Blue Christmas - VCI Indie (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 2024
Director: Max Allan Collins
Writer: Max Allan Collins
Cast: Rob Merritt, Alisabeth Von Presley, Chris Causey, Nicky Bibik, Chad Bishop, Scot Gehret, Dave Juehring, Brian Linderman, Tracy Pelzer-Timm, Keith Porter, Tommy Ratkiewicz-Stierwalt

Release Date: November 12th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 79 Minutes 2 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Stereo English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"Chicago, 1942. At his Christmas Eve office party, private eye Richard Stone celebrates bribing his way out of the draft. He's a disappointment to secretary/main squeeze, Katie Crockett, whose brother Ben is fighting overseas; and his honest young employee, Joey Ernest, is guilt-ridden over all the divorce-racket keyhole peeping. Just a year ago tonight, Stone's sleazy partner Jake Marley was murdered, a crime the detective didn't bother solving.

After Stone is visited by an ankle-chained Jake, on leave from Purgatory to demand his murder be solved, three more "visitors" arrive to "help," one at a time - the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future: Bonnie of Bonnie & Clyde infamy; a recently decreased soldier; and a strange entity who just might be the King of Rock 'n' Roll." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Blue Christmas comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 41 GB

Feature: 19.8 GB

Shot in a digital format, there are no glaring issues with the source. Colors look correct, image clarity is strong, and compression is very good. However, black levels sometimes fail to convince.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM stereo mix in English with removable English SDH. Dialog comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced, and range-wise this audio track is satisfactory.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a trailer (2 minutes 42 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), Q&A highlights from advanced theatrical screenings (101 minutes 43 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), a documentary about author/director Max Allan Collins (26 minutes 24 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with Max Allan Collins and producer Chad T. Bishop, liner notes titled The Story Behind Blue Christmas written by Max Allan Collins, and trailers for other titles also available from VCI Entertainment.

Summary:

Max Allan Collins wrote and directed Blue Christmas. He’s known for creating the Road to Perdition series and directing Mommy and Mommy’s Day.

If you start to feel déjà vu while watching Blue Christmas, it is a loose adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol through the lens of Film noir. The result is one of the most inventive takes on the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. Two of the ghosts that visit the protagonists are Bonnie Parker and Elvis Presley. When it comes to Film noir elements, it's not surprising that Blue Christmas delivers in spades since its director is a prolific author who is well versed in this genre.

Blue Christmas is a textbook example of a film that works with little and maximizes its resources. Though its narrative almost entirely takes place in one room, there are moments acted out that did not take place there. That said, Blue Christmas is a dialog-driven film that plays out like a stage play, and the performances also fall into this category. Though there are no flashy moments visually, this well suits the story that unfolds and lets the performances be the focal point. Ultimately, Blue Christmas is an engaging reimagining of a familiar story.

Blue Christmas gets a first-rate release from VCI Indie that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and informative extras.

Written by Michael Den Boer