When Russell Baze (Christian Bale) is not caring for his dying father, he works double-shifts at a dead-end job in the North Braddock, PA steel mill in order to pay off his brother Rodney’s (Casey Affleck) gambling debts. A bad decision to drink and drive one night sends Russell to prison for many years. Upon his release, Russell finds Rodney home from Iraq, struggling to find a real job, and competing in illegal bare-knuckle brawls for money. Rodney just wants one big score and gets himself mixed up in a fight run by ruthless crime lord Harlan DeGroat (Woody Harrelson). Soon afterwards, Rodney goes missing and Russell takes matters into his own hands when the police fail to find his brother.

The film features an amazing cast, which also includes Zoe Saldana as Russell’s girlfriend, Sam Shepard as Russell and Rodney’s uncle, Willem Dafoe as Rodney’s bookie and Forest Whitaker as the police chief. While the performances were really good, I found the film to be a bit too long and slow-paced. It felt like two films placed back-to-back—Russell’s hunt for his brother could have been an entirely separate film from the first half of the movie. The film is also extremely depressing. Nothing ever seems to go right for Russell—one bad thing after the next gets piled onto this guy’s plate. It’s like a modern Book of Job—while Russell has the best of intentions, he just can’t catch a break, and the bad news just keeps piling on.

I am not familiar with writer/director Scott Cooper’s previous, acclaimed film Crazy Heart, so I’m not sure if this brutal, honest tone is his signature. Out of the Furnace is also quite violent—the cold opening sequence sets the tone for the rest of the film as it finds DeGroat forcing hot dogs down his “date”‘s throat and beating up patrons at a drive-in movie theater. This idea of men solving their problems through violence, set to a backdrop of Americana, becomes the overall theme of the film.

As for the picture quality of the Blu-ray presentation, the film is very gritty and has a yellowish tint, and some of the darker scenes are very muddled. However, this may have been an aesthetic choice, due to the economically-depressed 1990s/2000s setting of the film. The audio soundtrack fares better, successfully capturing the dialogue, ambiance and visceral sounds of violence. There is also great use of Pearl Jam’s “Release” to set the tone of the film. As for bonus features, the disc contains about 25 minutes of interviews and behind the scenes footage.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:56:07)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Digital Copy (Redemption Deadline 3/11/2017):

• UltraViolet DigitalHD Copy redeemable via Vudu or Target Ticket

Extras:

• Inspiration (3:30)
  The cast of the film—Sam Shepard, Casey Affleck, Zoë Saldana, Forrest Whittaker, Willem Dafoe, and Christian Bale—talk about what inspired them to become actors.
• Scott Cooper (6:39)
  Director Scott Cooper talks about his inspiration for the screenplay, the pace of the production, and shooting the film in Braddock, PA. Executive Producer Jeff Waxman and actors Zoë Saldana, Woody Harrelson, Christian Bale, Forrest Whittaker, Casey Affleck and Sam Shepard talk about working with the director.
• Crafting The Fight Scenes (5:15)
  A behind-the-scenes look at the training for and filming of the fight sequences from the film. Features interviews with stunt coordinator Ben Bray, director Scott Cooper, and actors Casey Affleck and Woody Harrelson.
• The Music Of Out Of The Furnace (9:07)
  Director Scott Cooper talks about his decision to use Pearl Jam’s “Release” as the anthem for Christian Bale’s character. Composer Dickon Hinchliffe and music supervisor Bob Bowen discuss about how this inspired them in creating the rest of the film’s score.
• Theatrical Trailer (2:24)
• Sneak Peek (8:19)
  Play All or select from trailers for “Paranoia”, “The Family”, “Don Jon”, and The Bridge Season 1

Final Thoughts:

While the actor’s give good performances, and the dialogue is well-written, Out of the Furnace was a bit too long, and way too depressing for me. The bonus features included on the disc are also a bit slim, though fans of the film will enjoy some of the behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. I would recommend a rental before a blind buy.