8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
A work of meticulous journalism and gripping drama, this documentary recounts the disturbing tale of Randall Dale Adams, a drifter who was charged with the murder of a Dallas police officer and sent to death row, despite evidence that he did not commit the crime.
Director: Errol MorrisDrama | 100% |
Documentary | 43% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Errol Morris' documentary film "The Thin Blue Line" (1988) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive new video interview with the American director, exclusive new video interview with filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer; and an excerpt from an archival episode of NBC's Today show. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by film scholar Charles Musser. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
These eyes have seen
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Errol Morris' The Thin Blue Line arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"Supervised by director Errol Morris and producer Mark Lipson, this new high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit 2K film scanner from the 35mm original negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS and Pixel Farm's PFClean, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, and noise management.
Transfer supervisors: Mark Lipson, Errol Morris.
Colorist: Stefan Sonnenfeld/Company 3, Los Angeles."
The original content looks excellent. Indeed, during the interviews the lighting is simple but effective, contrast is stable, and colors appear natural. The reconstructed murder also looks very good. The archival content isn't as consistent -- for example, in a couple of episodes stability could be better -- but the stills, paper clips, and sketches look as good as they should. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Lastly, there are a few tiny flecks, but debris, cuts, stains, and damage marks have been carefully removed. The encoding is very good. To sum it all up, this is a solid presentation of The Thin Blue Line that makes it very easy to experience it as its creator intended. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
The film has a simple but very atmospheric soundtrack which was created by Philip Glass (The Qatsi Trilogy, Leviathan). While dynamic intensity is limited, and this should not be surprising considering the fact that the film is broken into multiple episodes which feature footage from archival interviews, the music gently enhances the unique atmosphere. During the original footage where the shootouts are, depth and clarity are also excellent. The dialog is crisp, stable, and very easy to follow. (The only exception is the taped conversation towards the end, but printed subtitles and optional subtitles are included).
Errol Morris' The Thin Blue Line is rightfully regarded as one of the most important documentaries ever made. It is incredibly well researched and utterly uncompromising, as all great documentaries that seek the absolute truth should be. Also included on Criterion's upcoming Blu-ray release is a phenomenal new interview with Errol Morris which is every bit as illuminating as the documentary. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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