The Blue Knight Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

The Blue Knight Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Randy Miller III November 10, 2019

Based on Joseph Wambaugh's eponymous novel released only nine months earlier, Robert Butler's The Blue Knight (1973) established a strong footprint for book-to-small-screen adaptations. This realistic cop drama carried a broadcast running time of roughly four hours, including commercials, and was originally shown on NBC TV over as many nights. Leading man William Holden -- famous for a long and extremely prolific film career which included Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17, Sabrina, and The Bridge on the River Kwai -- stars as officer Bumper Morgan, a 20-year veteran of the LAPD who finally sets his sights on an early retirement. Although firmly committed to patrolling the streets and maintaining a dominant but respected presence in his community, Bumper's recent engagement to sparkling college professor Cassie Walters (Lee Remick, Anatomy of a Murder) seems to be the biggest reason for his sudden change of heart.

The Blue Knight is clearly inspired by Dragnet's realistic portrait of the LAPD, not to mention big-screen cop dramas such as The French Connection, and heavily favors the latter's more raw and colorful atmosphere. As such, the catalyst for Bumper's turbulent final week is the murder of a prostitute who doubled as one of his informants. The brutal killing was done by a man with very specific motives and that, combined with Bumper's dislike of the department's homicide division (specifically Detective Charlie Bronski, portrayed by a young Sam Elliott) fuels his dedication to working outside usual boundaries. Bumper's interactions with those on his regular beat, from business owners to residents, show him to be extremely well-respected and largely in control of the local landscape. This murder seems to upset that fragile balance, while his tender relationship with Cassie reveals a much less guarded part of his personality.

It's a fascinating character study, all things considered, and the extended format of its source material allows plenty of room for the plot to breathe -- maybe too much, if you've become accustomed to the more streamlined and quick-cut nature of police dramas in recent decades. Though it originally aired over a four-night period back in 1973, The Blue Knight is actually structured as two parts; just over 90 minutes apiece, with each half carrying its own opening and closing credits. It's a format that's been preserved perfectly on Warner Archive Collection's Blu-ray edition, which holds the entire production -- and nothing else, unfortunately -- on one dual-layered disc. Still a fantastic value for die-hard fans clinging to homemade VHS recordings, as this marks The Blue Knight's first official home video release.

The Blue Knight Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original made-for-TV aspect ratio of 1.33:1, The Blue Knight looks exceptional on Blu-ray. This is a presentation that far exceeds anything seen on broadcast television during the past four decades, largely because it was originally shot on film and the interpositive has been given a recent 2K scan. Additional cleanup was also applied from start to finish, all but eliminating any major signs of dirt and debris. As usual, Warner Archive Collection employs a purist approach to their restoration efforts, using little to no noise reduction that allows its transfer to retain a pleasing amount of natural film grain. This in turn leads to much more consistent image and texture detail, further enhanced by a bit of tasteful color correction along the way. A handful of scenes still clearly lean towards yellow...but not only is this perfectly acceptable given the era in which The Blue Knight was filmed, but die-hard fans will probably be used to this facet of its appearance. Since The Blue Knight was never released on DVD, WACs Blu-ray represents a giant leap forward in quality for those only familiar with broadcast airings or homemade VHS recordings.

The Blue Knight Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Warner Archive's DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio preserves the film's one-channel roots perfectly, serving up a very deep and full-bodied experience at times. Dialogue and other on-set recordings come through clearly for the most part, with only a handful of scenes sounding muffled or even slightly clipped at the high end -- but in keeping with The Blue Knight's realistic atmosphere, it doesn't detract from the experience. Nelson Riddle's era-appropriate original score enjoys a solid amount of dynamic range and respectable low end that gives bass lines and percussion lots of much-needed weight. It's a terrific effort overall that's right in line with the Blu-ray's excellent visual presentation.

Surprisingly, no optional subtitles are included during the main feature. Whether this was a one-time oversight or simply not a regular WAC staple like more recent releases is unknown, but it's definitely disappointing.

The Blue Knight Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Blue Knight arrives in a standard keepcase with dull but serviceable cover art. As this was a made-for-TV movie with no prior DVD release, it's not surprising that Warner Archive's Blu-ray includes no on-disc bonus features.

The Blue Knight Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Robert Butler's The Blue Knight was a landmark TV mini-series made during star Wlliam Holden's lengthy career comeback, right between the career exclamation points of The Wild Bunch and Network. Although far from a one-man show, Holden appears in almost every scene and imbues this two-part production with plenty of emotion, pathos, and passion. His presence, combined with the extended running time afforded by this format, allows The Blue Knight to breathe in a way that feature films don't always get to -- but newcomers may find it a bit padded at times (especially if both parts are watched in one sitting), largely because the television landscape has changed so drastically since 1973. It still holds up just fine overall, and Warner Archive Collection's Blu-ray supports the main feature quite well with a terrific A/V presentation. Sadly the lack of subtitles and extras holds this disc back from a stronger recommendation, but The Blue Knight is still well worth picking up for die-hard fans and interested newcomers alike.