Pride and Glory on Blu-ray Disc Review by Rachel Cericola on BigPictureBigSound

Blu-ray Disc and DVD : Blu-ray Disc Reviews

Published: 2009-01-25 - 12:21:54

Pride and Glory on Blu-ray Disc Review

By Rachel Cericola

The Film

Pride and Glory hits a lot of the highlights typically associated with cop dramas. Corruption? Check. Lengthy backstory? You betcha. Irish family? Oh yeah. Veteran acting chops? Jon Voight, present!

Still, for some reason, it all works. A lot of the thanks goes to the film's cast, who make the film a lot more intriguing than it is. It's sort of a confusing tale of a family full of New York City's finest. Ray Tierney (Edward Norton) is a detective. His father, Francis Sr. (Jon Voight), chief of detectives, asks Ray to come back to the badge to help investigate the murder of four cops. As Ray starts digging, he finds out that his own brother-in-law (Colin Farrell) is a dirty cop, under the not-so-watchful eye of his own brother, Francis Jr. (Noah Emmerich).

Confused? If the mish-mashed plot and extremely large cast of characters doesn't confuse you, the presence of more than one conversation in Spanish (sans subtitles) will. The 2-hour runtime and shocking scenery (Jimmy holds a hot iron to an infant's head!) doesn't solve any questions either. However, it doesn't matter, because the acting chops of the four main characters are really the show here, and it ain't all that bad. Thank goodness, too, because the climax has more cheese than a 2-pound block of Velveeta.

Check out David Kempler's review of the theatrical release of Pride and Glory.

The Picture

There are a few scenes that pop; most notably the bright colors during the funeral for the fallen officers. However, the bulk of this film is dark -- in content and image. Expect a lot of deep blacks, and a tad bit of grain in this 1.85:1 transfer. However, the grain could have been intentional, because it adds to the gritty feel of the movie. Still, it was kind of cool how the 1080p made even the evidence photos pop like you were looking over Ray's shoulder.

The Sound

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 doesn't miss a beat here. The dialogue is crisp and clear, and there are a lot of little details, which include screams and even the ocean lapping up to the sides of Ray's houseboat. Also, the bullets travel well through each of the speakers and the face beatings are a bit too close for comfort.

The Extras

The disc's solo special feature is a bit on the lengthy side, like its movie counterpart. At 67 minutes, "Source of Pride" is probably a bit more than most fans will want to know. However, this documentary on the making of the film is kind of interesting, and worth at least one viewing.

Final Thoughts

What happens when The Departed clashes with Do the Right Thing? We get director Gavin O'Connor's (Miracle) uneven, lengthy look at cop drama cliches. In other words, don't expect any real surprises or major breakthroughs in the genre -- or the world of Blu-ray. Still, strong performances from the film's large cast make the film worthy of a rental.

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