The Needle Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Needle Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 14, 2019

Rashid Nugmanov's "The Needle" (1988) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Badlands. The supplemental features on the disc include video introduction by film historian Eugenie Zvonkine; documentary feature; the short film "Yahha" (1986); and more. In Russian, with optional English, French, German, Spanish, and Korean subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The debt collector

Rashid Nugmanov’s film The Needle functions almost exactly like another film from the former Soviet Bloc that I like a lot, Benedek Fliegauf’s Dealer. It is a chameleon that pretends to be something that it is not but does it so well that it can easily be mistaken for an authentic baddie, especially by viewers that have very little knowledge of the reality in which its characters exist. Below, I will point out a couple of things that will make it extremely easy for you to put the events from the film in a proper context.

The time period is very important. It is the late 1980s, sometime after the Kremlin has unchained Kazakhstan and ‘freedom’ has finally arrived in the country. In the old capital of Kazakhstan, Alma-Ata, neon lights have started popping up and there are even night clubs that already play western music and sell Coca-Cola. The change is very real. However, with the arrival of ‘freedom’ the city has also produced its first drug addicts and drug dealers, though they are such a poor bunch that they are using mostly stolen supplies from the local hospitals.

A young man named Moro (Viktor Tsoy) arrives in the city to collect a small amount of money that should have been paid to him a long time ago. He quickly tracks down old ‘friend’ Spartak (Aleksandr Bashirov) who does not have the money but promises that in a few days he will make him happy. While waiting on Spartak to make good on his promise, Moro visits Dina (Marina Smirnova), a girlfriend from the old days, and she invites him to stay in her tiny apartment. However, after a quick round of pleasantries, Moro realizes that she has become a junkie and that the poison she has been injecting has altered her personality. Moro then vows to get her clean, but after he confronts her supplier (Pyotr Mamonov) and destroys some of his precious ampules instantly becomes a target for a gang of shady characters that have been befitting from his business.

In the other film that I mentioned at the top of this article, Dealer, a dying man spends his final hours visiting different corners of Budapest and meeting various people that have played an important role in his life. Because he is a street pusher who has essentially lived in the gutter, the film quickly cuts open the underbelly of the rotten communist paradise that different generations of Hungarians were forced to build after the end of WW2. The films is set in Hungary a couple of decades after the Iron Curtain has collapsed and Hungarians have been given back their ‘freedom’.

The Needle does something very similar in the post-perestroika era in Kazakhstan. Because the time period is different -- and what this implies is that the old Soviet-type communists have not yet openly rebranded themselves as modern socialists and therefore still have the means and power to destroy those that oppose their ideology -- Nugmanov hides the ugly in a story about the modern vices of a ‘free’ society. In other words, one part of the film reveals the awful vacuum that has emerged after the old Soviet order has started crumbling, and another part basically points a finger at the lawlessness and vices that the New Order has brought to the country.

What bring together the two parts is the ‘cool’ vibe that made the film a classic in its home country. Some of it comes from the posturing that Moro and the guys that he clashes with promote, which actually isn’t all that different from the one that you would see for instance in a cult film like Abel Ferrara’s China Girl. Some also comes from the soundtrack that Tsoy and the popular band Kino created.

*This recent release of The Needle features a new remaster of the original 1988 cut of the film. It also includes a slightly longer Remix Version of the film from 2010.

The Needle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.32:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080/50i transfer, Rashid Nugmanov's The Needle arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Badlands.

The film has been recently remastered and even though the transfer is encoded in 1080/50i, the presentation is actually in 1080/25p. In other words, the transfer isn't interlaced but progressive. So, it looks very healthy and overall very stable. It is just a tad softer than I would have expected a new remaster to look, though there is actually quite a bit of stylizing that reminded me of Aleksandr Sokurov's work. (For example, the pale lighting is part of a soft font that is very common for Sokurov's work). On the other hand, there is definitely some digital work that was done and as a result some finer nuances are not optimal. The good news is that overall there is still plenty of nice depth and with the stylization the end result looks mostly pleasing. Colors are stable. Lastly, there are absolutely no age-related imperfections to report.

About the region coding: The release is Region-Free. However, before the main menu there is forced 1080/50i content. Also, the film is encoded in 1080/50i and this basically makes the disc unplayable in North America where 1080/50i is not officially supported. So, you either have to have a Region-Free player or another player that converts 1080/50i to 1080/60i to view the film on a North American TV set. For this reason, the release is marked Region-B "locked" on the site.

The Needle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Russian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English, French, German, Spanish, and Korean subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is very good. There are no traces of age-related deterioraitons and its dynamic intensity is very good. On the other hand, it is very easy to tell that the film was shot with a modest budget and its only meaningful dynamic contrasts usually come whenever there is music.

The Needle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction - a newly filmed introduction to The Needle by film historian Eugenie Zvonkine. In French, not subtitled. (13 min).

• The Needle Remix - presented here is a slightly longer alternate version of The Needle that was prepared in 2010. With Russian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Russian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks, and optional French subtitles. (87 min).

• Yahha (1986) - presented here is Rashid Nugmanov's short film Yahha., which also features the star of The Needle, Viktor Tsoy. Remastered. In Russian, with imposed French subtitles. (36 min).

• Trailer - a brand new trailer for the recent remaster of The Needle. In Russian, with French text. (2 min).

• Souvenir de Vague - this documentary takes a closer look at the evolution of Kazakh cinema and the production history of The Needle. It was produced by film historian Eugénie Zvonkine. In French and Russian, with imposed French subtitles where necessary. (45 min).

• Trailers - two trailers for La Bouche de Jean-Pierre and Hell's Ground, both from Badlands' catalog.

The Needle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Despite its obvious desire to be 'cool', The Needle is a classic time capsule that offers a glimpse at the social vacuum that emerged in Kazakhstan during the post-perestroika era. I am told that it is considered a cult film there, which does not surprise me at all because it has a rebellious spirit that was most definitely not common for Kazakh cinema during, and especially before, the 1980s. This release of The Needle from French label Badlands is sourced from a recent remaster and comes with optional English subtitles. The release is also Region-Free, but because the film is encoded in 1080/50i, which is a format that is not supported in North America, you need to have a player that converts 1080/50i to 1080/60i, or a Region-Free player, in order to access its content. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.