NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Kino easily improve upon the, 8-year previous, Mill Creek Blu-ray of the Tom Selleck/Peter Yates prison-flic An Innocent Man. While both are on a single-layered disc - the Mill Creek is transferred in 1080i and has issues with artifacts and uneven contrast, color displacement and it fails when compared beside the newer Kino transfer. This can be seen in the resized captures below and is more obvious in the full resolution, expanded captures. The Mill Creek is opened-up in the bastardized 1.78:1 aspect ratio and looks a shade squeezed, but the major issue is the inferior interlaced transfer. The Kino, while not the height of the format exports richer colors and the 1080P produces a competent 1080P rendering with pleasingly layered contrast. There are no glaring flaws.

Mill Creek use DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (24-bit) track. Kino give the option of 5.1 surround or 2.0 channel stereo lossless, but only 16-bit.  There is some separation in the film's more aggressive effects - gunfire, cars, fighting etc. via Kino's surround audio transfer. The score is by the impressive Howard Shore (The Silence of the Lambs, Cronenberg's Maps to the Stars, Scanners and The Brood, Tim Burton's Ed Wood, Fincher's The Game and Se7en etc.) and sounds subtle but very supportive. In both tracks the dialogue is clear and audible. There are optional English subtitles on Kino's Region 'A' Blu-ray, where there are none on the Mill Creek.

There are no extras on the Mill Creek. Kino add an informative commentary from film historian Jim Hemphill who focuses most of the discussion on Selleck's career including references that compare him to Cary Grant. I found it revealing in that there was much I was not aware of regarding an actor (who I frequently enjoy and appreciate), especially his early years with a basketball scholarship, Dating Game etc. It seems Selleck did a lot of work before achieving recognition. He was given the role of Indian Jones - although was committed to other projects/contracts and it fell to Harrison Ford. Hemhill also covers Peter Yates' career, Laila Robins, F. Murray Abraham and other members of the supporting cast and well as the solid behind-the-camera talent including DoP William A. Fraker, writer Larry Brothers etc. There are also new interview with actress Laila Robins (Selleck's loyal love interest, Kate Rainwood in An Innocent Man) for a dozen minutes - she still look attractive - and with actor David Rasche - one of the two villain cops in the film - who, as an actor, seems to have had consistent work for almost 50-years. There is a theatrical trailer and trailers for a few other neo-noirish films.

To describe Tom Selleck's acting as 'incapable of a false-moment' and that he seems to be playing himself - is really a testament to his impressive and likeable style. I agree with Hemphill in that he is extremely underrated and I have always enjoyed his work. An Innocent Man is a satisfying crime/prison/revenge drama with plenty of solid performances. I have watched it a few times over the years and am so happy to get rid of the sloppy Mill Creek, replacing it with the vastly superior Kino Blu-ray - that includes the commentary and interviews. Certainly recommended to Selleck fans, Neo-noir fans, director Peter Yates fans and/or those who enjoy prison flics. It's less than $15 at the writing of this review...

Gary Tooze