Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Thin Blue Line Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 20, 2015

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

Randall Adams’ nightmare began on November 27, 1976. He was in Dallas when his car ran out of gas and a friendly teenager, David Ray Harris, offered him a ride. The two spent an entire day drinking and smoking pot. They even went to a drive-in theater together and saw a movie.

Before midnight, Dallas policeman Robert W. Wood, 27, was shot and killed during a routine traffic investigation. Wood’s partner, Teresa A. Turko, fired five shots at the killer, but he managed to escape.

Soon after, Harris bragged that he had killed the policeman and a few of his friends reported him to the authorities. After he was arrested, it was quickly confirmed that the bullets that killed the policeman were fired with his .22 pistol. Harris claimed that he was in the car with Adams, and that it was his new friend that killed the policeman.

Adams was quickly tracked down and arrested. The authorities questioned him and he told them what he and Harris did together until they parted ways -- which was shortly after they exited the drive-in theater. Adams was then given a voluntary statement which he signed. Later on, however, Adams learned from the media that he had signed a document in which he confessed that he had killed the policeman. In 1977, Adams was sentenced to death.

Exactly twelve years later, he was exonerated.

Errol Morris's documentary The Thin Blue Line reveals why Adams was chosen to die and why those who wanted him dead were forced to give him back his freedom.

The film is, to put it mildly, surreal. Excluding a careful reenactment of the actual murder, as reconstructed by different parties, it is essentially a collection of interviews in which Adams, Harris, and various prosecutors, lawyers, and witnesses discuss the case. Now that it is beyond obvious that many of them lied -- and more importantly believed their lies -- it is shocking to see how easy it was to manipulate the justice system and nearly kill an innocent man.

What makes The Thin Blue Line such an important film, however, is not the fact that it convincingly exposes the lies of a group of people, but the manner in which it does it. Indeed, by masterfully using fiction as a litmus test, the film essentially reveals how the absolute truth cannot exist in a society in which there are no proper mechanisms that can guarantee its survival. In other words, what the justice system is left to choose from are only half-truths, myths, and lies.

Morris, who worked as a private investigator in New York during the early '80s, spent nearly three years gathering information for The Thin Blue Line. The film had its premiere at the San Francisco Film Festival on March 18, 1988, and consequently won multiple prestigious awards. Miramax, its distributor, also submitted it for Oscar consideration, but the film was rejected because of its use of the techniques of fiction.

In 2001, The Thin Blue Line was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

The Thin Blue Line Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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).

The Thin Blue Line Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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).

The Thin Blue Line Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Errol Morris - in this extensive new video interview, Errol Morris explains how The Thin Blue Line came to exist and recalls his interactions with Randall Adams and David Harris before and during the shooting of the film. The director also discusses in great detail the the truths, half-truths, and lies he uncovered during his investigation. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in October 2014. In English, not subtitled. (41 min, 1080p).

• Joshua Oppenheimer - in this new video interview, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer (The Act of Killing) explains why The Thin Blue Line is such an important film and discusses its unusual structure. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in December 2014. In English, not subtitled. (15 min, 1080p).

• Today: "Close Up" - presented here is an excerpt from the March 22, 1989, episode of NBC's Today show, which features an archival interview with the recently free Randall Adams, his attorney Randy Schaffer, and director Errol Morris. In English, not subtitled. (6 min, 1080i).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by film scholar Charles Musser.

The Thin Blue Line Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.