In the Line of Fire Blu-ray

In the Line of Fire

 (1993)

Drama | Thriller



Aging secret service agent Frank Horrigan (Clint Eastwood), on duty the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, is still unable to forget his failure on that fateful day, even as he nears retirement in 1993. When Mitch Leary (John Malkovich), a psychotic man calling himself Booth, threatens to kill the current president, Horrigan is the only one who takes the threat seriously. Over time, a cat-and-mouse game develops between the potential assassin and the agent; Horrigan sees the game as a chance to redeem his earlier failure and escape a life that has fallen into alcoholism and self-pity. With his only allies his partner (Dylan McDermott), who realizes he can't handle being a secret service agent and wants to resign, and a female agent (Rene Russo) whom he alternately annoys and attracts, Horrigan takes on Leary one-on-one in a fight to save the president, his job, and his self-respect.

For more details about In the Line of Fire on Blu-ray, see the In the Line of Fire Blu-ray Review

Starring: Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich, Rene Russo, Dylan McDermott, Gary Cole
Director: Wolfgang Petersen

In the Line of Fire Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


Overall, Sony did an excellent job with the high definition mastering of In the Line of Fire. Resolution appears fantastic, with a beautiful, organic feel. Black level is inky and shows no sign of digital artifacts or banding. However, the picture's contrast is very interesting. Daylight scenes appear ever so slightly washed out, but dark scenes show better contrast. Skin tones tend to all look the same, which indicates some type of processing was used--perhaps digital noise reduction of some kind. This will make the "grain haters" happy, as the small grain has a minimal presence. But depth suffers a bit. This shallowness of field is a relatively minor criticism. The movie was actually shot in a way that allows the backgrounds to go soft during much of the film.

Watch the night scene where Leary phones Horrigan's modest apartment and, recognizing the sound of a siren on the phone and outside his window, the agent realizes Leary must be at a payphone around the corner. After asking Leary to hold, and bolting out his front door, the camera pulls in tight on Eastwood, allowing the background to go soft in an impressionistic, high contrast cityscape. The details of Eastwood's hair, skin and clothes show up gorgeously. But watch as the cinematography shifts and the focal point becomes the street and buildings in the distance, as Eastwood goes soft. The image at all times has remarkable resolution and contrast that provides all the right cues for realism.

In the Line of Fire Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


The audio resolution, presented in Dolby TrueHD, also showcases a dramatic improvement over the DVD version. From the earliest notes of the score, trumpets sound regal and brassy, with good treble extension, and the soundstage is immersive. Dialog and gunshots are resolved gorgeously, with good clarity and definition. Though effects and the LFE channel are not a major part in the audio track, resolution is critical in many crowd scenes when the noise of applause, microphoned speech, orchestral score and agents whispering on walkie talkies must all be resolved. The Blu-ray manages to keep a certain amount of air around each piece of the sonic landscape. Each is heard with ample definition and realism. The mix is done right.

Listen to the sequence from the time the president's motorcade arrives in the rain to the speech delivered shortly after that in the amphitheater. All audio cues and ambient sounds are portrayed realistically and placed appropriately in the soundstage. From the raindrops to the wheels and engines of the vehicles to the dialog between Eastwood and Russo to crowd noises--the entire palette of audio cues are accurately melded in the Dolby TrueHD track. We've come a long way from the days of "be kind--rewind".

In the Line of Fire Blu-ray, News and Updates

• Today on Blu-ray - July 1st, 2008 - July 1, 2008


• In the Line of Fire Coming to Blu-ray - April 21, 2008

In the Line of Fire Blu-ray, Forum Discussions

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