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Gangster Squad [Blu-ray]
(Ruben Fleischer, 2013)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Warner Studios Video: Warner Video
Disc: Region: FREE! (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:52:54.809 Disc Size: 33,753,360,045 bytes Feature Size: 23,456,919,552 bytes Video Bitrate: 20.64 Mbps Chapters: 12 Case: Standard Blu-ray case inside cardboard slipcase Release date: April 23rd, 2013
Video: Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio English 2233 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2233 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) Dolby Digital Audio French 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB / Dolby Surround Commentary: DTS Express English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles: English (SDH), English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, none
Extras: • Commentary with Director Ruben Fleischer
Play Movie with "The Gangland Files" PiP DVD of the Feature included with Special Feature; Tough Guys with Style
Bitrate:
Description: Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and - if he has his way - every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It's enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop - except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), who come together to try to tear Cohen's world apart. *** An elite police squad fights to save the city of Los Angeles from a power-hungry East Coast mobster in this gritty police-detective film set in the 1940s, and based on Paul Lieberman's seven-part Los Angeles Times series "Tales From the Gangster Squad." Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, and Ryan Gosling star in a film directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), and featuring Nick Nolte, Michael Peņa, Emma Stone, and Robert Patrick.
The Film: We first meet the villain as he snarls into the camera, and the narrator tells us this is Mickey Cohen - as everyone in the audience thinks, "No, actually, that's Sean Penn." This is the challenge any well-known actor assumes when he takes on a character role, but Penn provides so much psychological detail that Cohen becomes fascinating - evil to the point of demonic, but also tense, bitter, resentful, bottled up and strange. Excerpt from the San Francisco Chronicle located HERE
The movie is based on the life of gangster Mickey Cohen, who was born in
Brooklyn but considered it his manifest destiny to take over Los
Angeles. He was 35 in 1949 when the story takes place, but remember
those are mob years. Sean Penn, 52, looks like he added five pounds
above the neck for the role. (I believe the technical term for this is
“godfathering.”)
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Gangster Squad comes to Blu-ray from Warner looking as clean and crisp in 1080P as you might imagine. Outside of the pre-credit opening, the film is devoid of excessive style (a few slow-motion sequences) and relies on the straightforward shots with impressive art direction establishing the timeframe. Aside from some minor teal-leaning this Blu-ray has an impressive feel with no flaws. It frequently has an intentional earthy aura draped over the pastel color scheme. There is some depth and detail, notable in close-ups. This Blu-ray provides a great presentation.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :As you might be able to guess - there are a lot of aggressive sound effects even beyond gun-play, including wolves, electric drills, raging fires and explosions. The audio transfer is in a DTS-HD 5.1 surround at 2233 kbps. It appears to easily handle the depth and adds some subtly crisp rear speaker separations. The score is composed by Steve Jablonsky (who's credits include The Island and Transformers) and supports the period feel pretty solidly. There are optional subtitles and m y Momitsu has identified it as being a region FREE disc playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.
Extras : Aside from a feature-length commentary with director Ruben Fleischer and the ability to play the film with a Picture-in-picture window of "The Gangland Files" pop-up notes, there are over 2 hours of video extras, including the 45-minute, 15-chapter "Focus Points" that deal with subjects such as 'Brolin on O'Mara' and 'The Real Mickey Cohen', 9 deleted scenes, 10-minutes ion the changes of the L.A. locations from then 1949 - up to present day, there is also a 45-minute historically-based piece entitled 'Rogues Gallery: Mickey Cohen'. Frankly, there is more here than most will want to indulge in - but I can see the film appealing to a certain niche and they will appreciate the overkill of supplements especially the deleted scenes and background of Cohen.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze April 10th, 2013
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About the Reviewer: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500 DVDs and have reviewed over 5000 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.
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