Dark Blue

Summary

“Have a cigar.”

In 2002, Ron Shelton’s crime drama Dark Blue was released into theaters. The script by David Ayer, based on an original story by notable crime novelist James Ellroy, was about police corruption in Los Angeles around the time of the Rodney King riots. Dark Blue features an excellent performance by Kurt Russell, but the film was overshadowed by another film based on a David Ayer screenplay – Training Day. Training Day had released in October of 2001 and had become an instant classic garnering a Best Actor Oscar for Denzel Washington’s performance. In December of 2002, Dark Blue managed to do twelve million at the theaters, which meant it failed to recoup its full budget (about $7.5 million for shooting, and an equal amount for marketing.) While the film was somewhat overlooked at the time due to the easy comparisons between the two films, Dark Blue has gained an audience in the years since its theatrical release. I have read a significant amount of James Ellroy, and have watched many of the pictures that David Ayer has penned, so I was happy to revisit Dark Blue on MGM’s Blu-ray release.

Los Angeles – 1992 

Sergeant Eldon Perry (Kurt Russell) paces back and forth with a shotgun and pistol in a motel room. Five days earlier, a robbery of a convenience store by Darryl Orchard (Kurupt) and Gary Sidwell (Dash Mihok) leads to the violent deaths of four people and wounding of one more outside the store. The robbery is performed so that Orchard and Sidwell can gain access to the safe. Across town, Eldon Perry speaks in defense of his partner Detective Bobby Keough (Scott Speedman) in front of an internal hearing. Bobby had been brought before the board for using deadly force during a recent arrest. He is exonerated for all charges. Bobby’s uncle is Jack Van Meter (Brendan Gleeson), who is over the division that features Eldon and Bobby. Van Meter is a corrupt cop and was in cahoots with Orchard and Sidwell, who he protects as his informants. Van Meter assigns Bobby and Eldon the robbery-homicide case and Eldon immediately puts two and two together that Sidwell and Orchard were behind it. When he takes this information to Jack, Jack tells him to find some offenders to pin it on while saying that his two informants did not commit the crime. Bobby is emotionally conflicted, and Eldon is as well, but Eldon is a soldier and listens to his orders. Meanwhile, Assistant Chief Arthur Holland (Ving Rhames) finds some of Bobby and Eldon’s testimony suspicious from the hearing, so he has his assistant Beth Williamson (Michael Michelle) pull files on the two men. She is taken aback when she realizes she has been having no-strings-attached sex with Bobby, who she recognizes from the photos. As Eldon and Bobby hit the streets, the city is on the verge of rioting as they await the verdict in the trial of the officers involved in the Rodney King beating.

Dark Blue is a good police drama that has aged well in the years since its release. Dark Blue feels more like a David Ayer script than a James Ellroy script, which makes sense given that Ellroy is credited with the story as opposed to a screenplay credit. The original screenplay by Ellroy was titled “The Plague Season,” and took place during the Watts Riots in the Sixties. According to numerous reports, he took his name off of the screenplay credit after seeing how much Ayers had changed his screenplay. This in many ways makes the film even more interesting for those of us who admire the work of both writers (although I would say that Ellroy is a finer writer in my estimation; his novels are superb.) There are definitely elements of this script that feel very reminiscent of the types of politics within the police force that Ellroy has shown in other works, but the dialogue in the picture feels more in line with David Ayer’s other works. I would love to find a copy of Ellroy’s original script and see just how different his movie would have been. That said, the picture works pretty well. While the dialogue doesn’t quite sing like Ayer’s dialogue in Training Day, there are still some great moments in the picture. I would say the dialogue between the police chief and the informant-robbers is the weakest dialogue, whereas the big speech by Kurt Russell is very well done. The story’s plot line is pretty solid and the idea of setting the film during the Rodney King Riots of 1992 is a great premise. 

The acting in the film has one great performance, a few good performances, and one fairly nondescript but acceptable performance. Ving Rhames, Michael Michelle, Dash Mihok, Kurrupt, and Lolita Davidovich all do well in their roles  The writing does not give them quite enough meat to chew on and really show off their skills, but they do well with what they are given. Scott Speedman is fairly nondescript, but his performance is totally adequate if not not particularly memorable. Brendan Gleeson is a fantastic actor, but he was probably a little miscast here since he is meant to be as old as Kurt Russell’s character’s father. The reason to see this film, and the reason why people still love Dark Blue, is Kurt Russell’s performance. Playing against type as a hard-drinking corrupt and racist L.A.P.D. Officer, Russell clearly relishes the opportunity to tackle the role. Russell is so good in the picture, and his role is so well defined by the script, that the film is redeemed from becoming what could have been a fairly formulaic or underwritten crime film. His speech in the final moments of the picture is the best part of the movie. Russell’s effortless cool and likability allows a morally compromised character to still be someone that the audience want to see redeemed. The direction of the film is pretty solid, although I did feel a little bit like director Ron Shelton was not working totally within his wheelhouse. Shelton wrote and directed Bull Durham which is one of my wife and I’s favorite films, and numerous other great sports related pictures (Tin Cup, Blue Chips, White Men Can’t Jump, Cobb.) Those films find Shelton fully in his element and working largely from scripts he penned, and if watched in comparison to Dark Blue, I think the performances in those pictures ring more true. This might simply be a case where the director is more skilled at bringing to life his own words to the screen. I can say that it was not for lack of trying. Dark Blue was a passion project for all involved and was made for less than eight million dollars, which is a pittance considering the names attached to the project. This figure becomes even more impressive when you consider the reenactment of the riots in the film. Shelton and his crew managed to make a pretty solid crime thriller despite the numerous budgetary obstacles.

I was happy to revisit Dark Blue nearly a quarter century after its release. While the picture suffers from easy comparisons to Training Day or even to elements in L.A. Confidential, Ron Shelton’s scrappy film has aged well due to a barn-burner of a performance by Kurt Russell. Fans of this genre will find a lot to enjoy about the film.

Video

Dark Blue has been released by MGM onto Blu-ray in 2009 and 2012, and then by Olive Films in 2015, and Arrow Video in the U.K. in 2018. I think that those releases and this release utilize the same master (although the encode was improved beginning with the 2011 release.) Presented in the aspect ratio of 2.35:1 in 1080p, the transfer still looks pretty good considering its age. Obviously, with an older transfer detail levels are not as impressive as more modern releases that rely on 2K or 4K scans, but fans of this film will probably be totally fine with how this looks. 

Audio

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track capably replicates the original sound design of the film. The film is a pretty rowdy affair with plenty of activity. The score by Terence Blanchard jumps into action frequently, and some early Nineties rap songs by Eazy-E, C.P.O., NWA, Cypress Hill, and more also appear in the film. I think the sound design is pretty well done for the picture, and the 5.1 track works.

Supplements:

• Audio Commentary – archival commentary with director Ron Shelton 
• Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes –
  • Code Blue
  • By the Book
  • Necessary Force 
• Riot Easter Egg 
• Theatrical Trailer
• Behind-the-Scenes Gallery

Overall Scores:

Video: 3.75/5

Audio: 4/5

Supplements: 3/5

Overall – 4/5

Dark Blue has aged well in the quarter century since its release. The film was made inexpensively as a passion project for Kurt Russell and director Ron Shelton. Unfortunately, the film could not overcome the inevitable comparisons between it and Training Day, and it failed to make back its budget at the box office. Luckily, Dark Blue has continued to find an audience on home video. The script by David Ayer works pretty well. It has the excellent idea of setting the film against the backdrop of the Rodney King riots, which leads to some of the movie’s best scenes. The final speech given by Kurt Russell is particularly well written and memorable. That said, I would love to see how much of James Ellroy’s earlier script (which became a “Story by” credit) informed the final picture. Director Ron Shelton seems a little less suited for directing a crime drama versus his amazing sports related films, but there are a number of scenes that work very well. The reason to see the film and why Dark Blue continues to gain fans is Kurt Russell’s performance. I can’t oversell how damn great he is, and the picture earns my recommendation based on that. MGM has given the film a re-release that utilizes the same transfer as their earlier 2011 release (and the subsequent Arrow and Olive Films releases.) The Blu-ray features pretty good technical specs that should please fans unless some boutique label decides to give the picture a new 4K release. Thankfully, MGM has also (for the first time) ported over the enjoyable supplements from the DVD release. Overall, I was pretty happy with this release, even if there is still a little bit of room for improvement if someone wanted to do a Collector’s Edition.

The film can be purchased at www.moviezyng.com.