Bad Lieutenant (Best Buy exclusive until 10/05/2010) (Blu-ray Review)

Harvey Keitel is unforgettable in this disturbing film from Abel Ferrara.

Is redemption possible for someone like Adolf Hitler? Isn’t it part and parcel of at least some branches of Christianity that if a sinner sincerely repents before his death all is forgiven and an entrance to heaven is assured? How does that philosophy sit with you? Does it make you slightly uneasy, thinking of sharing cloud space with the likes of the most evil man of the 20th century? Of course, someone like Hitler probably never repented to begin with, so the issue is moot, but the larger ...

Video

Bad Lieutenant was made on a relatively paltry budget, and it shows. Though the film here receives a solid enough AVC encoded 1080p transfer (in 1.78:1), there's only so much that can be done with these source elements. There's a soft, grainy quality to a lot of this film, with low contrast in the dimly lit shots which can blanch a lot of color from the image. In fact, while color is at least acceptable, it's nowhere near the saturation levels that a lot of Blu-ray lovers have come, ri...

Audio

Though we get a lossless audio mix here, there's probably rightly no attempt to tart up the original soundtrack with a fake sounding surround option, and so we're instead given a perfectly serviceable DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. This is a resolutely front heavy mix in a film that's largely dialogue driven anyway, so there's little if any need for overt directionality. The film probably could have benefited (back in the day of its release) with a little multichannel separation at least in th...

Supplements

Two better than average extras are included on this Blu-ray, including an informative Commentary by Ferrara and his DP Ken Kelsch. Also on tap is a really good making of featurette called It All Happens Here (SD; 34:02), which covers everything from pre-production to the controversy which erupted after the film was released....

Final Words

Bad Lieutenant is a gut churning experience, so forewarned is forearmed. This is not a film for the easily offended or overly squeamish. Ferrara may seem on the surface to be just another expoitative director, but the surprising eloquence of the nun's subplot reveals a filmmaker who has a lot on his philosophical mind. Keitel delivers an astoundingly visceral performance here, and for that reason alone, Bad Lieutenant is recommended, at least for those who don't mind their drama......

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Bad Lieutenant (Best Buy exclusive until 10/05/2010) (Blu-ray Review)