DVD REVIEW

Black Hawk Down - Deluxe Ed.  (2001)

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor

Director: Ridley Scott

Rating: R

Studio: Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment

Release Date: 6.03.03

Review Posted: 6.10.03

Spoilers: None

Reviewed by Dennis Landmann

"Once that first bullet goes past your head, politics and all that shit just goes right out the window." - Hoot

An elite group of American Rangers and Delta Force soldiers are sent to Somalia on a critical mission to capture a violent warlord whose corrupt regime has lead to starvation of hundreds of thousands of Somalis. When the mission goes quickly and terribly wrong, the men find themselves outnumbered and literally fighting for their lives.

Black Hawk Down is one of my top ten favorite films of 2001 and to see the DVD arrive in a 3-disc deluxe edition loaded with special features is exciting as hell, but more on the features later. Ridley Scott comes off two successful films, Gladiator and Hannibal, to direct Black Hawk Down, a full blown and exciting action picture.

What makes the film also enthralling is its sense of realism. After about 30 minutes of character introductions and set-up, the film’s money sequence begins. I’m talking about the insertion sequence when the multiple Little Bird helicopters and Black Hawk’s make their way down to the center of the city. From that point on, when the soldiers hit the ground, the race against time and the will to stay alive begins. Black Hawk Down is uncompromising in its vision and depiction of war.

The backbone of the film, however, is Mark Bowden’s novel and Ken Nolan’s subsequent screenplay that expertly captures the danger and characters of the situation. The actors completed a one-week training camp in order to make their performances as Rangers and Deltas as realistic and agile as possible. Their hard work pays off as seemingly all of the actors not only have recognizable faces but are right in the middle of all the action and explosions.

There are also heartfelt moments in Black Hawk Down, such as the deaths of two soldiers trying their best to keep away the enemy and keeping an injured pilot (Mike Durant, played by Ron Eldard) alive. There are too many actors in this film to list here or praise for their great work, and I think the best thing is to say is they all did one hell of a good job.

Columbia Tristar presents Black Hawk Down in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen. This transfer is gorgeous as all the colors in the film are presented in perfect fashion. I didn’t notice any discrepancies with the print and compression artifacts didn’t show up either. The color palette varies from a high saturated look in daylight to a dark, gloomy look during night scenes. Color detail is exceptional here. Dark tones and black levels are very good. Overall, Black Hawk Down looks pristine and clear.

Columbia Tristar presents Black Hawk Down in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. This is a film with sound effects galore. Each explosion, gun battle and helicopter sequence makes great use of the surround system. All speakers act alive, but as usual the front speakers have most of the noise, such as dialog scenes; they are clear and easy to understand even amidst all the surrounding noise. Hans Zimmer’s score also comes through very nicely and impacts the soundfield. Again, sound effects are all over the soundfield and it makes for a really good experience. This film not only looks really good, but sounds like it, too.

Black Hawk Down is also available are French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks.

>>Continued on Page 2 (The Extras, Overall).

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