Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

The Contender Blu-ray Movie Review

A fantastic turn-of-the-century political thriller finally arrives on Blu-ray...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown April 5, 2024

How does one of the best films of 2000, not to mention one of the most intelligently scripted, wholly plausible political thrillers in recent memory, sneak onto Blu-ray without so much as a press release? It's a mystery to be sure. And yet suddenly, without any fanfare, writer/director Rod Lurie's The Contender -- which earned Joan Allen and Jeff Bridges Academy Award nominations -- has finally arrived; its domestic high definition debut nearly two decades late. Distributor Giant Interactive, whose biggest release to date is arguably the excellent 2014 documentary I Am Big Bird, somehow scooped up the rights to the film, which apparently either went unnoticed by Universal (who currently owns the rights to most DreamWorks films) or simply fell between the cracks of two studios butting heads over said rights. Perhaps Paramount. Who can say. What matters is The Contender is available and I'm happy to report its performances are just as powerful and its story and screenplay just as relevant today as they were twenty-four years ago.

When the Vice President dies, the United States' second-term President, Democrat Jackson Evans (Jeff Bridges), is left with the unceremonious task of selecting the next second-in-command. But while he's expected to choose Virginia Governor Jack Hathaway (William Petersen), he decides to make history by nominating the first female VP: Ohio Senator Laine Hanson (Joan Allen, in a career-defining performance). Opposing her nomination is cantankerous Illinois congressman, Republican Sheldon Runyon (producer Gary Oldman, robbed of a Oscar nomination), who's not only a fan of Hathaway, but uncovers a possible skeleton in Hanson's closet: a sorority initiation that ended in a drunken orgy... at which the vice presidential nominee was allegedly photographed. The photograph isn't quite conclusive, which begs the question "did she or didn't she?" Much to the President and his Chief of Staff Kermitt Newman's (Sam Elliott) frustration, Hanson refuses to answer, neither confirming nor denying her participation in the decades-old incident.

Is she standing on principle? Innocently insisting her nomination should be about the present and her current political positions? Attempting to avoid the consequences of her actions? Or is she trying to hide something else? Something more salcious in her past? Is she worthy of the second highest office in the land? Or is she a moral failure that shouldn't represent her country? That's the central mystery to The Contender; one that's quickly revealed to be beside the point, allowing the filmmaker to tackle ambitious topics and hypotheticals about the state of politics in the U.S. without really caring what the answer is ultimately revealed to be. With matter-of-fact cinematography by Denis Maloney and a simmering score from Larry Groupé that perfectly suit both the hushed backroom meetings and massive public hearings of the film, The Contender also stars a who's who of character actors, including Christian Slater, Saul Rubinek, Philip Baker Hall, Robin Thomas, Mike Binder, Kathryn Morris and Kristen Shaw.

Written specifically for Allen, The Contender is clearly constructed around the actress's strengths. But as Laine drifts between demure respect and defiant posturing, Allen graciously allows her male co-stars to threaten to steal the show. I say "threaten" simply because they never quite pull it off (nor should they), leaving the film in the confident hands of its leading lady, whose quiet resolve takes on a life all its own. Hanson's silence, her growing defiance in the face of uglier and uglier accusations and political hackery, is magnetic, making every line she utters in the third act a poignant reminder as to what does and doesn't matter in today's world. Penned during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, The Contender allows Allen to stand tall with almost mythical poise, all while Oldman's Sheldon Runyon licks his chops and continually goes in for a kill he can never seem to make. Bridges may have scored nominations and the most attention (other than Allen), but it's Oldman who grits his teeth and draws blood, crafting one of the more unlikable and sinister political hatchet-men to endanger big-screen democracy. Yes, his secret machinations are quaint and a bit adorable when compared to the rampant, borderline eeevil manipulation, truth-bending and outright lying that occurs in broad daylight in today's Congress, but these are uncivilized politics of a more civilized American age, and Oldman's performance is no worse for the wear.

By film's end, all forces are against Hanson. Even the President, who couldn't care less what the truth turns out to be, confuses his nominee's stubborn refusal to address the scandal-in-the-making as pride rather than principle, aligning everyone on screen against the would-be VP. It's a man's world, and Lurie's screenplay believably pits the entire cast of characters against Hanson in one way or another. Could there be a more potent feminist drama based in U.S. politics circa 2000? Hardly. And yet Allen's Hanson is all at once a faithful wife, a successful professional, an ironclad politician, and a moral force of nature (despite whatever immorality may or may not stain her college years). It's a fine line to walk but The Contender does it with an effortlessness and ease that defy the usual genre trappings and female empowerment tropes. Hanson doesn't prevail by way of clever tricks or one-upping the opposition. She prevails through integrity and perseverance, among many other traits, emerging as a progressive female leader who doesn't have to choose between tradition and the future, forging a path wholly her own and fully within her own agency. If any of that makes you roll your eyes... well, best steer clear of The Contender then.

The Contender Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Contender arrives on Blu-ray with a solid albeit less than perfect 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer that hints at what the film might have been had it received a full overhaul and remaster via the original negative. There's nothing expressly bad here -- certainly nothing that should prevent anyone from taking the plunge -- but there are some shortcomings we should deal with up front. First, the presentation gets off to a shaky start, faring worse in its opening minutes than it does as it goes along. Be patient. Your initial fears will be allayed soon enough. That said, there's sometimes a yellowed-newspaper tone to the palette that points to a dated master, along with some suspicious grain that isn't quite up to high definition snuff. Black levels struggle a bit too, although not enough to bring them out of nitpick territory. Otherwise, The Contender fares surprisingly well for a film that obviously hasn't had a new master minted in a good while. Detail is notable, with (largely) clean edge definition, reasonably well-refined textures and above average shadow delineation. Likewise, colors are pleasing on the whole, with plenty of convincing skintones and primary support lending the image a nice, filmic quality. The transfer has an older aesthetic, more akin to earlier catalog Blu-ray releases that hail from DVD's heyday, but again, there isn't anything here that spoils the proceedings or amounts to much of a distraction. Macroblocking and banding are virtually absent and no other anomalies caught my attention. Maybe I'm just so in the bag for The Contender that I'm being too kind, but I suspect not. And while scoring the presentation with a 3.75 would make me feel better, our system only allows for half-point increments, so I have to pick my poison. Subjectively, a 3.5 seems more accurate than a 4.0, and so it goes.

Note: I haven't had the opportunity to compare this U.S. release (which arrives on a BD-R disc) to the Australian Blu-ray edition of the film (which reportedly features a BD-50 disc). If I get the opportunity, I'll evaluate the Australian release and update this review with any relevant impressions.

The Contender Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Contender's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is more satisfying, despite the fact that its mix is probably just as old as the video master. Dialogue is intelligible and neatly prioritized, offering significant differences in voices spoken within the comfortable silence of the oval office and in competition with the shuffling papers, moving bodies, grumbling politicians and crowds of a large public hearing room. (A few scenes sound slightly thin, with some obvious ADR to boot, but it's never too troublesome.) The rear speakers follow suit, doing a fine job creating a sense of space and place thanks to invisible channel pans, slick directional effects and plenty of immersive subtleties that make each environment sound natural and convincing. LFE output is a bit weak in the knees, but then again, The Contender isn't exactly bursting at the seams with scenes that would be vastly improved by heftier low-end support. All in all, it's a strong lossless outing that rarely disappoints.

The Contender Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Contender's theatrical trailer (SD, 2 minutes) has made its way onto the disc, and it's a BD-R disc at that. Unfortunately, no other special features are included, despite the fact that the previously released early 2000s DVD and the Australian Blu-ray edition of the film offers an audio commentary, deleted scenes with optional commentary, a Joan Allen interview and a behind-the-scenes featurette.

The Contender Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Contender may not be focused on its president, but it ranks high in my list of presidential films thanks to a string of fantastic performances and a genuinely intense battle of wills between Allen's potential Democratic VP and Oldman's ax-grinding Republican congressman. It's old fashioned politics, sure, but twenty-four years after its release, it seems oddly prescient and timely, boasting a showdown that clips along with breathless aggression for what's otherwise a very chatty flick. Giant's Blu-ray release is more of a mixed bag, unfortunately. While its video transfer is solid (despite it practically begging for a remaster) and its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is relatively strong, its BD-R disc and almost complete lack of extras are a disappointment, especially when everything from a commentary to deleted scenes to interviews and more were available on the long-ago released DVD. Purchase with caution, although, honestly, it isn't likely to get any better than this anytime soon. Perhaps the Australian Blu-ray, which includes all the film's extras, is worth the investment. If its video transfer is minted from a better master, one hopefully built from the original elements up, the Australian version is a no-brainer. If it ends up being the same transfer? Then your decision will come down to a disc that won't survive the years as well and a barebones supplemental package that could've been so much more.