Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

The Company Blu-ray Movie Review

The epic TNT miniseries appears on Blu-ray in a package worth discovering.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 24, 2007

They say there are seven thousand spies in Berlin, all ready to put down cold cash for secrets.

Indeed, secrets abound in this nearly five hour miniseries that spans the entirety of the Cold War, a war fought not on battlefields but rather in offices, not with bullets but rather with deception, and not with generals but rather with spies. The Company attempts to bring us this story, condensing more than 30 years worth of history into the search for one "mole" who has infiltrated the West and is feeding information in secret to the East. What we get with The Company is the Cold War in a nutshell, one of the most dangerous and world-shaping events in human history told through the eyes of several men trying to make sense of the convoluted world of espionage and counter-espionage, a world where friends can become enemies in a heartbeat and where nobody can be trusted.

Filming this series really took a toll on Chris O'Donnell

The Company boasts a fairly good cast, featuring Chris O'Donnell (Vertical Limit), Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2), and Michael Keaton (1989's Batman). As the series opens, Jack McCauliffe (O'Donnell), a young, fresh faced, straight out of Yale CIA (otherwise known as "The Company") operative is stationed in war-ravaged Berlin with veteran Company man Harvey "the Sorcerer" Torriti (Molina). Word comes from a potential Eastern defector that a mole (a double agent) has infiltrated MI-6, the British intelligence service, and thus begins the plot of the series. Who is this mole? What does he know? Is he in a position to glean secrets only known to those in the highest echelons of power? James Angleton (Keaton), a trust nobody, paranoid counterintelligence chief, wants to know and orders them to bring the man with the information in. However, the KGB raids the CIA's hideout, ruining plans to bring in the defector. As the story progresses, we find that one of McCauliffe's college friends, Yevgeny Tsipin (Rory Cochrane) has joined the KGB and is stationed in America as a Soviet spy. A game of chess ensues as both sides fight to either discover or protect the mole, all the while he is feeding information to the Soviets about the American response to the Hungarian uprising, the Bay of Pigs invasion, and the Vietnam conflict. Failures at every turn lead McCauliffe to believe that there is indeed a mole among the highest of levels in the intelligence community. As the series progresses through the late 1980s, with the end of the Cold War imminent, will the identity of the mole be revealed?

As a historian (well, I played one in college), I was eagerly anticipating reviewing The Company. It's a good series, and one I will revisit in the future. Even for someone who is fascinated by this era, however, I found I needed to be in the right frame of mind to watch and review this. Finally, I found 5 hours to watch it, and I was not quite as engaged as I thought I would be throughout. The series is long and packs quite a bit of information in, and it is at times a little hard to follow. I found the identity of the mole to be fairly predictable, even when a plot twist suggested otherwise. Nevertheless, the intriguing plot line and well crafted characters set against one of the most tumultuous backdrops in history make for a thrilling, if at times a tad slow, miniseries. This engaging and exciting series is certainly worth your time if any one of espionage, action, political thrillers, or the Cold War are your cup of tea.

The Company Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Company, presented in 1080p in a 1.78:1 frame, proved to be a challenge to assess visually. Filmed in a drab, nearly sepia tone, the image certainly doesn't jump off the screen and it never looks especially great, but the fine detail throughout is what sells this transfer as a solid, dependable high definition image. Close-ups fared very well. Every pore, hair, blemish, and scar on each individual's face is clearly visible resulting in a very lifelike image. Flesh tones never stray from natural. There were several minor issues throughout that distract. Black levels are very inconsistent. At times they are solid and at times they are too bright and gray resulting in an overly bright, washed out image. I also noticed some edge enhancement in places. Haloing was an issue in several shots as well. Much of the time The Company fares very well. The image is generally sharp with amazing detail and clarity. Issues do arise, however, leaving this transfer wanting as an overall presentation.

The Company Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Company is presented with both a lossless PCM 5.1 track as well as a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. The overall experience here was solid but not extraordinary. Much of The Company is dialogue driven and it sounds just fine. The sound field is not quite as immersive as I would have hoped for, even during action sequences. There is never a lot of opportunity for natural ambience as much of the show takes places in drab offices, interrogation rooms, and covert operations centers. The second episode is where the track shines, as it features both the Hungarian uprising against the Soviet Union and the Bay of Pigs invasion. Gunfire scenes thump with authority and put you in the middle of the action. Explosions are bass heavy with the appropriate thump, and surrounds are active with action. This is a very solid audio track that is the perfect compliment to The Company.

The Company Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This set of supplements is rather skimpy and lacking the depth one would expect for such an ambitious and well-done series. Declassified: The Origins of 'The Company' (480p, 15:46) features cast and crew discussing the story of The Company, the history behind the original book and script, breaking a long story down for the miniseries, and the uniqueness of each part.

The Hidden Hand: The Making of 'The Company' (480p, 23:30) is an overview of the making of the series. It's a basic piece that delves into the typical information generally presented in such a feature. Perhaps the most interesting aspect deals with the selection of the director for the series, the hardship of one director working on a six hour project, and Ridley Scott's level of involvement in the series.

A 1080p trailer for Spider-Man 3 and a 1080p Blu-ray promotional montage piece round out this set of supplements.

The Company Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Company is fine entertainment. It's solid all around, at times riveting, but at times dragging. Though a made for television series, it boasts first-rate production values, fine acting, and good entertainment. This Blu-ray presentation of The Company is sure to please fans. Both audio and video quality are representative of what we have come to expect from a better than average Blu-ray release. Neither will knock your socks off, but The Company is more of a thinking man's series and not a mindless shoot-em-up, oftentimes the type of movie ideally suited to superior audio and video production. The included supplements are severely lacking. A series this ambitious is certainly more deserving of more in-depth extras, but then again, nothing is perfect. I'm recommending this series to those interested in more intellectual entertainment.