard edition release. The new Sandpiper Pictures version doesn't offer an upgrade, with a 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer that's something of a hit-or-miss presentation. The film's cinematography is nothing special and the image follows suit. Colors are subdued and largely earthy, with little in the way of primary power. Black levels are satisfying, skin tones (mostly) life like, and saturation and contrast are healthy, but there's a dusty, almost muddy tone to the visuals that hinders its potential. Flashbacks are particularly soft and problematic, with some compression artifacts rearing their head. Nothing too severe, mind you, but enough to draw attention to what needed to be a roomier encode or full remaster. Detail is decidedly decent elsewhere, with clean edge definition and more or less precise texture clarity (insofar as the photography will allow). And there isn't any significant banding, noise or other anomalies to fret over. There is some print wear in the form of specks and debris but it's fleeting.

Mulholland Falls Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

"Here's something that doesn't cost you twenty-five bucks an hour: You carry your own water, Ellery. You understand? You hear me? You carry your own water."

Mulholland Falls offers the same lossless audio track as the 2014 Kino Lorber release. Of it, Orndorf writes "The DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround mix comes across respectfully, though little surround expanse is offered outside of some violent activities and soft atmospherics. The core of the track remains frontal, but the balance between scoring and performance is crisp and defined, with rich instrumentation creating jazzy moods without stepping on the action. Dialogue exchanges are true, sustaining Nolte's growl and the group dynamic. Low-end is sparse but perks up during obvious points of suspense."

Mulholland Falls Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Sandpiper Pictures Blu-ray release, like its 2014 Kino Lorber predecessor, only includes a single theatrical trailer (HD, 2 minutes). Otherwise, this is as barebones as they come.

Mulholland Falls Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"You're much more intelligent than you appear to be, Lieutenant. Must be a big advantage in your field. In my field, everyone was always so desperate to seem cleverer than they were."

I suppose you could do worse than Mulholland Falls but it's too much of a mess to hold up after all these years. It was too much of a mess to hold up in 1996, so there's that too. The cast is stellar but the performances feel lost, with a wandering script that feels like it's missing an entire first act worth of beneficial material. Nor does the endgame justify the melodramatic leadup, leaving viewers with mixed feelings about a lesser period crime drama than its betters, The Untouchables and L.A. Confidential. The Blu-ray release is a mixed experience as well, with a decent but somewhat problematic video transfer, a solid but at-times underwhelming lossless audio track, and a lack of any real supplemental meat on its bones. All told, this one is probably worth skipping, though fans and curious onlookers may not be able to resist.