The Midnight Man Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Midnight Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 28, 2019

Roland Kibbee and Burt Lancaster's "The Midnight Man" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive new audio commentary by film historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson and original trailers. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The man from Chicago

How is it that Birdman of Alcatraz received four Oscar nominations and The Midnight Man not even one? The quality of the script and the acting in The Midnight Man are quite simply on an entirely different level. I also wonder if Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson might be onto something when they suggest in the new audio commentary that is included on this release that The Midnight Man feels a lot like a distant relative of Twin Peaks. They are not exaggerating at all, it really does. It is one giant rabbit hole with delicious surprises and some absolutely incredible character arcs that can really make your head spin. I don’t know if David Lynch was in some way inspired by this film, but Berger and Thompson’s comparison is just spot on.

Former Chicago cop Jim Slade (Burt Lancaster) arrives in a small town somewhere in the South where he is offered a job as a night guard in a local community college. This is his chance to reset his life after killing his wife’s lover, surrendering to the authorities, and spending some time in jail.

Shortly after Jim begins using his new uniform someone breaks into the office of Dr. Prichette (Robert Quarry) and steals a stack of confidential tapes. Jim begins asking questions and discovers that one of the tapes was recorded by Natalie Clayborne (Catherine Bach), the daughter of the state’s most prominent senator (Morgan Woodward), and immediately approaches her. At first the girl brushes him off, but later on becomes seriously depressed and Jim realizes that the stolen tape contains sensitive information that she does not want to be revealed. A few hours after their impromptu meeting, however, someone kills Nathalie. Sheriff Casey (Harris Yulin) and his boys then officially begin digging for information and Jim is told to stay away from the murder case.

Initially the veteran cop does precisely that, but when Sheriff Casey attempts to close the case while claiming that a kooky religious pervert (Charles Tyner) with a big stash of pornographic magazines is the killer, he changes his mind. Assisted by his old pal Quartz (Cameron Mitchell), also a cop living in town who has recently busted his leg, and criminal psychologist Linda Thorpe (Susan Clarke), who has started falling in love with him, Jim begins looking for the real killer. His first and most valuable clue is a small note referring to a few classic Greek mythological characters.

The Midnight Man was obviously scripted as a crime thriller, but it does a whole range of different things that actually allow it to freely change its identity literally until the moment when Nathalie’s killer is revealed. Indeed, in a way the murder investigation functions as a ruse that allows the film to focus on some quite complex character transformations that would have been more appropriate for a serious drama. The tone and ambience also shift in unpredictable ways that at times make the action look perfect for an edgy revenge flick. So, together these unconventional enhancements of the murder investigation make the film’s evolution utterly unpredictable. (In the audio commentary Berger and Thompson mention that it might be a good idea to see it two, possibly even three times to get all of the small nuances and tonal shifts and they are absolutely correct. Even with the murder mystery solved, the film still offers plenty of wonderful surprises).

Perhaps the most surprising element of the production is the fact that Lancaster is amongst a formidable group of actors that routinely overshadow him. However, it appears that this is exactly how he and writer/director Roland Kibbee envisioned it, which is also the reason why the many twists and turns never feel like undercooked tricks that were added only to spice up the story.

A top-notch soundtrack by jazz legend Dave Grusin adds another layer of pure class that makes this film a legit classic.

The Midnight Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Midnight Man arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an older remaster that apparently came from Universal's vaults. It has a few rough spots here and there, but it is actually really, really good. There are a few areas where it is easy to tell that density and all of the finer nuances could be even better, but depth and delineation usually range from good to very good. A lot of the darker and nighttime footage also has very pleasing shadow definition. Grain is nicely exposed and there are no traces of the digital tinkering that so many older remasters from Universal's vaults are plagued with, but I would say that a new remaster will offer some meaningful improvements. The color grading is convincing. The primaries are strong and looking healthy, plus there are decent ranges of supporting nuances. Image stability is excellent. I noticed a couple of tiny white flecks, but there are no large debris, cuts, damage marks, warped or torn framers to report. My score is 4.25/5.00. (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).

The Midnight Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitle are provided for the main feature.

The audio is free of age-related anomalies, such as distracting background hiss, hum, and distortions. Depth and clarity are very good. Also, while it is not used to produce any dramatic contrasts, the music actually has a very important role throughout the film and the lossless track offers it plenty of dynamic nuances that will likely surprise some folks. This leads me to believe that when the remaster was prepared, the audio was also fully remixed.

The Midnight Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary - in this new commentary, film historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson share plenty of very interesting information about the film's narrative construction and style, the evolution of the complex relationships between the different characters, Burt Lancaster's career, the era in which the film was conceived and some trends in cinema at the time, etc. The entire commentary is very good and worth listening to.

• Trailers - a gallery of trailers for other releases from Kino Lorber's catalog.

The Midnight Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Anyone that approaches The Midnight Man expecting only a conventional crime thriller will be hugely surprised by its flexibility. This film definitely has some Twin Peaks-esque genes in it and pulls off a number of very impressive tricks that actually look completely legit. On top of this, it's got a massive cast of stars that are at the top of their game. I am really glad that Kino Lorber put out a Blu-ray release of it because it is not that difficult to make a case that it is one of Burt Lancaster's best. The remaster that was used to source the release is older but healthy. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.