Studio:

Disc:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1906 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1906 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1935 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1935 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio French 2148 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2148 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio French 885 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 885 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit)

 

 

TF1:

 

The Film: 6
The movie, which will first see the light of U.S. distribution a week or so before its release on DVD, is based on the novel "In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead" by James Lee Burke - a much better title by the way – makes you wonder why it wasn't used. Bertrand Tavernier's film is beautifully photographed by Bruno de Keyzer and urgently and flavorfully scored (Marco Beltrami). Louisiana locales convey a sense of time standing still. Tommy Lee Jones, echoing a too-familiar role, plays veteran detective Dave Robicheaux, a recovering alcoholic with a penchant for dialogue with a long dead Confederate general (Levon Holm). When the 40-year old remains of a black man, evidently shot while still in chains, are unearthed by Katrina, Robideaux asks if the cultural climate of Reconstruction is still alive in the South.

As one of the narrative themes from In the Heat of the Night dances in our head, Robicheaux sets out on an investigation of a series of grisly murders of young women. In Tavernier's hands, the whodunit aspect of the mystery is not as important as the characters (played by John Goodman, Ned Beatty, Peter Skarsgaard, Buddy Guy and James Gammon, among others) our detective runs across. They may or may not be suspects but I think the idea is that these conversations are supposed to shed light on Robicheaux's initial question. It's all a bit murky and we are surprised by the extent to which he ignores the obvious during his investigation. But, then, this was also Detective Tibb's flaw as well.

Leslie Felperin writes:
The product of a reportedly troubled shoot in 2007, pic now exists in two versions: a richer but more sluggish director's edit, running 117 minutes and shown at the Berlinale, will be screened theatrically everywhere in the world apart from the U.S. (Pic has reputedly already sold to some major territories.) Meanwhile, a producer's cut, running a brisker but less-coherent 102 minutes, will be released straight to DVD by Image Entertainment on March 3 in North America.

The tone of each version is quite different, but the essential set-up is the same in both. Set in and around New Iberia, La., screenplay credited to Jerzy Kromolowski and Mary Olson-Kromolowski updates crime writer James Lee Burke's original novel "In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead," written in 1993, to the a post-Katrina present-day. As the community gets on with rebuilding homes and the Mafia gets fatter off post-catastrophe corruption, it's still business as usual for detective Dave Robicheaux (Tommy Lee Jones), a recovering alcoholic given to a little light rule bending and violence when necessary. [LF]

Excerpt of review from Variety located HERE
 

[LN:] I haven't seen the "International" version, but I agree with Felperin's assessment of the movie as released by Image, and especially with the observation about the ending of the U.S. version – Very tacky. Very faux-irony. Very too bad for us.

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

Do you suppose that imposing DNR on the face of Tommy Lee Jones would count as a mortal sin? This movie offers ample opportunity, but I suspect we are saved. Crags appear intact. Some noise in night scenes and colors appear, unfortunately boosted. Overall decent looking image for a single layer.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

Image Entertainment (Region 'A') TOP vs. TF1 (Region 'B') BOTTOM

NOTE: Some captures could not be exact matches as these are two different cuts of the film (Producer's Cut vs. Director's Cut) with slightly different shots - some not appearing exactly the same way in both.

Extras:

Zip!

Bottom line: 5
This release represents a possible mistake on the part of Image who, for contractual or licensing reasons, may have resisted a BD-50 with the International version on the second layer. In any case, it's too bad we couldn't have both cuts of the movie. This and the lack of extra features and the muddy plotting mitigate an otherwise very good looking picture.