6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Set in New Orleans. Remy McSwain, lieutenant in Homicide finds that he has two problems, the first of a series of gang killings and Ann Osborne, a beautiful attorney from the D.A.'s police corruption task force .
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Ellen Barkin, Ned Beatty, John Goodman, Lisa Jane PerskyRomance | 100% |
Drama | 94% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Jim McBride's "The Big Easy" (1986) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary recorded by Jim McBride and filmmaker Douglas Hosdale as well as vintage trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Big Easy arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
The release is sourced from an older and most unfortunately very unconvincing master. To be clear, the age of the master is not the main source of its weaknesses. Yes, a lot of the visuals reveal inconsistencies in terms of delineation, clarity, and depth that a proper new 2K/4K master will quite easily address, but I think that most viewers will be pleased with them. The main problem is that this master gives the film a very artificial appearance that produces some obvious anomalies. Why? The party that graded the master appears to have been guessing how the film should look and as a result several primaries are badly mismanaged. For example, blue is almost completely dialed out and replaced with turquoise which produces very strange fluctuations in the native dynamic range of daylight and nighttime visuals. Reds and whites are affected too, though not to the same extent. Unsurprisingly, faces, highlights, daylight, and all sorts of other details and nuances can appear oddly unbalanced. Predictably, even though there are no traces of problematic digital corrections, the visuals often have a digital appearance, not the type of appearance you would expect from a 35mm film. Image stability is good. The surface of the visuals reveals nicks, some blemishes, and even a few tiny black marks. All in all, to look as it should, The Big Easy needs to be redone at least in 2K and properly graded so that it recovers its original theatrical appearance. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I was a bit surprised by the quality of the lossless track. The dialog is easy to follow and quite clear, but the audio tends to sound quite compressed. In select areas, it sounded very thin and almost as if it had clipped high-frequencies. Again, I was able to hear all exchanges, but the unevenness surprised me because these days I rarely encounter such issues with older audio tracks.
Should New Orleans be considered the ultimate setting for a special contemporary neo-noir film? It is very difficult for me to give a definitive answer because I think that there are some desert areas in Arizona, Nevada, and West Texas that effortlessly produce incredible noir atmosphere, but if I had to pick one city that can compete with them New Orleans would be it. This legendary city has a genuine, unmistakable dark aura that is perfect for that kind of genre film. I do not think that The Big Easy takes advantage of it as well as it should have, but I have always had a spot for it in my library. Unfortunately, I think that The Big Easy should look quite different on Blu-ray so that it can be experienced as Jim McBride intended.
1981
Includes Elia Kazan: Outsider 1982 Documentary
1954
2003
2013
1945
2008
1989
1946
1987
2006
1947
1970
1939
Includes "Him", "Her", and "Them" Cuts
2014
2008
Warner Archive Collection
1968
2009
1939
1932
Limited Edition to 3000
1960