State of Grace Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

State of Grace Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 19, 2015

Phil Joanou's "State of Grace" (1990) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Second Sight Films. The supplemental features on the disc include new video interviews with the American director and actor Ed Harris. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"Check 'em out, Pat. Find this DeMarco guy Jackie says did the hit."

A close-up of Sean Penn’s face right before John Turturro hands him the bag with the guns reveals pretty much everything one needs to know about his character, Terry Noonan. His eyes are tired and it is easy to tell that he has been through a lot. When he looks at the city, it is even easier to tell that he has a history with the people that live there. State of Grace is about Terry and his relationship with these people.

They are all Irish and have not seen Terry in a long time. Jackie (Gary Oldman), Terry’s best friend, is so excited to see him again that he immediately leaves the guys he has been drinking with and takes him up to their old spot on the roof. It is a glorious spot and Terry can instantly tell that the neighborhood has changed, but so has Jackie. After he gives Terry a cold beer, Jackie pulls out a pair of severed hands from his freezer. Then, while smiling, casually reveals that his brother, Frankie (Ed Harris), is running the show now because all of the old bosses had terrible accidents.

Later on, Terry meets Kathleen (Robin Wright), Jackie’s sister. In a desperate attempt to forget a disappointing past and regain he independence, Kathleen has started working in an upscale hotel somewhere in the city, but her plan hasn’t worked out as intended. While talking to Terry, her eyes quickly reveal that she never stopped caring about him.

Frankie also cares about Terry, but in a different way. After they meet in his quiet suburban home in New Jersey, Frankie orders his right-hand man, Pat (R.D. Call), to keep an eye on him.

When Jackie’s best friend, Stevie (John C. Reilly), is killed, Frankie is asked by a big Italian gangster (Joe Viterelli) to start showing more respect if he wishes to do business with him. Frankie agrees, but shortly after Jackie goes berserk, kills a few Italians, and all hell breaks loose.

The biggest weakness of Phil Joanou’s State of Grace is its distributor's unwise decision to release it theatrically around the same time Martin Scorsese’s GoodFellas opened up. They are both very fine films, but GoodFellas had much bigger support from Warner Bros. and received far greater exposure that effecitvely overshadowed State of Grace.

A couple of years ago, in an exclusive interview, Joanou revealed that a longer and substantially more violent version of State of Grace was initially screened for top brass at Orion. State of Grace doesn’t need more violence, but it would have been great if this longer version was still around. What makes State of Grace special is the tremendous energy that is channeled through it and Joanou's comments in the interview suggest that the cut material had a lot more of it.

A direct comparison with GoodFellas quickly creates the impression that State of Grace could have been polished better. However, the roughness -- both in terms of tone and visual appearance -- is unquestionably what keeps State of Grace looking fresh and modern. In fact, it could easily pass for an early James Gray project because it hits hard and fast without revealing concern for the audience's approval. This is how modern gangster films should be made. (For reference, see Gray's Little Odessa and The Yards).

U2 had promised to score State of Grace but could not finish Achtung Baby on time and Joanou was forced to improvise. The great maestro Ennio Morricone agreed to compose the score for State of Grace after Joanou screened it for him in his private theater in Rome. The entire score is sensational, but the melancholic opening theme is among the very best Morricone did for a contemporary film.

State of Grace 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, Phil Joanou's The State of Grace arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Second Sight Films.

The release is sourced from a pre-existing master -- which is the same master that was used for the U.S. release -- with some limitations. Generally speaking, detail and clarity are rather pleasing. The majority of the daylight footage, in particular, typically has decent depth. However, during the darker/nighttime footage shadow definition isn't as convincing as it should be (see screencaptures #7 and 8). As a result, a lot of the darker footage could look somewhat flat and anemic. Contrast levels remain stable, but during some of the daylight sequences it is easy to see that balance should be better (this is a frequent limitation on older masters). Colors are stable, but ideally there should be a bigger range of nuances and saturation should be better. Perhaps the best news here is that there are no traces of problematic recent denoising and sharpening adjustments. The grain is visible, but light in a few areas it could be a tad loose. Image stability is very good. Finally, there are no large damage marks, debris, cuts, or stains, but a few tiny flecks and dirt spots can be seen. All in all, the film does have a slightly dated appearance, but the technical presentation is in fact decent. 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).

State of Grace Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the 2.0 track. Depth is good, but there are areas of the film where clarity fluctuates a bit. During many of the outdoor sequences in city the some of the unevenness is obviously part of the film's original sound design, but I think that if the audio is remastered there will be some very obvious improvements in terms of balance. On the other hand, Ennio Morricone's beautiful score easily opens up the film in all the right places. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in our review.

State of Grace Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Ed Harris on State of Grace - in this new video interview, Ed Harris quickly explains how he became involved with State of Grace, and discusses his work with Gary Oldman, Phil Joanou's work, and the film's critical reception. The interview was conducted exclusively for Second Sight Films by Gary Hertz and produced by Carl Daft and David Gregory. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Directing a Bunch of Gangsters - in this excellent new video interview, director Phil Joanou recalls how he was offered the script for State of Grace by Orion, and discusses the casting process (with some excellent comments about his interactions with Gary Oldman, Sean Penn, and Ed Harris), some of the locations in New York City where important sequences were shot, the initial screening of the rough cut of the film and its editing, the soundtrack of the film and U2 and Ennio Morricone's involvement with with it, the film's critical reception, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Second Sight films by David Gregory and produced by Carl Daft. In English, not subtitled. (23 min).

State of Grace Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The fate of Phil Joanou's State of Grace is very similar to that of Gary Fleder's Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead. It came out at the wrong time and had to compete with another similarly-themed film that enjoyed much bigger studio support. I saw State of Grace when it came out in the early 1990s and thought that it was a very good film with a sensational soundtrack by Ennio Morricone. I have not changed my mind. In fact, I think that in many ways State of Grace looks even stronger and more stylish now. It would have been great if it was fully remastered before it transitioned to Blu-ray, but this is a fine release. RECOMMENDED.