Big Picture Big Sound

The Film

It's rare that a motion picture made up of an ensemble cast of such high-profile actors fulfills its promise, but director Paul McGuigan's and writer Jason Smilovic's Lucky Number Slevin is one of the few that succeeds. It is true that Lucky Number Slevin has more than a passing resemblance to a Quentin Tarantino film -- the witty dialogue, the hitman out for revenge, the nonlinear storyline -- but, imitation is the highest form of flattery, right?

Slevin (Josh Hartnett) arrives in New York and is immediately the victim of mistaken identity -- or so he says -- when he gets caught up in a long-running feud between the city's two big crime heads, The Boss (Morgan Freeman) and The Rabbi (Sir Ben Kingsley). The Boss, believing The Rabbi responsible for having his son killed enlists, or, rather, forces Slevin into a plan to assassinate the Rabbi's son to pay off a debt owed to one of the Boss' bookies.

Unbeknownst to either side is that the infamous hitman known as Mr. Goodkat (Bruce Willis) has been behind the scenes working both sides with an agenda of his own. Complicating matters further is Slevin's quirky neighbor and eventual love interest Lindsey (Lucy Liu), whose curiosity over the missing neighbor who normally occupies Slevin's apartment and the shady characters Slevin's been involved with gets the better of her.

Smilovic's screenplay certainly owes much to Tarantino. Throw together Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown and you end up with something resembling Lucky Number Slevin, but Paul McGuigan's direction and the natural chemistry between the cast members leads to something, although not entirely original, still enjoyable. Lucy Liu in particular is a standout member of the cast. Her quirkiness and energy is inviting and adds a much-needed level of humanity and humor to the film. Some of the plot twists may be too clever for their own good and viewers might be able to see them coming from miles away, but it's still well written entertainment.

For an alternate take on this film see our theatrical review of Lucky Number Slevin

The Picture

Lucky Number Slevin comes in an AVC/MPEG-4 1080p/24 high definition encoding of its 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The transfer is competent and looks generally good, but if you are one of the fortunate people to own a copy of the UK import of this title, like I am, you may want to bypass this version and stick with the import. The two versions look generally the same, but the UK import has a cleaner and sharper picture with more consistent contrast levels and finer details. This release from Genius, by comparison, occasionally looks a bit soft in background details and around edges.

Color saturation on this Blu-ray disc release is one of its strongest attributes. Flesh tones are natural and certain colors, particularly reds and blues really stand out and jump from the screen.  As mentioned before, contrast can sometimes be problematic, as can the black levels. Unlike its UK counterpart, this US release sometimes comes very close to blooming and the black levels can look a little washed out. There are also some minor issues with dirt and scratches on the source that occasionally show up, but not enough to be distracting or take away from the enjoyment of this transfer, which is good, just not the best it can be.

The Sound

For the soundtrack, this Blu-ray Disc release gets an English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 in addition to English and French Dolby Digital 5.1 options. Being mainly dialogue-driven, the bulk of the sound resides across the front three channels. The surround channels are, however, well used for balanced amounts of ambiance and atmospheric sound effects. Take, for instance, the scene in the restaurant between Slevin and Lindsey -- the surrounds are filled with the chatter of diners, the clanking of dishes and such. The numerous scenes of Slevin being driven through the city to The Boss or The Rabbi finds the sounds of New York City street life and traffic noise filling the soundscape.

When needed, the LFE kicks in to give the sound of the more violent moments some punch. Gunshots sound full, punches land with convincing dull thuds. The film's jazzy soundtrack is also perfectly in the mix, never overwhelming the well-balanced, natural sounding dialogue. Lucky Number Slevin's lossless mix probably won't become a showcase piece anytime soon, but it is a good example of a a competent mix well-suited to the material at hand.

The Extras

There are only a limited amount of supplemental materials available on this release, but they mostly offer a surprising amount of detail on the film which will make them well worth some attention for most viewers.

The extras available on this release are:

• Feature Commentary with Director Paul McGuigan -- McGuigan's commentary can sometimes become somewhat dull, but he is meticulous and detailed in offering background details on the film's production and character development.
• Feature Commentary with Actors Josh Hartnett and Lucy Liu and writer Jason Smilovic -- This is really an audio commentary from Hartnett and Liu with additional comments from Smilovic edited in.  Hartnett and Liu offer up a friendly, easy to listen to conversation and it's obvious they have good chemistry.
• Making Lucky Number Slevin (1.78:1/standard definition) -- This ~15-minute "making of" featurette feels far too promotional in its nature. It does offer up the interesting tidbit that actors Freeman and Willis were the last two to sign on to the cast.
• Deleted Scenes with optional commentary by director Paul McGuigan (2.35:1/1080i) -- Three deleted scenes and an alternate ending from Lucky Number Slevin:
  • Elvis and Sloe -- This is more screen time for the two comedic characters whose roles were whittled down to lessen the comic tone of the film.
  • The Bodyguards' Story -- The faerie's bodyguards.
  • The Rabi and The Boss -- Extended scenes; there is no commentary available for these scenes.
  • Alternate Ending

Where to Buy

• Lucky Number Slevin on Blu-ray Disc (Amazon.com)

Final Thoughts

Strong performances from this all-star cast and clever dialogue make Lucky Number Slevin an above average imitation of classic Tarantino filmmaking. This Blu-ray release has a pleasing if not perfect video transfer with a well-suited audio mix to match.  I can recommend this disc as either a rental or purchase.

Product Details

• Actors: Morgan Freeman,  Ben Kingsley, Josh Hartnett, Lucy Liu,
• Director: Paul McGuigan
• Audio/Languages: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, English & French Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R
• Studio: Weinstein Company
• Blu-ray Disc Release Date: November 18, 2008
• Run Time: 110 minutes
• List price: $21.95
• Extras:
  • Making Lucky # Slevin
  • Deleted and Extended Scenes
  • Alternate Ending
  • Intimate Conversation with Josh Hartnett and Lucy Liu
  • Commentary by Josh Hartnett, Lucy Liu, and Writer Jason Smilovic
  • Commentary bu Director Paul McGuigan
  • Theatrical Trailer