Mill Creek has released a double-feature Blu-ray containing two films directed by Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland). While both films had previously been released on Blu-ray by Universal, they make their way to Blu-ray as a double-feature release for the first time, at a nice price, and with most of the bonus material intact.
Here is a rundown of the two films included in this release:
Black Sea (2014)
Navy veteran Robinson (Jude Law) is fired from his job as a submarine/salvage pilot—a job that he was so devoted to that it led to the dissolution of his marriage to wife Chrissy (Jodie Whittaker) and his relationship to their young son Martin (Gus Barry). He’s desperately looking for a way to make ends meet, and to prove himself, when his friend/former co-worker Mark Kurston (Daniel Ryan) mentions that he knows where to find a sunken WWII-era U-boat that may be filled with millions of dollars worth of Nazi gold. Kurston has found a mysterious backer, Lewis (Tobias Menzies), who’s willing to invest in the trip for a cut of the gold, but he needs a skilled pilot like Robinson to pull it off. So Robinson enlists a crew of 6 friends/colleagues to help. These men are in similar situations, desperate and angry, and screwed over by life. To complement his crew, Robinson also hires 6 Russian seamen to help pilot the old, rusty submarine they’ll be taking into the Black Sea, with the goal of finding the wreckage and extracting the gold without drawing attention to themselves from the Russian fleet on the surface.
However, tensions quickly escalate in the small, claustrophobic space, particularly between the Russian and English crew members, who don’t speak each other’s languages, and don’t trust one another. When Robinson informs the crew about the gold, and tells everyone that they will get an equal share, this strikes paranoia in crew member Fraser (Ben Mendelsohn), who believes the Russians will start eliminating the English-speakers to get a larger share. So he pre-emptively takes things into his own hands, which leads to chaos aboard the tiny ship. As greed and paranoia run rampant, and things start to get dire and desperate, the men start to turn on one another, and what started as a simple deep sea heist soon becomes a fight for survival, with their chances of making it home alive, with or without the gold, dwindling.
The film is tense and exciting, with lots of twists and turns, and some great performances. It has a nice clean picture with a solid level of detail—even when things are darker, or lit by a red glow of the ship’s warning lights. The audio track does a nice job of immersing the viewer in the environment, with the rumble, echoes and creaking inside the sub. This release ports over the two bonus features from the previous Blu-ray release—a 5-minute behind-the-scenes featurette and a feature commentary from the director.
State of Play (2009)
State of Play is a feature film adaptation of the award-winning 6-hour BBC miniseries, but set in the world of D.C. politics and journalism. Cal McCaffrey (Russell Crowe) is a gruff, seasoned investigative reporter for the Washington Globe, who knows how to work the system to get the information he needs. As he investigates two seemingly-unrelated homicides in Georgetown—a small-time drug dealer, and the assistant to a congressman—Cal soon starts to suspect that there is a larger corporate conspiracy at play. The congressman, Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), was Cal’s college roommate. He had been chairing a committee to review the government’s contracts with a private security firm, and his assistant was the lead researcher. However, there may have also been an inappropriate work relationship between Collins and his assistant, so Cal needs to keep his friendship with the congressman separate from his investigation. Joining Cal in his investigation is young, ambitious reporter Della Frye (Rachel McAdams), who writes the paper’s online Capitol Hill blog. What she lacks in experience, she makes up for in ambition, and the two make a great investigative pair, constantly staying a few steps ahead of the cops, and those who seem to want to put an end to their investigation.
The film is an exciting thriller, that constantly keeps you guessing as to who is behind all of this. It has a nice blend of mystery, character drama, and exciting action sequences. There are definitely nods to other political thrillers such as All the President’s Men, and the film still feels quite relevant to today, even if our news institutions don’t quite carry the same clout and integrity they once used to. Crowe and McAdams make an entertaining pair of opposites, and they are joined by an amazing all-star cast that also includes Helen Mirren, Robin Wright, Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels, Harry Lennix, Michael Weston, Viola Davis and David Harbour.
While the film’s dark opening sequence has a bit of black crush, the rest of the movie’s presentation looks quite good. There are some beautiful overhead shots of the newsroom at work, as well as closer hand-held shots that put the viewer into the action. The audio track provides clear dialogue as well as a generally immersive ambiance, especially in the busy newsroom, or as helicopters fly overhead. The majority of the bonus material from the previous Blu-ray release have been carried over—2 deleted/extended scenes, and an 18-minute making-of featurette. Missing from Universal’s previous Blu-ray is a BD-Live behind-the-scenes Picture-in-Picture track.
Mill Creek has put together a nice double-feature collection of thrillers from director Kevin Macdonald. Both films do an excellent job of building tension, and finding ways to throw in twists and surprises to keep the audience guessing. It is easy to see how the director’s origins in documentary work have influenced the way he makes films. The camera loves to stick close to its subjects, and make the viewer feel the tension, and be immersed in the action and drama.
Both films reside on a single disc, which is placed in a standard HD keepcase without a slipcover. The disc offers a main menu with film and bonus material selections for both features. There are no digital copies included.
What’s Included:
Films:
- Black Sea (2014) (1:54:15)
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
- Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
- Subtitles: English SDH
- State of Play (2009) (2:06:59)
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.35:1
- Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
- Subtitles: English SDH
Extras:
- Black Sea (2014)
- A Dive into the Black Sea (5:15)
The cast and filmmakers talk about the premise, and how the story evolved, casting ppl the film, the characters, the filming style, the challenges of filming on a real sub, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Kevin Macdonald, screenwriter Dennis Kelly, producer Charles Steel, production designer Nick Palmer, and stars Jude Law (“Robinson”), Scoot McNairy (“Daniels”), Michael Smiley (“Reynolds”) & Ben Mendelsohn (“Fraser”). - Feature Commentary with Director Kevin Macdonald (1:54:15)
The director provides and interesting and informative discussion of the film, talking about how the story came about and the inspirations, the cast, the filming locations, and more. He shares a lot of behind-the-scenes stories about the production. The track doesn’t start until 2 minutes into the film, so I wasn’t sure it was playing.
- A Dive into the Black Sea (5:15)
- State of Play (2009)
- Deleted Scenes (3:38)
Two extended scenes play back-to-back. In the first, Mrs. Collins (Robin Wright) gives a statement of support for her husband, and in the second, Della interviews Rhonda Silver (Katy Mixon) about her affair with the congressman. - The Making of State of Play (18:44)
The cast and crew talk about the origins of the film, adapting the UK miniseries, the themes and Washington backdrop, casting the film, getting the small details of journalism right, the costumes, filming in Washington, giving two different looks to the movie for Cal’s World and Stephen’s world, designing the newsroom set, and more. includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Kevin Macdonald, producer Andrew Hauptman, executive producer E. Bennett Walsh, news media consultant, Globe production manager R.B. Brenner, costume designer Jaqueline West, production designer Mark Friedberg, cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, and stars Rachel McAdams (“Della Frye”), Jeff Daniels (“Rep. George Fergus”), Russell Crowe (“Cal McAffrey”) & Helen Mirren (“Cameron Lynne”).
Not ported over from the previous Universal Blu-ray release is a BD-Live behind-the-scenes Picture-in-Picture track.
- Deleted Scenes (3:38)
Final Thoughts:
Mill Creek’s director spotlight double-feature Blu-ray release features two entertaining thrillers from director Kevin Macdonald. The picture and sound is generally quite good, and most of the bonus material from the previous individual Blu-ray releases has been ported over. For those who already own the previous Blu-rays, there is no need to double-dip, but if you don’t own either film, this is a convenient way to add both to your collection.
DIRECTOR’S SPOTLIGHT: KEVIN MACDONALD/BD [Blu-ray]
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