6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.6 |
A New York City police sergeant, whose hunger for sex and money prompts him to cheat on his wife and accept payoffs from the mob, meets his match when he becomes involved with the devious female scion of a Moscow crime family.
Starring: Gary Oldman, Lena Olin, Annabella Sciorra, Juliette Lewis, Roy ScheiderThriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Peter Medak's "Romeo is Bleeding" (1993) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new program with the director; new audio commentary by critic Alexandra Heller-Nichols; vintage promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Dirty cop
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Romeo is Bleeding arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute.
The release is sourced from a very dated and inconsistent master that was supplied by MGM. Indeed, despite the occasional decent looking close-ups, virtually all wider panoramic shots and darker footage are disappointingly soft and flat. During nighttime footage there are entire ranges of nuances that struggle to appear as they should, so on a larger screen darker footage usually looks quite underwhelming. There are various backgrounds that are missing native detail, too. I noticed some minor instability in the beginning of the film and in a few areas towards the end. Color balance is good, but a properly graded new 2K/4K master will offer meaningful improvements in terms of saturation and expand a number of different supporting nuances. Some dirt spots, stains, and blemishes can be seen, so the film could look healthier as well. (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).
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 lossless track offers a pretty serious upgrade in quality over the lossy track from the R1 DVD release of Rome is Bleeding. Clarity, sharpness, and dynamic depth are much, much better, so given the important role the superb jazzy soundtrack has in the film, I think that this is a good enough reason to recommend the current Blu-ray release until a better Blu-ray release, or why not 4K Blu-ray release, arrives on the market.
Neo-noir's greatest femme fatale is in this super-stylish film directed by Peter Medak. Also, Mark Isham's sultry soundtrack is a notch above the one Jack Nitzsche cooked up with John Lee Hooker, Miles Davis, Taj Mahal, and Roy Rogers for The Hot Spot. Needless to say, in my book Romeo is Bleeding is a genuine genre masterpiece, and I consider it one of the best films to emerge from the '90s. This recent Blu-ray release from the BFI is sourced from an old and pretty average master, supplied by MGM, that does not do the film justice. To be honest, on it Romeo is Bleeding looks a lot like The Hot Spot did when Shout Factory initially introduced it on Blu-ray. It is crying to be redone in 4K, and if it is released on 4K Blu-ray, it will be a jewel a lot of people will fall in love with again. However, I am going to recommend BFI's release because it has a very, very nice exclusive new program with director Medak in which he discusses his life in communist Hungary, career, and best films, including Romeo is Bleeding. RECOMMENDED.
1994
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