6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Police officer Newman has not gotten the reputation of a straight arrow by avoiding conflict when fighting for right. His honesty is put to a strong test when he and his partner discover an international drug ring involving some of the police department's highest ranking officers.
Starring: George Peppard, Eugene Roche, Gordon Pinsent, Abe Vigoda, Louis ZorichCrime | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Richard T. Heffron's "Newman's Law" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include remastered vintage trailer and radio spots for the film as well as an exclusive new audio commentary by critic and author Peter Tonguette. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Take 'em all out
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Newman's Law arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
The release is sourced from a recent, very good new 2K master. Because of the nature of the original cinematography there are some noticeable density and clarity fluctuations. Depth can also be impacted, even during well-lit footage, so some nuances can appear underexposed. However, it is pretty easy to tell that in some areas fine nuances are just not optimal, and this could be an inherited limitation. (To be perfectly clear, this is the type of limitation that separates masters that have been struck from the OCN and masters that have been struck from a secondary element, like an interpositive). There are no traces of problematic digital corrections, but for the same reasons that I have highlighted above at times grain can appear a bit underexposed. The color grading job is excellent. The primaries are lush, stable, and healthy. There are good and equally convincing supporting nuances as well. Image stability is very good. Lastly, a few blemishes remain, but there are no distracting large debris, damage marks, cuts, warped or torn frames to report. All in all, the new master offers a solid and really quite pleasing organic presentation of the film. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
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 audio is very healthy. Because large portions of the film have documentary qualities the audio can fluctuate a bit, especially during mass chase or action scenes. However, the basics -- clarity, sharpness, and depth -- are still solid. The typically vulnerable upper register is healthy as well. The dialog is clean and very easy to follow.
As far as I am concerned, Newman's Law is the perfect companion piece to Badge 373. These films tell similarly powerful stories about tough old-school cops who refuse to compromise with the wrong people, plus both have the same quasi-documentary '70s edgy look. The two are equally allergic to political correctness as well, though it looks so now because they were conceived in an era when filmmakers had entirely different understandings of what can and cannot be done before the camera. Kino Lorber's release of Newman's Law is sourced from a wonderful recent 2K master that was prepared by Universal Pictures. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
2023
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