Bad Lieutenant – Kino Lorber (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1992
Director: Abel Ferrara
Writers: Zoë Lund, Abel Ferrara
Cast: Harvey Keitel, Brian McElroy, Frank Acciarito, Peggy Gormley, Stella Keitel, Dana Dee, Victor Argo, Paul Calderon, Leonard L. Thomas, Zoë Lund, Bo Dietl, Gene Canfield

Release Date: June 4th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 96 Minutes 41 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: NC-17
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD Stereo English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $39.95

"He has survived on the streets for twenty years. He’s a gambler. A thief. A junkie. A killer. A cop. Now he’s investigating the most shocking case of his life, and as he moves closer to the truth, his self-destructive past is closing in." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD), 4.5/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "From a 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative."

Bad Lieutenant comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 72.3 GB

Feature: 70.7 GB

This new transfer looks incredible when compared to Lionsgate’s 2010 Blu-ray; it is vastly superior in every way. The greatest areas for improvement are image clarity and shadow detail. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Bad Lieutenant comes on a 50 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40.1 GB

Feature: 30.8 GB

The Blu-ray uses the same source as the 4K UHD does for its transfer.

Audio: 5/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD Stereo English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English and a DTS-HD stereo mix in English. Both audio tracks sound excellent; the dialog always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should. Though the 5.1 audio track opens things up, I personally prefer the stereo audio track. Included are removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an archival audio commentary with director Abel Ferrera and cinematographer Ken Kelsch.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a locations featurette titled Bad Neighborhoods: The Locations of Bad Lieutenant (15 minutes 26 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Ken Kelsch titled Ken & Abel (14 minutes 53 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an archival documentary titled It All Happens Here (34 minutes 2 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), and an archival audio commentary with Abel Ferrera and Ken Kelsch.

Other extras include a slipcover (limited to the first pressing).

Summary:

Directed by Abel Ferrara whose other notable films include, The Driller Killer, Ms .45, King of New York, and The Funeral.

The narrative revolves around an out-of-control cop whose gambling and drug addiction put him on a self-destructive collision course in which death is the only way out.

Abel Ferrara is a filmmaker whose films are known for pushing cinema to its boundaries, and with Bad Lieutenant, he takes things to their extreme. The protagonist, simply referred to as a lieutenant, is a destructive force devoid of sympathy. A long time ago, he lost his faith and became an aimless man. Now, as he reflects on a case involving a raped nun, it's too late for him to regain his faith.

When discussing Bad Lieutenant, one cannot avoid the elephant in the room, Harvey Keitel (Mean Streets). He delivers a towering performance in which he gives his all and then some. There is a rawness about his performance, and despite his lack of inhibition, he is never lacking in self-control. No moment sums up this more than the scene where his character, fully naked, dances and sobs. That said, the rest of the performances are merely background fodder for Harvey Keitel’s extraordinary performance.

Another area where Bad Lieutenant excels is its visuals, and though there are many shocking moments in Bad Lieutenant, none more than the scene where two young men rape a nun inside of a church. That said, Catholicism plays a significant role in the story that unfolds, and the visuals are filled with symbolic religious imagery.

When it comes to music, Abel Ferrara often has inspired choices. When released theatrically, Bad Lieutenant prominently featured the Schoolly D song, Signifying Rapper. A lawsuit led to the removal of that song later, as it included a re-recorded guitar riff from Led Zeppelin's Kashmir.

From a production standpoint, Bad Lieutenant is a film that far exceeds the sum of its parts. The well-constructed narrative is overflowing with tension that builds to the fever pitch climax. Also, how effectively Abel Ferrara uses real locations greatly enhances the story that unfolds. Ultimately, Bad Lieutenant is an extraordinary film about redemption that is arguably Abel Ferrara’s masterpiece.

Bad Lieutenant gets an exceptional release from Kino Lorber that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer