On the Yard Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

On the Yard Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 13, 2022

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of On the Yard / A Walk on the Moon.

If the name Raphael D. Silver rings any (silver?) bells at all for film fans, it may be in his role as producer for his wife Joan Micklin Silver's films Hester Street, Crossing Delancey, Between the Lines and the recently reviewed (and to my point of view criminally underrated) A Fish in the Bathtub. Silver (this one, not his spouse) also did rack up two directing credits, and Cohen Media Group, which has released several of Joan Micklin Silver's films on Blu-ray (including a couple that I just linked to) is now releasing that pair together on one disc, which may help to remedy a certain anonymity that cloaked the name of Raphael D. Silver. Both of the films in this set are generally low key dramas in unusual settings which nonetheless can suddenly erupt into violence, and they have the same attention to character detail that is often found in the films of Joan Micklin Silver.

Some cult television lovers may remember a well regarded made for tv film called The Glass House, which bore the literary imprimatur of Truman Capote as its writer, but which offered some fantastic performances from the likes of Alan Alda, Vic Morrow and Kristoffer Tabori, in a story of newcomers to a state prison facility.* For anyone who does remember The Glass House, a lot of On the Yard will probably seem at least somewhat familiar, as it, too, documents the lives of both prisoners and guards in a state prison facility, and also like The Glass House, it has the seal of authenticity in that not only was it filmed in an actual prison (in this case, one in Pennsylvania), it actually features real inmates as extras.

There's definitely a quasi-vérité feeling to On the Yard as a result, with a story that intertwines the lives of several inmates, including one who is at least somewhat like the Alan Alda character in The Glass House, in that he seems like an upwardly mobile type who made a disastrously wrong decision. That character is Paul Juleson (John Heard), who soon finds himself running afoul of "business deals" within the ranks of the prison population (both inmates and guards), soon having to deal with a perceived head honcho in the inmate group, Chilly (a near unrecognizable young Thomas G. Waites in his first feature film role). There's an inexorable march toward tragedy for any number of characters here, including hapless Red (Mike Kellin), who keeps getting turned down for parole.

This is therefore an unabashedly sad viewing experience a lot of the time, but it bristles with a certain feral energy and it offers showcases for a huge ensemble cast which also includes stalwarts like Lane Smith and James Remar.

*The production actually shot in my birth state of Utah at the Utah State Penitentiary which would soon become infamous as the site of the execution of Gary Gilmore ( real trivia lovers may recall a now disparaged "hymn" sung on Saturday Night Live back in the day entitled "Let's Kill Gary Gilmore for Christmas"). For some reason my father, a relatively prominent Army Major General in Salt Lake City, was invited to meet the cast and crew one day, and as any dutiful father might, he brought his movie obsessed son home some autographs. I know I have Alda and Morrow, and if memory services, maybe Clu Gulager, who was also in the cast.

On the Yard Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

On the Yard is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of the Cohen Film Collection, an imprint of Cohen Media Group, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. (As with many recent Cohen releases, this is subbranded with Classics of American Cinema.) As tends to be the case with Cohen releases, there's really no technical information imparted on the cover, though the trailer included as this disc's sole supplement mentions a "digital restoration". This is by and large a very organic looking presentation, but the color timing can be a little wonky looking, some of which I'm actually thinking is due to the omnipresent greenish walls and harsh yellow lighting in the prison. But even in some of the outdoor scenes, things can skew slightly toward green tones. All of that said, detail levels tend to be very good, with only a few very dimly lit scenes in the prison not offering much in the way of shadow definition. Grain resolves naturally and helps to give the film an appropriately gritty texture. My score is 3.75.

On the Yard Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Perhaps the filming conditions contributed to a somewhat brash sounding high end on this disc's DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track. With an overall boxy sound and the strident highs, this can occasionally be a little problematic at higher amplitudes. Dialogue is nonetheless delivered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

On the Yard Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As mentioned above, both of these films are packaged on one disc, and the only supplement included is:

• On the Yard Trailer (HD; 1:10)

On the Yard Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are a few narrative and especially pacing issues that On the Yard faces, but the film has a relentless (if dour) momentum that should certainly capture the interest of anyone who is a fan of the large and varied cast. Technical merits are generally solid, and On the Yard comes Recommended.