Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

No Mercy Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 20, 2020

Richard Pearce's "No Mercy" (1986) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Mill Creek Entertainment. There are no supplemental features on the disc. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

If you go asking questions in Algiers, they’ll cut your tongue out and throw it in the river.

Werner Herzog is probably a big fan of Richard Pearce’s film No Mercy. In fact, I am convinced he is because what Herzog does in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is almost exactly what Pearce does in his film. The two filmmakers enter the underbelly of an iconic city with a rich history and then utilize its dark aura as a foundation of the stories their films tell. Herzog was the more curious visitor but he also had a major advantage, which was that he was able to shoot in New Orleans shortly after the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. It is why his film has such an incredibly heavy atmosphere -- he was lucky to see the city without the veil that hides its true identity from the crowds of tourists that keep its economy going. Pearce went there at a different time and even used a different route, which means that he had to do a lot of extra work to see what Herzog did.

After he is busted, a small-time hustler confesses to Chicago cop Eddie Jillette (Richard Gere) and his partner Joe Collins (Gary Basaraba) that he was approached with an offer to kill an important man in New Orleans. In a fancy bistro on the outskirts of the city, Jillette meets the hustler’s contact, Paul Deveneux (Terry Kinney), pretending to be the hitman he is waiting for, and after he quickly impresses him the two decide to take a ride in his car to figure out the details of the job. Joe is told to escort Deveneux’s girl, Michel Duval (Kim Basinger), back to her hotel room and wait there until they return. However, shortly after a crew of heavily-armed killers ambushes Deveneux and Jillette, and only the latter escapes alive. Back in the hotel Joe also dies while trying to protect Michel.

With the reluctant blessing of Captain Stemkowski (George Dzundza), Jillette arrives in New Orleans determined to identify the killers of his partner and bring them to justice. After a quick visit to the Deveneux family, however, he rubs some very important people the wrong way and the local authorities put him behind bars. A fuming Stemkowski reappears and negotiates his release, but a local colleague with an attitude (Bruce McGill) warns the visitors that under the circumstances they have less than twenty-four hours to get back to the Windy City. However, the warning has the exact opposite effect on Jillette, and with a special gift from Stemkowski, he heads to Algiers, hoping to track down Michel and have her lead him to the killers.

No Mercy maintains the typical for most Hollywood action thrillers from the ‘80s fast tempo but manages to build a very fine dark atmosphere that ultimately makes it attractive. On top of this, it’s got a macho attitude that forces its two big stars to shine in a rather unexpected way, which is the main reason why back in the day it disappointed folks that expected it to be a romantic tearjerker with a few gunshots.

Gere is particularly good as an angry cop on the warpath and his performance infuses the film with some quite admirable energy of the kind that was common during the ‘70s. A case can easily be made that the final third of the film evokes the spirit of Rolling Thunder, where William Devane‘s war vet also becomes unhinged and destroys some really, really bad characters. Here the biggest meanie is played by Dutch star Jeroen Krabbe, who also looks entirely legit. Bassinger’s performance is solid, but it is a bit difficult to accept her as the stunning beauty that is ‘owned’ by the sadistic nutjob because she routinely looks a lot more elegant and unquestionably smarter than she should. (An illiterate girl would not behave as she does while visiting Chicago).

Pearce and cinematographer Michel Brault must have had terrific communication because the film’s steady tempo and rich dark atmosphere come together wonderfully well. A lush synth-rock soundtrack from Alan Silvestri adds a touch of ‘80s class as well.

No Mercy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, No Mercy arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Mill Creek Entertainment.

The release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by Sony Pictures, which is quite good. However, because it has some limitations, and because the current presentation isn't optimized, it actually can look weaker than it is. For example, the harsher appearance that you see in screencapture #18 can quite easily be avoided with a proper encode, but here it makes the scene look as if it has been digitally manipulated. The harshness is not on the master, it is a byproduct of the encoding. Yes, delineation and depth can be improved, plus some highlights can be rebalanced, but this master has proper organic qualities that make it quite easy to enjoy the film. So, this release could and should have been encoded better. Now, the technical presentation is still fine, and if you compare it to that of the old R1 DVD release that Sony Pictures produced years ago, the difference in quality becomes quite obvious. I personally liked how the film looked on my system, but while viewing the film I just knew the entire time that the presentation easily could have been even better. (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).

No Mercy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Alan Silvestri's synth-rock soundtrack has a huge role in this film and I was relieved to hear how well the lossless track handles it. Then again, I should have expected to hear this type of quality because the current master comes from Sony Pictures. The dialog is clear and stable. There are no balance issues to report either.

No Mercy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Most unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this release.

No Mercy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

No Mercy is a very, very solid action thriller with a killer soundtrack by Alan Silvestri that works perfectly for its chosen dark atmosphere. It would have been great to have this film remastered in 4K and then transferred to Blu-ray, but for now this is the only release we have on the market. It is sourced from an older but fine organic master that was supplied by Sony Pictures. I just wish that the release was encoded better so that the strengths of the master are more pronounced. Regardless, the release is priced right, so if you like the film pick up a copy for your collection. RECOMMENDED.