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Released by: Twilight Time Releasing
Released on: September, 2015.
Director: James Foley
Cast: Christopher Walken, Sean Penn, Eileen Ryan, Mary Stuart Masterson
Year: 1986
Purchase From Screen Archives
The Movie:
At Close Range, directed by James Foley in 1986, takes place in rural Pennsylvania - farm country- and it tells the story of a young man named Brad Whitewood Jr. (Sean Penn) who has recently finished school but doesn't seem to have any real job prospects. He's a bit of the disenfranchised type, uninterested in settling down and starting a family and more interest in following in the footsteps of his father, Brad Sr. (Christopher Walken) - a career criminal. When Brad meets 'the girl' in the form of sixteen year old beauty Terry (Mary Stuart Masterson), he figures without any money he doesn't have much of a shot of winning her over, and so he decides to join up with his father on one of the heists he and his crew - Patch (Tracey Walter), Dickie (R. D. Call), Tony (David Strathairn) and Boyd (J.C. Quinn) - regularly attempt.
It goes well, too well almost, because after a taste of success Brad Jr. decides he and his younger brother Tommy (Christopher Penn) should get a crew together of their own, and so they do just that. Before you know it, the two brothers have enlisted Lucas (Crispin Glover), Tim (Kiefer Sutherland) and Aggie (Stephen Geoffreys) and are out trying to steal farm equipment that they figure they can fence for a profit. Of course, they're inexperienced and they don't know what they're doing and almost as soon as they get started at this, they're nabbed.
This doesn't sit well with Brad Sr. at all and when Jr.'s plans start to wreak havoc with his own, family ties become very strained and things move towards an inevitable confrontation…
At Close Range is an interesting mix of crime, suspense and family drama skillfully directed by Foley with an emphasis on the two main characters. It's a nicely paced picture and the Tennessee locations stand in well for the Pennsylvania settings. There's a nice rural charm to a lot of the locations used here and this makes for an interesting place for a crime picture to take place (given that the vast majority of them take place in very urban settings this characteristic of At Close Range helps to set it apart from the pack). The story unfolds well, defining the characters nicely and establishing their individual motivations so that when things start to unravel and get nasty, we understand why they behave and react that way that they do. This helps, when the tension starts to mount and things turn violent, to keep us intrigued - actions very definitely have consequences in this picture, there's no doubt about that.
Not surprisingly, a big part of the draw for this film is the cast. Walken may not bear the strongest resemblance to the Penn brothers cast as his son but once you can accept him in the role based on that, it's easy to appreciate his performance here. His character is a manipulative and dangerous man, and Walken uses his inimitable screen presence to craft a man who should not be trifled with. Of course, Sean Penn's character does just that, and at this point, even early in his career, he proves he can do the troubled young man thing really, really well. There's an angst and an aggression to Brad Jr. that a lesser actor might not have been able to convey with as much success. The back and forth between the two leads here is often the highlight of the movie. Supporting work from a young Mary Stuart Masterson is also impressive while Kiefer Sutherland, Crispin Glover and Stephen Geoffreys are all fun to watch as Brad Jr.'s upstart partners in crime.
Video/Audio/Extras:
At Close Range debuts on Blu-ray from Twilight Time framed at 2.35.1 widescreen in a gorgeous AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfer that offers a very impressive upgrade over the previous DVD release from MGM. Detail is vastly improved not just in the close up shots but in pretty all of the wider angle compositions as well (and as this was shot in scope there are quite a few of them in the movie). Colors look very strong here, while skin tones look nice and lifelike. Black levels are rock solid and there are no problems with any compression artifacts though some minor crush does appear in some of the darker scenes. There isn't any evidence of noise reduction or edge enhancement. Print damage is never an issue and overall the image here is a very strong one.
Audio chores are handled by an English language DTS-HD 2.0 Stereo track. Again, compared to the previous DVD release, we get a very noticeable upgrade. The score has very strong presence and considerably more noticeable range here than it has in the past. When the more action oriented scenes in the movie, the track handles it really well and gunfire packs a really strong punch when it erupts. Dialogue stays clean, clear and very audible and there are no problems to note with even a trace of hiss or distortion. Optional subtitles are provided in English.
The main extra on the disc is a commentary track with director James Foley moderated by Twilight Time's Nick Redman. This track is equal parts about the experience of Making At Close Range and a sort of career retrospective for the director, as he does offer up a fair bit of input as to how he got into filmmaking and what he's been up to since making this film. He also shares some stories about working with Walken and Penn, his thoughts on the picture and a good bit more. This is well paced and interesting - definitely worth listening to.
Aside from the commentary, we also get a trailer for the feature, an MGM 90th Anniversary trailer, the film's isolated score in DTS-HD 2.0 format, a slideshow of other Twilight Time releases, static menus and chapter selection.
Additionally, inside the Blu-ray keepcase we get a full color insert booklet containing a set of liner notes on the film by essayist Julie Kirgo that offer up some thoughts on the film's effectiveness, its cast and some general trivia about the history of the film. This piece, well worth reading, is complimented by a selection of stills and some archival poster artwork.
The Final Word:
At Close Range holds up well. It's not only tense and stylish but the acting is just really strong across the board. Christopher Walken and Sean Penn are certainly the main draws here but the supporting players are just as good. Twilight Time's Blu-ray release presents the film in excellent quality with a transfer that leaves the old DVD release in the dust. The inclusion of the new commentary and the other extras is a notable plus as well. All in all, a very strong release.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
