The Night Manager Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

The Night Manager Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 5, 2016

Life is full of moments, most of them of the mundane, daily grind variety, many repetitive and dull, but occasionally, maybe once in a lifetime, there's that defining turning point that might be preplanned but oftentimes seems to come out of nowhere. It's a force of fate event that brings with it great upheaval, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, but sure to change the very direction and essential fabric of one's lifeline. Such is the beginnings of The Night Manager, the story of a seemingly obscure nobody working the overnight shift in a Cairo hotel when he's suddenly handed a selection of documents that will change everything he knows about himself and how he operates in the world. The six-part miniseries debuted on BBC One and, later, on AMC in the United States to rave reviews. The story translates well to Blu-ray where the format allows for a rapid-fire binge session of a show that's amongst the fastest six hours in modern entertainment.

The Night Manager.

Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) woks the night shift at a Cairo hotel. The year is 2011, and violent protests have erupted all over the city. Guests are panicked, particularly when confrontations are all but spilling into the hotel's lobby. One evening, with the backdrop of violence practically outside the door, Pine is approached by a VIP guest named Sophie (Aure Atika) who requests he copy a small selection of documents. He points her to another source, but she insists he perform the task. He notices almost immediately that the documents reveal large numbers of military grade armaments -- small arms, artillery, tanks, planes, even chemical -- that are undoubtedly being moved and maneuvered for nefarious purposes. The ledger is from a company called "Ironlast" that's run by a tycoon named Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie). Pine hands the documents over to the authorities, which brings violence to the hotel's front door. Some time later, moved on from violent Cairo to snowy Switzerland, Pine is recruited by the very agency to which he delivered the documents, by an operative named Angela Burr (Olivia Colman), to rewrite his past and go undercover and infiltrate Roper's inner circle to thwart further underhanded weapons deals that could cost countless innocents their lives.

The Night Manager peddles classically styled wares, an honest, high impact, old-fashioned Thriller with the detail of a well-resaeasrched and smartly crafted novel and the spit and polish the visual medium affords it. The series tells a crisp, efficient story projected in a manner befitting, one that plays with high yield technical shine but also an excellent balance between strongly paced intensity and relaxed examination into its world. Action is well constructed but drama is even more engrossing. The show at times feels as if it's a James Bond story expanded beyond the limits of a traditional film and allowed to explore its world with greater scrutiny and intensity. There's less frenetic energy -- it would be more of a classically styled Bond -- and less high yield action, but the core feels very much in that same vein. It's smart and enthralling, made complete by a fantastic lead performance from Tom Hiddleston, effortlessly shedding his Marvel Universe identity and falling into the role with ease. The character's multifaceted layers are impressively built and executed. The air of confidence defines the character at the core, but beyond that it's Hiddleston's ability to play the part, early on, with a blend of professional courtesy and gradually increasing inner revulsion as he's first directly introduced into the world of his would-be adversary, and as he grows into the part beyond his established "day" job and building towards his destiny. Opposite is a very good effort from Hugh Laurie, met by another quality performance by Elizabeth Debicki.

The following parts comprise The Night Manager. Summaries are courtesy of the Blu-ray packaging (spoilers follow).

Disc One:

• Episode 1: Hotel night manager Jonathan Pine receives a plea for help from a well-connected guest. His actions draw him into the world of Richard Roper, a businessman and arms dealer.
• Episode 2: On the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, Roper's life of luxury and calm is shattered. Six months earlier, Burr continues her recruitment of Pine, sending him to Devon to build his cover story.
• Episode 3: While he continues to recuperate in Roper's villa, Pine starts to dig up secrets about the other members of the household. Meanwhile, Burr and Steadman seize an opportunity to recruit a new asset.

Disc Two:

• Episode 4: Roper welcomes Pine into his inner circle, leaving Corky out in the cold. Meanwhile, Burr has concerns for the safety of her source when she suspects key information has been leaked to the River House.
• Episode 5: A suspicious Roper gathers his entourage around him in an attempt to root out the traitor, forcing Pine to play a dangerous game. In London, Burr and Steadman face mounting opposition from Whitehall.
• Episode 6: Roper and his team return to Cairo for the deal, reuniting Pine with an old enemy. Pine risks it all to put his plan in motion. A discredited Burr makes one last stand.

The Night Manager Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Night Manager's 1080p transfer delights when it's on but can frustrate at points. At its best, in brightly lit interiors and exteriors, it's a joy. Details are rich and cinematic, intricately complex and intimately revealing. Clarity is high and image definition is dependable near and wide alike. Structural details impress as much as clothes and skin details, while natural terrain, whether sweeping mountain vistas or close-ups of foliage, never disappoint. Color satiation is fine, with elegantly neutral shades supporting everything from natural greens to red lipstick. Earthy supports and neutral paint schemes hold up nicely. Generally, neither flesh tones nor black levels raise any serious alarms. The image runs into some trouble when dealing in lower light conditions, whether dusk or nighttime exteriors or lower and warmly lit interiors. Noise can, and usually does, saturate the image to the point that it's the most obvious element in play. It buzzes and swirls with unforgiving density, at times, and puts the brakes on an otherwise rock-solid image. When it's on, it's a looker. The excessively noisy segments are a pretty big turnoff, however.

The Night Manager Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Night Manager sports a well-rounded DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The series opens, after a short clip featuring Roper, in the noisy, hectic Cairo streets, littered with protestors. Din engulfs the listener with a basic rush of sound but plenty of identifiable bits creeping through the coverage. It's one of the more intense sonic moments in the show and a good jumping-off point to demonstrate the track's capabilities of merging high impact sound with wide berth delivery and precision clarity. Music offers much the same in terms of stage saturation, presenting with natural, enjoyable width and detail. Clarity is excellent throughout the range, which includes a nicely supportive low end. Reserved atmospherics fill each channel, particularly front sides and surrounds, to heighten environmental details and draw the listener into various scenes. Dialogue dominates much of the program, and it's delivered with natural center placement, strong vocal clarity, and flawless prioritization.

The Night Manager Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Night Manager contains no supplemental content on either Blu-ray disc. A UV digital copy code is included with purchase.

The Night Manager Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Night Manager is an engrossing drama that's layered, smart but accessible, strongly performed, and quickly paced but thoroughly detailed. Six episodes go by quickly, and the experience is worth every minute. Sony's Blu-ray release features good, but occasionally very noisy, video. Audio is quite strong. Unfortunately, no supplemental content is included, but the show stands tall on its own merits. Highly recommended.