Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		2.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

The Laughing Policeman Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf October 24, 2016

1972’s “The Laughing Policeman” is all about procedure. Director Stuart Rosenberg maintains a chilly atmosphere of observation for this thriller, with stars Walter Matthau and Bruce Dern as San Francisco cops on the hunt for a killer who samples terroristic intent as he commits mass murder on city buses. Although the premise encourages hysterics, “The Laughing Policeman” keeps its cool, hoping to achieve the unexpected through patience, which allows the effort to explore rather sophisticated characterization.

“The Laughing Policeman” bleeds blue. It’s a cop movie from start to finish, following the main characters as they follow clues, interview suspects, and attempt to wrap their minds around an act of ultraviolence that claims one of their own. It’s an adaptation of a novel, and Rosenberg preserves a literary feel to the effort, which is always more invested in personalities and motivation over straight-up action, though shoot-outs and chases arrive periodically. More visceral distractions are welcome, but the emotional undercurrent of the feature is remarkable at times, touching on cynicism and loss while still maintaining supercop-ish elements as the police zero in on a culprit.

The Laughing Policeman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving with noticeable age, the AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "The Laughing Policeman" isn't dire, but it certainly could use a more recent scan and general refreshing. Colors retain period limitations, favoring yellows and browns, but vividness is dimmed, with hues lacking snap. Skintones remain natural. Detail is acceptable without overall cinematographic sharpness, preserving set decoration and thespian close-ups, and urban distances remain open for inspection. Delineation battles solidification on occasion. Source shows some wear and tear, with minor scratching and speckling detected throughout.

The Laughing Policeman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix is also limited by age, finding dialogue exchanges mostly thin, making surges in emotion more crispy than defined. Scoring cues fare a little better, locating the jazzy mood with passable instrumentation. Atmospherics are fine, finding crowd activity and street encounter intelligible.

The Laughing Policeman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features film historians Lou Pfeiffer, Eddy Friedfeld, and Paul Scrabo.

• Interview (8:28, HD) with Paul Koslo is a brief discussion of the on-set vibe, where the actor was introduced to thespian shenanigans between Matthau and Dern.

• Animated Image Montage (2:00) collects publicity materials and promotional pictures.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (3:35, SD) is included.

The Laughing Policeman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Laughing Policeman" is dated, with an iffy but period-specific view of San Francisco gay culture, but ugliness isn't encouraged. The picture is more invested in the path to justice, which is populated with antagonistic types and oddballs, complicating the slow crawl of police work. While it doesn't satisfy cravings for sustained excitement, "The Laughing Policeman" finds more nuance and grit than the average procedural.