Joe Carnahan’s brilliant procedural mystery Narc gets a beautiful 4K Restoration in a loaded new 4K UHD edition from Arrow Video.
The Film
After twenty years, Narc, still hits like a brick to the face. A police procedural that is unlike any of its kind both an indictment and a call for compassion. The film perfectly illustrates the kind of split-second violence that occurs and the shattering effect it has on the souls that must wade through it day in and day out. Writer/Director Joe Carnahan’s film gives no excuses or justification – simply it shows these broken souls as they try to do what they feel is right. The results are still fresh, searing, and electrifying as the day it was released.
The film harkens back to the era of the procedurals of the 1970s where names like Lumet and Friedkin were making serious-minded films about crime and corruption. One’s that never blinked at their subject matter. Violence isn’t a set piece that’s designed as an empty dopamine hit for an audience. We see the aftereffects of murder, drugs, and corruption. There are no good guys. There are no bad guys. There is no climatic drug bust or arrest that makes the world a better place.
Carnahan’s Narc is a part of that tradition. More than a piece of procedural badassery, the film is a meditation on how violence and drugs shatter lives. How even the best police officers feel as though they are picking up the pieces of shattered humanity at best. Detectives Nick Tellis (Jason Patric) and Henry Oak (Ray Liotta) aren’t just guns with badges. There is a reverence and respect they both carry not for the just the job but the responsibility and burden of the victims they often cannot help. Each man is haunted by the ghosts of their actions in the line of duty.
Where Narc finds its drama and story is what each does to attempt to make amends to those ghosts. Patric and Liotta are wonderful as the detectives trying to solve the murder of one of their own. Liotta’s work is as impressive as anything in his career. The quietness of the performance is what stands above everything. The moments of introspection and inner life are some of the most searing moments in the film. Not to be outmatched, Patric’s work here is equally impressive. The actor whose work here is equal to the seminal work Rush or After Dark My Sweet but with an added layer of age. To watch these two play off one another is a rare treat of truly matched skill and artfulness of acting and storytelling.
Narc remains what it was when it was released back in 2004, a classic. It has only aged, beautifully, like a fine wine into a Classic with a capital “C”. A haunting film that one will not soon forget.
The Transfer
The all-new 4K remaster in Dolby Vision from the original negative by Arrow Films is a minor miracle. The previous editions never had the subtly that the original 35mm exhibition had. I still remember that the gritty but beautifully shot film by Alex Nepomniaschy never looked as wonderful as it did on the big screen. This newest edition in 4K retains everything that made that 35mm version of the film so special. There isn’t a blemish, scratch, or fleck of dirt on the flawless transfer. The grain structure, the clarity, and the color are all perfectly balanced in this new iteration giving us as good a transfer I’ve seen in recent memory.
The Extras
They include the following;
DISC ONE – FEATURE (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
- Archival feature commentary with director Joe Carnahan and editor John Gilroy
- Brand new introduction from director Joe Carnahan
DISC TWO – EXTRAS (BLU-RAY)
- Shattering the Blue Line: Joe Carnahan On Narc
- Shooting Narc, a newly filmed interview with director of photography Alex Nepomniaschy
- If You Live Another Day, a newly filmed interview with actor Krista Bridges
- The Journey of the Costume, a newly filmed interview with costume designer Gersha Phillips
- Making the Deal, a vintage promotional featurette looking at the making of the film
- The Visual Trip, a vintage promotional featurette looking at the look of the film
- The Friedkin Connection, a vintage promotional featurette interviewing William Friedkin and discussing the connections between his body of work and Narc
- Shooting Up, a vintage promotional featurette looking at the making of the film
- Vintage EPK interviews with Joe Carnahan, Ray Liotta, Jason Patric, Diane Nabatoff, Alex Nepomniaschy and Willliam Friedkin
- Theatrical trailer
- Image gallery
DISC ONE – FEATURE (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
Brand new introduction from director Joe Carnahan (0:12)
The archival audio commentary with director Joe Carnahan and editor John Gilroy begins with introductions and get to the business of the commentary. Some of the details include they filmed in Toronto but pickup shots in Detroit; how they filmed the opening scene – including the edit to hide the cuts in what appears to be a single shot; the difficulty of working with babies within scenes; The Thin Blue Line being a reference and inspiration for Narc; the editing of the various split screens and the difficulties of this work – some great anecdotes about Jason Patric “badging” people and other anecdotes about shooting and editing the sequence; working John Ortiz in a brief but important role; the FX work to build the corpse in the bath room scene; filming Ray Liotta’s monologue – on the last day he was on the set, and the importance of this scene; the various flashbacks and how they were achieved visually; some great directorial discussion of how Carnahan handles scenes and works actors; how they built the interrogation scene where Patric is shot; the dangers of Camera Operating by Joe Carnahan; the work of the sound designers; a great discussion about the finale and the various issues during production, the work by the crew, the actors, editing, the appearance of Busta Rhymes and more; a larger discussion about the work of composer Cliff Martinez; and much more. The commentary by Carnahan and Gilroy is as entertaining and informational as it was when it was released on DVD.
DISC TWO – EXTRAS (BLU-RAY)
Shattering the Blue Line: Joe Carnahan on Narc (13:42) – the all-new interview with the director begins with his love of Crime stories and the short Gun Point he made that culminated in a breakthrough with how the story that became Narc would end. Some of the details include working with Ray Liotta and his personal relationship; working with Jason Patric and just how mercurial but genius he is as an actor; the opening chase scene – how it was developed and shot – mostly on the fly during the production; the finale – the work and difficulty during the production to get it completed; the screening at Sundance and the experience post-Sundance; his gratitude to Tom Cruise – who picked up the movie for Paramount to release; and much more. Carnahan’s interview is almost an appendix to his truly great commentary track.
Shooting Narc: Alex Nepomniaschy’s vision (10:06) – the all-new interview with the director of photography provides a great informative discussion about the look, inspiration, and techniques used to achieve the specific style of Narc. This is almost like a micro-commentary as Nepomniaschy discusses his work and behind-the-scenes work done (like color timing, cameras, lighting, etc.) while scenes and images play out through the interview.
If You Live Another Day: An interview with Krista Bridges (16:20) – the all-new interview with the actor who played Nick Tellis’s (Jason Patric) wife, begins with how she got the part. Some of the details include working on a film with such a tight schedule and budget; the troubles with filming with babies – including practical issues that come up; working with Carnahan on the set and also as an actor; working with Jason Patric – and the collaborative nature of the actor; and much more.
The Journey of the Costume: An interview with Gersha Phillips (18:31) – the all-new interview with costume designer begins with how Beaches inspired her to want to be a costume designer. Some of the other details include how she eventually got into the industry (via the Canadian film commission); the various projects she worked on before she was hired on Narc; how she was hired for Narc; some of the production challenges faced by costume designers and specifically with this production; the research she did for the film; and much more.
Archival Featurettes – Arrow has included all of the archival featurettes from the prior DVD and Blu-ray releases.
- Making the Deal (13:20) – an archival featurette looking at the making of the film. This EPK style making-of that’s fairly in-depth considering its length going into the script and casting of the film. Featuring interviews with Carnahan, Liotta, Patric, and others edited with behind-the-scenes b-roll footage.
- The Visual Trip (13:02) – an archival featurette discussing the visual look of the film with director Carnahan and director of photography Nepomniaschy. The duo looks at the reasons why they chose to shoot and color time the film the way they did, some of the set pieces and how they came together, and much more.
- The Friedkin Connection (9:50) – an archival featurette interviewing William Friedkin discussing the connections between his body of work and Narc. Friedkin is a wonderfully unfiltered interviewee and his praise for Narc and the story of a film he loves and a detailed discussion of what makes Narc brilliant.
- Shooting Up (19:26) – an archival featurette looking at the making of the film. This EPK style making-of looking at the budget problems during the production, the production itself, the post-production, getting into and premiering at Sundance, and eventually release. Again, this 20-minute making-of is wonderfully in-depth and honest about making a lower-budget feature. Featuring interviews with Carnahan, Liotta, Producer Paula Wagner, and others.
EPK interviews – these interviews have been culled for the archival featurettes above. Their raw forms are great and give you some great additional information rather than just the bullet points those archival featurettes used. The interviews are in their raw form, so you get to see cuts and in-between set-up footage. These are truly a wonderful archival treasure trove for anyone who’s a fan of the film. If you’re a fan of the original DVD featurettes please do yourself a favor and dive into these interviews. Each is very well-rounded and covers all aspects of filming in the over 4-hours (yes, 4-hours) of raw unedited interviews.
- Joe Carnahan: Shoot Interview (31:41)
- Joe Carnahan: Edit Interview (71:09)
- Diane Nabatoff (21:52)
- Alex Nepomniaschy (18:03)
- Ray Liotta: Shoot Interview (28:30)
- Ray Liotta: Edit Interview (22:47)
- Jason Patric (15:31)
- William Friedkin (36:04)
Theatrical trailer (2:26)
Image gallery – consists of 72 production stills and behind-the-scenes photos. The gallery can be navigated by using your next and back chapter stop buttons on your remote.
The Final Thought
Arrow Video has given us another definitive edition of a film. Narc’s special features are only outdone by its flawlessly restored picture and sound. Highest Possible Recommendations!