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Long Kiss Goodnight (The)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - United Kingdom - Warner Home Video Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (16th February 2015). |
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The Film
 ***This is an A/V and Extras review only. For reviews on the movie from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.*** Eight years ago she lost her memory. Now, a detective must help her remember the past before it buries them both. What is forgotten is not always gone. Samantha Caine (Geena Davis) is a school teacher who can remember nothing about her life prior to being discovered eight years previously. When she begins to have flashbacks to her past, she is helped by detective Mitch Henessey (Samuel L. Jackson) to find out that she is a former CIA assassin, who was nearly killed when a job went wrong. Now people in high places want to prevent Sam digging any deeper into the past, which spells danger for her and Mitch.
Video
Warner Home Video have released Renny Harlin's OTT action-fest "The Long Kiss Goodnight" on to Blu-ray in the United Kingdom in the original aspect ratio of 2.40:1. The transfer is 1080p, and uses a VC-1 encode. It obviously comes from a dated master, but it is a marked improvement on the old Entertainment in Video DVD. I found that the biggest issue with the transfer was the unfortunate amount of crush in the blacks, particularly during those scenes set in darkened locations. It doesn't get to the point where it becomes a distraction, but it is certainly noticeable. Contrast levels are intentionally overblown to suit the visual style of the movie, but there are some very minor signs of edge enhancement and light banding. Despite these issues, this is still an impressive transfer for a film of this age. The print itself is surprisingly clean bar one or two mild instances of artifacting and noise, with no major blemishes or scratches. A light layer of natural film grain runs throughout the run time, leading me to believe that there has been no obvious use of digital noise reduction. The level of details are consistent for the duration, with close-ups showing good levels of clarity in facial contours and clothing patterns. The numerous wider shots, such as during the shoot out in the station, show solid levels of background details too, with only items that are very distant looking a little clunky. Overall, I'm happy with this transfer, but there is still room for improvement. The feature is uncut and runs 120:33.
Audio
The following options are included: - English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 - German Dolby Digital 5.1 - Spanish (Latin) Dolby Digital 5.1 - Spanish (Castilian) Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo For my viewing, I made the obvious choice of watching the film with the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, which although not fantastic, was still a blast that made pretty good use of the sound field. If you've ever seen the film before, you'll know there are some pretty over the top action sequences, and these utilise the surrounds and LFE very well, especially gun shots which show off the level of channel separation of direction. Other more subtle effects also sound crisp, such as the cigarette lighting at 61:31. There is a little bit of crackle in some of the dialogue on occasion, but apart form that there are no major causes for concern. A decent all round track for a nineties catalogue title. Optional subtitles are available in Bulgarian, Dutch, English HoH, German HoH, Spanish (Castilian) and Spanish (Latin).
Extras
Just a theatrical trailer (2:32).
Overall
Over the top ridiculous fun. Renny Harlin has his critics, but I'm not one of them.
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