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Company Business [Blu-ray]
(Nicholas Meyer, 1991)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Pathé Entertainment Video: Kino Lorber
Disc: Region: 'A' (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:38:18.893 Disc Size: 21,694,846,762 bytes Feature Size: 19,974,088,704 bytes Video Bitrate: 23.91 Mbps Chapters: 9 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: October 13th, 2015
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1694 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1694 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles: None
Extras:
• "Our Country 'Tis of We" - Featurette (6:35)
Bitrate:
Description: It's not the company you keep... it's the company that keeps you! The Cold War may be over, but things are about to heat up again! Screen legend Gene Hackman (The Package, Prime Cut) teams up with Mikhail Baryshnikov (White Nights) in this fast paced, thrill a minute ride that hurtles through Europe, culminating in a death defying confrontation a top the Eiffel Tower! When an ex-CIA agent (Hackman) is called out of retirement to escort a Soviet spy (Baryshnikov) to Berlin for a prisoner trade with the Russians, it seems like business as usual. But when the former adversaries realize they've been double crossed by their own governments, they must work together to uncover and destroy the double operatives within both the CIA and the KGB to win this intricate and deadly game. Written and directed by Nicholas Meyer (The Seven-Per-Cent Solution) and featuring wonderful performances by the two leads, Kurtwood Smith (Robocop) and Terry O Quinn (The Stepfather).
The Film:
The demise of the Cold War rendered this flat and obsolete spy thriller, written and directed by Nicholas Meyer, mute upon its release in 1991. Gene Hackman plays Sam Boyd, a retired CIA agent, now making ends meet by engaging in industrial espionage. But Sam is recalled to duty and ordered to deliver a captured Russian spy, Pyiotr Grushenko (Mikhail Baryshnikov), to East Berlin for a prisoner exchange. Along with Pyiotr, Sam is also transporting $2 million in Columbian drug money to East Berlin. But due to a series of set-ups, Sam and Pyiotr finds themselves working together to keep from getting killed. Sam tries to get help from the CIA, but it turns out that the CIA (along with the KGB) wants them both dead. Excerpt from MRQE located HERE
"You're both dinosaurs," a comparatively neutral observer tells
the two bewildered former cold war spies in Nicholas Meyer's new
espionage melodrama, "Company Business." They are Sam Boyd (Gene
Hackman), an American, and Pyotr Grushenko (Mikhail Baryshnikov), a
Russian, who have joined forces to flee the coordinated wrath of the
Central Intelligence Agency and the K.G.B.
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. The single-layered Kino Lorber Blu-ray of Company Business looks good but perhaps a shade faded with many sequences showing a predominance of earthy browns. Contrast is only so-so. There is a bit of perk to the red and blues but not much depth in the 1.85:1 frame. The visuals are fairly consistent and it gives a decent presentation in 1080P. I doubt we will ever see it look much better for digital viewing. This Blu-ray is unmanipulated and exports no noise.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :Kino Lorber use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track at 1694 kbps in the original English language. There are plenty of effects in the film - explosions, gunfire, trains etc. The score is by Michael Kamen (Mona Lisa, Event Horizon, Road House) which does a good job augmenting the action and tension. It all sounds fine although dialogue can be a little scattered. There are no subtitles offered and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.
Extras : Kino provide an original, 6-minute, featurette entitled "Our Country 'Tis of We" (a latter line from the film) plus short sound bites from Hackman, Baryshnikov, director Meyer, and producer Steven Charles Jaffe. There is some inconsequential B-Roll footage and two trailers - one for the film.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze September 29th, 2015
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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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