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A view on Blu-ray by Gary W. Tooze

The New Centurions [Blu-ray]

 

(Richard Fleischer, 1972)

 

 

Coming out in the US, in late March 2018:

 

Carlotta have released a French Blu-ray of The New Centurions but I don't know the quality:

Indicator (Powerhouse) initial slate of Blu-rays
Spine #001 Spine #002 Spine #003 Spine #004

Spine #005

Spine #006

Spine #008 Spine #010 Spine #012 Spine #013 Spine #019 Spine #020

 

 

Review by Gary Tooze

 

Production:

Theatrical: Columbia Pictures

Video: Indicator (Powerhouse) Spine #13 / Twilight Time

 

Disc:

Region: FREE (both) (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player)

Runtime: 1:43:10.809 / 1:43:09.224   

Disc Size: 39,775,145,579 bytes / 31,728,722,401 bytes  

Feature Size: 30,266,392,128 bytes / 31,127,519,232 bytes 

Video Bitrate: 35.01 Mbps / 29.99 Mbps 

Chapters: 12 / 24 

Case: Standard Blu-ray case / Transparent BD case  

Release date: January 30th, 2017 / March 2018  

 

Video (both):

Aspect ratio: 2.35:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Audio:

LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit

 

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1936 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1936 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Isolated Score:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1662 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1662 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Commentaries:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1871 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1871 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 2030 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2030 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)

 

Subtitles (both):

English (SDH), none

 

Extras:

Cop Stories: The Making of "The New Centurians' (44:06) - featuring interviews with actor Stacy Keach, writer Joseph Wambaugh, technical advisor Richard E. Kalk and assistant cameraman Ronald Vidor.
Trailer (2:13)
Super 8 Version (16:53)
Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Nick Pinkerton
Limited Dual Format Edition of 3,000 copies

DVD included

 

Audio Commentary with Actor Scott Wilson and Film Historian Nick Redman
Audio Commentary with Film Historians Lee Pfeiffer and Paul Scrabo
Isolated Music Track
Original Theatrical Trailer (2:13)

Liner notes booklet with essay by Julie Kirgo 

 

Bitrate:

(Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP vs. Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM)

 

 

Description: Richard Fleischer's gritty and fateful portrait of LA cops adapted from Joseph Wambaugh’s autobiographical bestseller, is anchored by superb performances from George C. Scott as a world-weary older cop who quietly fears becoming obsolete, and Stacy Keach as the young rookie he takes under his wing.

 

 

The Film:

Somewhere, not too deep, inside "The New Centurions" is the soul of an old-fashioned B-movie police-force melodrama; the kind with a rookie cop and a kindly old sergeant and perhaps the sergeant's daughter. The traditional roles are much attenuated but they are there in Roy (Stacy Keach), the young patrolman; Kilvinsky (George C. Scott), his philosophic partner, about to retire; and Lorrie (Rosalind Cash), who comes along with the right proportion of sex, warm human values and chicken dinners just as Roy seems ready to go off the deep end because of a divorce, loneliness for Kilvinsky and a lost sense of vocation.

Lorrie happens to be black, and she's not the sergeant's daughter, but she does belong to that particular world of hearth and home, of something to be protected, that has always been the moral anchor of the police movie. That she and what she represents have scarcely more than anecdotal importance in "The New Centurions" suggests a partial rejection of some values; and the film has nothing really to take their place. Between Roy and Kilvinsky there is much talk about the end of law and order (the film's title includes an analogy with the decline of ancient Rome), but no dramatic sense of what that might mean.

Excerpt from the NY Times located HERE

This erratic but nervy film was released at a time when popular portrayals of policemen were mostly limited to extremes—the sanitized, such as the 1968-1975 TV series Adam-12, and the scandalous, such as the 1971 feature Dirty Harry. Based on the first novel by real-life former LAPD cop Joseph Wambaugh, The New Centurions occupies an unsettling place between these approaches. Characterizing policemen as victims of physical and psychological violence who are lucky to reach retirement alive—and sane—the movie is melodramatic and occasionally overwrought. Yet, when viewed as either an intense character drama or as a historical corrective to one-sided narratives about law enforcement, The New Centurions gains a certain degree of validity. It’s also quite well made, with excellent long-lens photography by Ralph Woolsey capturing the soulless textures of Los Angeles in a way that accentuates the desensitizing grind of police patrols.

Excerpt fromEvery70sMovie located HERE

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

The New Centurions comes to Blu-ray from Indicator out of the UK.  The image quality shows a consistent layer of grain and visuals appear authentic with the night sequences being very dark. The day scenss showcase some bright, true colors. This is dual-layered with a max'ed out bitrate. It is neither glossy nor pristinely sharp but shows a thick film-like presence and black levels are deep and impressive. The 2.35:1 aspect ratio is exported well in the 1080P. This Blu-ray offers as flawless a digital image as we are likely to see for this film.

 

Same transfer - dual-layered, high bitrate - I can distinguish no significant differences in the image quality between the two Blu-rays.

 

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

 

Subtitle Sample

 

 

(Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP vs. Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM)

 

 

(Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP vs. Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM)

 

 

(Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP vs. Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio :

The audio is transferred via a linear PCM authentically mono at 1152 kbps (24-bit). There is modest depth in the gunplay. The film's music is notable for the score by Quincy Jones (The Getaway, The Slender Thread, The Pawnbroker, In the Heat of the Night, They Call Me Mr. Tibbs) and it encapsulates a gritty 70's feel sounding quite appealing in the uncompressed. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region FREE - playable world-wide.

 

Twilight Time offer a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel mono (24-bit) and my ears couldn't detect much of a difference between the two audio tracks. The Indicator may be slightly tighter in the higher-end but that's about it. The Twilight Time also offer the Quincy Jones score as an isolated option and, like the Indicator, has optional English (SDH) subtitles and their disc is also region FREE and limited to 3,000 copies.

 

 

 

Extras :

Extras feature a new 3/4 hour piece from Robert Fischer's Fiction Factory; Cop Stories: The Making of "The New Centurions'. It features interviews with actor Stacy Keach, writer Joseph Wambaugh (who wrote it while still a member of the LA Police Department), technical advisor Richard E. Kalk and assistant cameraman Ronald Vidor. It sheds some light on the production and original story. There is also a trailer and a very poor quality, 3:4, Super 8 version of The New Centurions that runs 17-minutes. The package has a limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Nick Pinkerton, a second disc DVD and is limited to 3,000 copies.

 

Aside from the same trailer, Twilight Time add the aforementioned isolated score option and not one, but two!, commentary tracks. The participants in the first are actor Scott Wilson ('Gus' in The New Centurions) and Film Historian Nick Redman and the second has Film Historians Lee Pfeiffer and Paul Scrabo. I've briefly sampled both and they seem at Twilight Time's usual strong level. They also include a liner notes booklet with essay by Julie Kirgo.

 

Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 

 

Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
The New Centurions is not the most memorable of its genre of 70's, tough and realistic, police dramas but it still has value with George C. Scott giving another fine performance - Keach as well. It tends to meander but I enjoyed the tone and the 'shock' moments. The New Centurions seems a decent choice to bring to Blu-ray. The 1080P presentation isn't going to get more authentic and fans seeking some cop-bonding thrills - this has something to offer.

 

Nice to have options - those keen on commentaries and an isolated score option (Quincy Jones!,) can nab the Twilight Time but both packages have strong value. This is a solid gritty cop-drama with strong performances and a brilliant Fleischer direction, so if you are keen, don't wait for either to go out-of-print! Absolutely recommended! 

Gary Tooze

January 22nd, 2017

March 2018

 

Coming out in the US, in late March 2018:

 

Carlotta have released a French Blu-ray of The New Centurions but I don't know the quality:

Indicator (Powerhouse) initial slate of Blu-rays
Spine #001 Spine #002 Spine #003 Spine #004

Spine #005

Spine #006

Spine #008 Spine #010 Spine #012 Spine #013 Spine #019 Spine #020

 


 

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 3500 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.

Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction.

Gary's Home Theatre:

60-Inch Class (59.58” Diagonal) 1080p Pioneer KURO Plasma Flat Panel HDTV PDP6020-FD

Oppo Digital BDP-83 Universal Region FREE Blu-ray/SACD Player
Momitsu - BDP-899 Region FREE Blu-ray player
Marantz SA8001 Super Audio CD Player
Marantz SR7002 THX Select2 Surround Receiver
Tannoy DC6-T (fronts) + Energy (centre, rear, subwoofer) speakers (5.1)

APC AV 1.5 kVA H Type Power Conditioner 120V

Gary W. Tooze

 

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