DVD Review

Movie

I had not seen Black Rain when it first came out.  Now that I have watched the DVD I wish I had seen it back in 1989.  I have been a big fan of Ridley Scott ever since I saw Gladiator.  After seeing that film I went back an saw Alien, Blade Runner and Black Hawk Down, just to name a few.  He as since become one of my favorite directors.  So I had high hopes for this film going in.  The movie stars Michael Douglas as Det. Sgt. Nick Conklin and Andy Garcia as Det. Charlie Vincent.  Both are New York cops.  They essentially get involved in a gang war between the Japanese mafia the Yakuza.  It’s a buddy cop film with a bit of a twist.  They capture a well know Japanese criminal in New York and transport him back to Japan , only to lose him in his native country.  So as you can expect Nick and Charlie are out of their environment. When they get to Japan they are assigned a Japanese inspector named Masahiro Matsumoto played by Ken Takakura. They seem to know nothing about the Japanese traditions, and tend to do things their way. I thought the movie was great with strong performances from the three main characters.  One thing Ridley is known for is having movies that have beautiful cinematography.  This movie is no exception bringing the downtown streets of Japan alive.   I thought this movie was great and if you haven’t seen it, definitely give it a chance.

8 out of 10

Video

I thought the video looked great considering the movies age.  I thought that the transfer was great.  There was a slight bit of grain but it’s never a problem, it was part of Ridley Scotts direction to give the movie a certain grittiness. Black levels are great brining out the detail in downtown Osaka .

8 out of 10

Audio

This audio on this disc is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 EX.  I was very impressed with the audio on this disc.  The track is very aggressive and uses lots of cool surround effects.  Considering the film came out in 1989, I was surprised how good this DVD sounded.  Now it’s not demo material, but considering when the film came out, they probably did not even have surround sound, so I thought they did a excellent job with the material.

8.5 out of 10

Extras

If you have been reading my other reviews you would know that I am a sucker for good behind the scenes material.  This disc has a number of great behind the scenes features.  You get four features taking you from the script and the cast all the way to production.  There all good giving you great insight into the filming of the movie.  There is a great commentary by Ridley Scott and a theatrical trailer and finally extras that are worth watching.  For a single disc release, it’s excellent.

9 out of 10

Overall

As you can probably tell I am definitely recommending this DVD.  It has a great transfer, great audio and extras that are actually worth watching.  Ridley’s involvement once again produces a great DVD for your collection. 

9 out of 10