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

The 1987 crime drama, "Bellman and True" makes its world premiere on Blu-ray thanks to Indicator. The film is housed on a dual-layered disc. This release features not one, but two cuts of the film, the pre-release version (122 minutes), and the original UK theatrical cut (114 minutes). As the menu states regarding the pre-release version,

"Bellman & True" premiered at the 1987 London Film Festival in a pre-release version which ran approximately eight minutes longer than the film's theatrically released cut. The additional footage in the pre-release version presented here is sourced from standard-definition materials."

The added footage may be from an SD source, but its insertion is not too distracting on Blu-ray, and the extra scenes help to build the characters. That being said, I do prefer the tighter "UK Theatrical Cut" though your mileage may vary. The two cuts seem to be seamlessly branched, meaning that everything other than those added 8-minutes is the same on both versions. Indicator only note that the film is a High Definition remaster, so as to the source print or level of scanning (2k?) we are in the dark. The film has a thick level of grain, though certainly not as thick as we have seen in the past. The hues of the film are somewhat muted, this grimy palette is surely the intent of the filmmakers. Contrast levels are competent, showing some slight variation in blacks during darker scenes.

"Bellman & True" comes to us with a 24-bit 1.0 DTS-HD Mono audio track. The composer for the film is Colin Towns (The Puppet Masters, Born of Fire, Rawhead Rex). The music has various themes, and the piano and strings provide all kinds of tension, from the romantic sort to the suspenseful. The nail-biting heist sequence in particular benefits from Towns' ability to ratchet up the tension. Dialogue is clear and audible though some scenes do have a bit of a noticeable hiss (in all fairness, it is so miniscule that I could be mistaking atmospheric noise for the hiss). There are optional English SDH subtitles on this Region 'B' Blu-ray from Indicator.

Many extras appear on this disc, though there is no commentary we do get a series of interviews, beginning with; "Running in Traffic", a 24-minute interview with director Richard Loncraine recalling the production of the film. "Just an Adventure" is a 20-minute piece with actor Kieran O’Brien talking fondly of his first film role (O'Brien went on to star in Michael Winterbottom's "9 Songs"). "Cracking the System" is a 17-minute interview with screenwriter and author Desmond Lowden discussing adapting his own novel for the screen. "Trust Me" is a 9-minute interview with composer Colin Towns discussing the film’s score. Rounding out the disc is the film's original trailer and an image gallery. This is a limited edition, featuring an exclusive 32-page booklet with a new essay by Kevin Lyons, a look at the inspiration behind the film’s title, an archival interview with Bernard Hill, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits.

Bernard Hill gives a truly Oscar-worthy performance in this taut and bleak suspense film. Plot-wise, imagine a cross between Michael Mann's "Thief" and Luc Besson's "Leon", though with a much darker tone. Indicator have a fine package here, even without a commentary. The film is a gritty one, that really earns its suspenseful denouement thanks to the early character building. I prefer the taut shorter UK version, but the extra 8-minutes do help build the characters a bit more. The Blu-ray is recommended to fellow heist-movie fans.

Colin Zavitz