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

ADDITION: Arrow Blu-ray (August 2019): Arrow have transferred William Friedkin's powerful film Cruising to 1080P Blu-ray. It is cited as a "Brand new restoration from a 4K scan of the original camera negative, supervised and approved by writer-director William Friedkin". It appears to be another revisionist enhancement of the film's original colors and brightness with extremely vibrant reds (boat in opening scenes and in store windows), greens (Central Park trees and bushes) and yellows (taxi cabs). It has shows some almost-perceptible low-frequency edge-enhancement in a few scenes and digitization from those manipulations flattening certain visuals. I don't fault Arrow as they have no history of this - and my guess is that it was not the source - but the director's wishes in the process of brightening the video presentation, however I don't know positively. But the 4K scan produces a significantly sharper image and flesh-tones warm to more normal hues via the 1080P resolution. I would say that overall, it does look dramatically improved over the DVD, but as to a replication of the original theatrical appearance - one can only speculate. I was, nonetheless, blown away by the dynamic image presentation.

NOTE: 40 more full resolution (1920 X 1080) Blu-ray captures (including two subliminal cuts) for Patrons are available HERE.

On their Blu-ray, Arrow offer the option of a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround bump or a linear PCM 2.0 channel track (24-bit) - both in the original English language. The uncompressed tracks exemplify the film's audio and score by Jack Nitzsche (The Crossing Guard, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Personal Best, 9 1/2 Weeks) and (uncredited) Egberto Gismonti sounding a bit deeper with crisp dialogue advancing over the lossy Dolby of the DVD. The surround has some separations in the club sequences which also have music; Three-Day Moon performed by Barre Phillips, Heat of the Moment and Pullin' My String by Willy DeVille, Herbal Scent by Tom Browne, Shakedown by Rough Trade plus Boccherini 's notable Passa Calle (Allegro vivo) taken from "La musica notturna delle strade di Madrid": Op. 30 n. 6 (1780) Quintettino for two violins, viola and two violoncellos in C major (G. 324). It sounds rich and immersive - augmenting the film's edge-of-seat suspense Arrow offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

We get a marvelous audio commentary with Mark Kermode and William Friedkin where the director is quite frank about many facets of the production including the 50+ attempts to get an 'R' rating which Friedkin agrees that should have been 'X', how he felt Pacino was one of the more unprepared actors that he worked with (also talking about Brando having lines taped to other actor's foreheads), James Franco's 2013 film, Interior. Leather Bar that dealt with the missing 40 minutes from Cruising that, I think, Friedkin stated was simply male pornography. He also talks about, in some scenes that he wised that Richard Gere was in the lead because he found his onscreen personality has a desirable and mysterious 'ambiguous' quality. It is excellent - they discuss the subliminal cuts and much more. Supplements also include the previous commentary by director Friedkin. He doesn't over-do the narration (although he does a fair bit) and he brings up extensive details probably unknown to many excepting the producers of the film. He talks about the actual historical events behind the plot. He is good to listen to, his memory is sharp, and he has a kind of controlled enthusiasm in his voice. I think this still has value. Repeated are also two archival 20 minute featurettes on the 'Making of...' (The History of Cruising and Exorcising Cruising) that look at the film s origins and production and at the controversy surrounding the film and its enduring legacy. Input is included from many associated with the production - certainly far better than the usual - worth the indulgence even if you have already seen them years ago.

William Friedkin was in his prime as a director and brilliantly captured something here in Cruising. It is fascinating on many levels - a haunting and, at times, terrifying, film experience that speaks extensively through its imagery. While he is mostly noted for The Exorcist, To Live and Die in L.A. , Sorcerer and The French Connection this guy was one of the world's best filmmakers in the 70s and 80s and Cruising, buried by much of its controversy, should be included as another example of his mastery of the medium. It's a film I am thrilled to own on Blu-ray... despite the revisionist colors. Even for those stalwart about the 'manipulation' - the newer commentary alone makes this a must-own, imo.

Gary Tooze