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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Bill Duke
USA 1992

 

Film noir hits the mean streets of 1990s Los Angeles in this stylish and subversive underworld odyssey from veteran actor-director Bill Duke. Laurence Fishburne stars as Russell Stevens, a police officer who goes undercover as “John Hull,” the partner of a dangerously ambitious cocaine trafficker (Jeff Goldblum), in order to infiltrate and bring down a powerful Latin American drug ring operating in LA. But the further Stevens descends into this ruthless world of money, violence, and power, the more disillusioned he becomes—and the harder it is to make out the line between right and wrong, crime and justice. Steeped in shadowy, neon-soaked atmosphere and featuring Dr. Dre’s debut solo single, Deep Cover is an unsung gem of the nineties’ Black cinema explosion that delivers a riveting character study and sleek action thrills alongside a furious moral indictment of America and the devastating failures of the war on drugs.

***

Black police officer Russell Stevens applies for a special anti-drug squad which targets the highest boss of cocaine delivery to LAthe Colombian foreign minister's nephew. Russell works his way up from the bottom undercover, until he reaches the boss.

Posters

Theatrical Release: April 15th, 1992

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Review: Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

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Bonus Captures:

Distribution Criterion Spine #1086 - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:47:48.462        
Video

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 48,059,311,615 bytes

Feature: 32,268,496,896 bytes

Video Bitrate: 35.84 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

DTS-HD Master Audio English 2034 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2034 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)

Subtitles English (SDH), None
Features Release Information:
Studio:
Criterion

 

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 48,059,311,615 bytes

Feature: 32,268,496,896 bytes

Video Bitrate: 35.84 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

New interview with director Bill Duke (18:16)

• AFI Conservatory seminar from 2018 featuring Duke and actor Laurence Fishburne, moderated by film critic Elvis Mitchell (56:33)

• New conversation between film scholars Racquel J. Gates and Michael B. Gillespie about Deep Cover’s place within both the Black film boom of the early 1990s and the noir genre (35:37)

• New conversation between scholar Claudrena N. Harold and professor, DJ, and podcaster Oliver Wang about the film’s title track and its importance to the history of hip-hop (17:36)

• Trailer (0:44)

An essay by Gillespie


Blu-ray Release Date:
July 13th, 2021
Transparent Blu-ray Case

Chapters 20

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (June 2021): Criterion have transferred Bill Duke's Deep Cover to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "New 4K digital restoration". There are moments of exceptional color depth (reds, pinks etc.) and impressive detail in close-ups but also some minor teal-leaning in spots and an inherent softness throughout. There is very little in the way of film grain texture. It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate; the darker scenes that dominate the film come through with layered contrast and this looks pleasing in-motion.

NOTE: We have added 78 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use a DTS-HD Master stereo track (24-bit) in the original English language. There are abundant aggressive effects with strong gunplay, intense slaps and a resounding car chase that have relatively modest but still impacting depth. The score is credited to Michel Colombier (Un Flic, Barb Wire, Colossus: The Forbin Project, Une Chambre en Ville. Against All Odds) sounding excellent in the lossless. There is other 90's music in the film; the Deep Cover theme is notably performed by Dr. Dre - introducing Snoop Dogg (as Snoop Doggy Dogg), we have Jewell's Love or Lust, Marcos Loya's Linda Mexicana and Yo Te Quiero, Kokane's Nickel Slick Nigga, Calloway's The Way (Is in the House), Nate Phillips' Depth of Thought, Paradise's Down wi' My Nigga written by Snoop Doggy Dogg, Po' Broke & Lonely's The Sex Is On and others. It is used effectively in the film. Criterion offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' / 'B' Blu-ray.

The Criterion Blu-ray offers a new 18-minute interview with Bill Duke. In this conversation, recorded remotely by the Criterion in 2021, actor and director Bill Duke discusses his wide-ranging career, paying special attention to the making of Deep Cover. Included is an AFI Conservatory seminar from 2018 featuring Duke and actor Fishburne. It runs almost an hour after a screening of the film. Film critic Elvis Mitchell moderated the conversation between director Bill Duke and actor Laurence Fishburne. There is a new conversation between film scholars Racquel J. Gates and Michael B. Gillespie about Deep Cover’s place within both the Black film boom of the early 1990s and the noir genre. It runs 36-minutes. Gates (author of Double Negative: The Black Image and Popular Culture) and Gillespie (author of Film Blackness: American Cinema and the Idea of Black Film) discuss genre, culture, and Deep Cover in the context of Black cinema of the 1990s. There is also a new 18-minute conversation between scholar Claudrena N. Harold and professor, DJ, and podcaster Oliver Wang about the film’s title track and its importance to the history of hip-hop. It was also recorded remotely by the Criterion in 2021, where Harold (author of When Sunday Comes: Gospel Music in the Soul and Hip-Hop Eras) and Wang (professor of sociology at California State University, Long Beach, DJ, and co-host of the Heat Rocks podcast) discuss the introduction and lasting importance of Deep Cover's title song. Lastly, is a trailer and the package has liner notes with an essay by Gillespie.

Bill Duke's intense Deep Cover treats the viewer in respectful, non-pandering terms with realistic but subtly expressed themes of inter-city drug use, its effect on children, a conscious look at the drug trade explosion, greed, immoral criminals etc. Larry Fishburne, Clarence Williams III and Charles Martin Smith were excellent, - Jeff Goldblum - maybe not his best role - but director Duke realizes the film exceptionally well while maintaining a very Neo-Noir-ish thriller hold on the viewer. It's exciting and riveting with excellent characters driving the suspense of unforeseen interpersonal decisions and moral conflicts. The 4K-restored Criterion Blu-ray provides a dynamic 1080P presentation and is stacked with over 2-hours of valuable supplements. This film is strongly recommended!

Gary Tooze

 


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Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

  

Bonus Captures:

Distribution Criterion Spine #1086 - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray


 


 

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