Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Nightwing Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 29, 2021

Arthur Hiller's "Nightwing" (1979) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include new audio commentary by critics Lee Gambin and Amanda Reyes; audio essay by professor John Edgar Browning; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

One man's superstition is another man's religion

Do you recall how excited people were when the first promotional stills for Jan Kounen’s Blueberry emerged? Many began speculating that it would be a cinematic event of the kind that we hadn’t seen in decades. The original material from Moebius was great, the cast looked right, and after Dobermann it simply felt like Kounen was destined to produce a film that would instantly be certified a genre classic. A lot of people genuinely believed that something very, very special was about to happen, and when the first trailer for Blueberry arrived, the buzz became almost unbearable. However, a few months later the film opened theatrically in Europe and the first reviews that trickled out were, to put it mildly, quite discouraging. Then more people saw the film and gradually a consensus was formed that Kounen not only had not met the expectations, but might have produced a genuine turkey. But I wasn’t convinced that it was so, and as soon as the film made it to DVD, I imported a copy so that I can see it and find out what the truth was. (It took a long time for this film to reach the U.S., so this was the only way to see it early. You had to purchase a foreign DVD release, and mine came from Asia). Blueberry turned out to be exactly the film I thought it would be, and I wish to quickly explain why because a lot of people disliked it for the same reason a few decades earlier another, much older, group of people did not enjoy Arthur Hiller’s Nightwing.

The biggest ‘problem’ with Blueberry is that it does not play by the rules and rather quickly evolves into a big hedonistic headtrip. It’s got quite a bit of exotic action and adventures, but they are essentially bait that is supposed to draw people to a project that instantly would have been rejected if Kounen had advertised its true identity. In other words, the Moebius connection that initially put the film on the radar of these curious people isn’t entirely legit. I knew that it was so as soon as I saw the first trailer, but was unsure precisely what Kounen had cooked up. Now, I am not trying to describe a misunderstood masterpiece to you because Blueberry isn’t that kind of a film. Rather, I want you to understand why some people felt that it did not meet the expectations -- they went to see it anticipating escapist entertainment of the highest caliber and ended up enduring a mind-bender that could have made perfect sense only if prior to entering the cinema they had taken a decent dose of peyote. The film does have plenty of flaws, but this is basically the reason why these people declared it a flop.

Arthur Hiller’s Nightwing comes from a different era and is a much smaller film than Blueberry, but it disappointed many people for the exact same reason. If you look at the original poster that was created for it you will see a woman attacked by bats under a dark sky, which obviously prepares for an experience with a spooky horror film. But this isn’t what Nightwing is. Yes, there are some pretty straightforward horror thrills in it, but its story is about Indian mysticism and superstitions, possibly even the ability of Mother Nature to punish when men begin to challenge her superiority. Also, in the second half Hiller shoots a lot like Kounen does in Blueberry -- the main conflicts begin to fade away and the film enters a territory where the logical and the illogical merge to produce another headtrip. The only crucial difference is that eventually Hiller brings his film back to a place where everything makes sense again.

I am unsure if I should say anything else about Nightwing because I don’t want to spoil it. Nick Mancuso plays his Indian character very well and in a few of the crucial sequences actually does look stoned. Stephen Macht is his ideological nemesis and arguably the weakest link. David Warner does a good job as the slightly mad exterminator, though it feels like he is underused. Kathryn Harrold’s only flaw is that even with the worn-out clothing she still looks a bit too glamorous under the scorching sun.

Hiller partnered with cinematographer Charles Rosher Jr. (3 Women), who captures the beauty and dangers of the desert in a rather impressive fashion. You can instantly tell that someone did quite a bit of scouting work because some of the big rocks are stunning. The original soundtrack came from Henri Mancini.

Nightwing 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, Nightwing arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by Sony Pictures. This master has some rough spots and some standard limitations, but overall looks pretty good. For example, the darker footage has looser grain of the type that impacts delineation (see screencapture #20). During outdoor footage occasionally finer nuances being to struggle as well (see screencapture #21). Select color nuances should be expanded and better balanced, especially in darker footage where shadow nuances should be a lot more diverse. But there are no traces of problematic digital work, and this is basically the main reason why very large areas of the film look quite nice. Depth and clarity, for instance, can range from good to very good. Image stability is good as well. Fluidity can be improved, but on a larger screen the visuals still look pleasing. A few small blemishes can be spotted, but there are no distracting large cuts, marks, warped or torn frames to report. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Nightwing Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is clean and stable. I am quite certain that when the current master was prepared the folks at Sony Pictures transferred the audio and then optimized as best as possible. I did not any anomalies to report in our review. The existing range of dynamics is very good, so I actually do not think that there is any room for meaningful improvements.

Nightwing Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - vintage trailer for Nightwing. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Commentary - critics Lee Gambin and Amanda Reyes recall their initial encounters with Nightwing and discuss its tone and atmosphere, the manner in which it merges elements from different genres, some of the casting choices, etc.

• Oil and the (Geo)Politics of Blood - audio essay by professor John Edgar Browning. Read by the author.

• Booklet - a collector's booklet featuring essays by critics Lee Gambin and Craig Ian Mann, as well as technical credits.

Nightwing Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Despite claims to the contrary, Nightwing isn't a political horror film. It is a good old-fashioned but still somewhat unusual '70s genre mind-bender that uses Indian mysticism to see the reality we exist in from a slightly different angle. It does rehash a few tired cliches about the Old West, but I enjoyed it quite a lot. It is a surprisingly beautifully lensed film as well. So, Nightwing is included in this double-feature release from Eureka Entertainment, together with George McCowan's Shadow of the Hawk. RECOMMENDED.